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Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Fatal Legacy

Corley, Elizabeth. Fatal Legacy. The reader knows from the beginning that Alan Wainwright's death is not a suicide as we accompany him to his clandestine meeting, but by the time the body is discovered, the scene looks like suicide.

When the will is read, there are some unpleasant surprises for the family members, and a surprising couple of heirs in Alan's nephew Alex and wife, Sally. Even as Alex and Sally discover some disturbing business irregularities, Alan's son Graham is beginning to question the suicide of his father.

Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Fenwick is assigned to decide whether or not to re-open the case. Then another murder. Secrets and duplicity abound.

I thought Fenwick a bit cold (except with his children), but Corley's style bears resemblance to some of my favorite authors in this genre -- Peter Robinson and Reginald Hill. The characters have depth and complexity, and the plot is full of complications and twists.

Fiction. Mystery. 2000. 308 pages.

4 comments:

  1. I'm a big fan of Peter Robinson so I'll be checking this one out.

    Do you know if it's a series?

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  2. iliana - Corley has written 3 or 4 books in this series. I'm going to checkwith the library about them on my next visit. :)

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  3. Another one to add to my wishlist. If it's new I can look for a library copy (which is hopefully not too scruffy--lol).

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  4. Danielle - My library copy looked brand new. Hope your luck is as good in avoiding a scruffy copy!

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