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noveldeelights's review
5.0
One word : LOVE!!!! There. Now go and buy it.
I adored Rachel Rhys’ previous book, A Dangerous Crossing, and couldn’t wait to read more by her. I had super high expectations for Fatal Inheritance and needing to wait for the stunning hardcover to finally land on my doorstep was excruciating! However, within the first few pages I already knew it had most definitely been worth the wait.
There is something immensely captivating about the way Rachel Rhys writes and it only took minutes for me to find myself completely transported to 1948, where we are introduced to the character of Eve Forrester. To say Eve is a wee miserable might be a slight understatement. Caught up in loveless marriage and living in a grey London suburb in a gloomy house where nothing is to her taste, she often wonders if this is it. Is this the best it’ll ever be?
But then she receives a letter, telling her of an inheritance left to her by a wealthy stranger. To find out more, Eve needs to travel all the way to the south of France. But with a family resentful of her status as an heir, all is not fierce sunshine and lovely smelling flowers.
Set right after the second world war, there was no hardship at all in sympathising with Eve’s circumstances. After all, women had been doing their bit during the war, finding their own feet and surviving, doing jobs intended for men as they were off fighting. Yet now, they are expected to go back to being submissive. Eve’s husband, in particular, is incredibly domineering and highly unlikeable. Her trip to France, where she gets to mingle with celebrities and get a taste of how things could be, will change her life.
I’ve never been to the south of France but the gloriously vivid descriptions made it incredibly easy to imagine the sights, the scents and the feeling of the sun on my skin. Although considering I read this in the middle of a heatwave, the latter wasn’t too hard to do. The mystery as to who has left Eve this inheritance is slowly revealed throughout the story and while I did figure bits out quite early on, it didn’t bother me at all.
Fatal Inheritance is historical fiction from the top shelf. It’s mysterious and exquisitely written. One to savour and enjoy and be utterly immersed in. Did I mention I loved it? I absolutely can’t wait for more by Rachel Rhys!
I adored Rachel Rhys’ previous book, A Dangerous Crossing, and couldn’t wait to read more by her. I had super high expectations for Fatal Inheritance and needing to wait for the stunning hardcover to finally land on my doorstep was excruciating! However, within the first few pages I already knew it had most definitely been worth the wait.
There is something immensely captivating about the way Rachel Rhys writes and it only took minutes for me to find myself completely transported to 1948, where we are introduced to the character of Eve Forrester. To say Eve is a wee miserable might be a slight understatement. Caught up in loveless marriage and living in a grey London suburb in a gloomy house where nothing is to her taste, she often wonders if this is it. Is this the best it’ll ever be?
But then she receives a letter, telling her of an inheritance left to her by a wealthy stranger. To find out more, Eve needs to travel all the way to the south of France. But with a family resentful of her status as an heir, all is not fierce sunshine and lovely smelling flowers.
Set right after the second world war, there was no hardship at all in sympathising with Eve’s circumstances. After all, women had been doing their bit during the war, finding their own feet and surviving, doing jobs intended for men as they were off fighting. Yet now, they are expected to go back to being submissive. Eve’s husband, in particular, is incredibly domineering and highly unlikeable. Her trip to France, where she gets to mingle with celebrities and get a taste of how things could be, will change her life.
I’ve never been to the south of France but the gloriously vivid descriptions made it incredibly easy to imagine the sights, the scents and the feeling of the sun on my skin. Although considering I read this in the middle of a heatwave, the latter wasn’t too hard to do. The mystery as to who has left Eve this inheritance is slowly revealed throughout the story and while I did figure bits out quite early on, it didn’t bother me at all.
Fatal Inheritance is historical fiction from the top shelf. It’s mysterious and exquisitely written. One to savour and enjoy and be utterly immersed in. Did I mention I loved it? I absolutely can’t wait for more by Rachel Rhys!
fictionfan's review
4.0
The pink house on the Riviera...
It’s 1948, and Eve Forrester is living a dull, restricted life in London with her staid, passionless husband. Out of the blue, she receives a letter telling her that a man she has never heard of has left her a legacy. To find out more, she’ll have to travel to the French Riviera. Once there, she discovers she’s been left a share in a lovely pink house overlooking the sea. The dead man’s family don’t know why he named her in his will either, and resent her very much. Pushed to agree to an early sale and division of the proceeds, Eve finds herself unwilling to comply until she can find out what’s behind it all...
Naturally, when writing a slow-burn book set in the fairly distant past, Rhys has used the present tense. Well, you would, wouldn’t you? No, nor would I. So, despite the fact that she does it as well as most, Rhys was always going to have to work extra hard to win me over.
To a certain extent she did, though it took a long time to really grab my interest. The first section in Cap d’Antibes is full of lengthy description that goes well beyond scene-setting. The house in particular is described in minute detail, putting me in mind of the kind of brochure that is produced for a house sale. But I was intrigued to discover the reason for the legacy and that kept me reading. I formed a theory fairly early on which proved to be completely wrong, so that’s always a major plus!
This is one of those books that works best if you switch off your credibility filters going in. If it weren’t for fear of spoilers, I could make a list of plot holes and inconsistencies, and little side mysteries that are left entirely unresolved and are completely illogical once the final revelations are disclosed. They add to the suspense during the read but are left hanging at the end. The story too requires quite a lot of suspension of disbelief. Within a week, this ordinary unremarkable woman is consorting with Princes and Hollywood stars, invited to their parties and weddings, and looked on as an intimate friend.
However, if you can buy into it, then it’s all quite fun. The rather faded glamour of post-war life in this playground of the rich and pointless is portrayed very well, with an underlying feeling of the desperation of people trying to party away the recent horrors of war. Rhys also shows the scars left after the Nazi occupation of France, with the lingering divisions between those who collaborated and those who resisted. And, in a time when the social order has been broken and reformed, she shows how it can be hard to know whether people are who they present themselves as, or if they have remade themselves to hide their unacceptable pasts. There’s a romance element which is quite enjoyable too, if a little clichéd, and there’s more action in the second half which speeds the thing along at a better pace than the slow first half.
I’ve struggled to rate this one. I don’t think it’s up to the standard of her earlier novel, A Dangerous Crossing, and I suspect that may be, as so often, down to rushing it out without the kind of firm edit that was really required to tighten up the various plotting weaknesses and unnecessary padding. (No, I’m not blaming the editor – authors have the ultimate responsibility for their own books.) The present tense feels entirely wrong for the story and was a running, if minor, irritation to me throughout. However, once it speeded up a bit, I found myself turning pages quite happily and was certainly interested in discovering how it would all play out. But afterwards, I found myself asking – “but what about...?” And “why didn’t she...?” And “who...?” And that’s never satisfactory. So three and a half stars, rounded up, and a recommendation as an overall enjoyable read but not one to be taken too seriously.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Random House Transworld.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
It’s 1948, and Eve Forrester is living a dull, restricted life in London with her staid, passionless husband. Out of the blue, she receives a letter telling her that a man she has never heard of has left her a legacy. To find out more, she’ll have to travel to the French Riviera. Once there, she discovers she’s been left a share in a lovely pink house overlooking the sea. The dead man’s family don’t know why he named her in his will either, and resent her very much. Pushed to agree to an early sale and division of the proceeds, Eve finds herself unwilling to comply until she can find out what’s behind it all...
Naturally, when writing a slow-burn book set in the fairly distant past, Rhys has used the present tense. Well, you would, wouldn’t you? No, nor would I. So, despite the fact that she does it as well as most, Rhys was always going to have to work extra hard to win me over.
To a certain extent she did, though it took a long time to really grab my interest. The first section in Cap d’Antibes is full of lengthy description that goes well beyond scene-setting. The house in particular is described in minute detail, putting me in mind of the kind of brochure that is produced for a house sale. But I was intrigued to discover the reason for the legacy and that kept me reading. I formed a theory fairly early on which proved to be completely wrong, so that’s always a major plus!
This is one of those books that works best if you switch off your credibility filters going in. If it weren’t for fear of spoilers, I could make a list of plot holes and inconsistencies, and little side mysteries that are left entirely unresolved and are completely illogical once the final revelations are disclosed. They add to the suspense during the read but are left hanging at the end. The story too requires quite a lot of suspension of disbelief. Within a week, this ordinary unremarkable woman is consorting with Princes and Hollywood stars, invited to their parties and weddings, and looked on as an intimate friend.
However, if you can buy into it, then it’s all quite fun. The rather faded glamour of post-war life in this playground of the rich and pointless is portrayed very well, with an underlying feeling of the desperation of people trying to party away the recent horrors of war. Rhys also shows the scars left after the Nazi occupation of France, with the lingering divisions between those who collaborated and those who resisted. And, in a time when the social order has been broken and reformed, she shows how it can be hard to know whether people are who they present themselves as, or if they have remade themselves to hide their unacceptable pasts. There’s a romance element which is quite enjoyable too, if a little clichéd, and there’s more action in the second half which speeds the thing along at a better pace than the slow first half.
I’ve struggled to rate this one. I don’t think it’s up to the standard of her earlier novel, A Dangerous Crossing, and I suspect that may be, as so often, down to rushing it out without the kind of firm edit that was really required to tighten up the various plotting weaknesses and unnecessary padding. (No, I’m not blaming the editor – authors have the ultimate responsibility for their own books.) The present tense feels entirely wrong for the story and was a running, if minor, irritation to me throughout. However, once it speeded up a bit, I found myself turning pages quite happily and was certainly interested in discovering how it would all play out. But afterwards, I found myself asking – “but what about...?” And “why didn’t she...?” And “who...?” And that’s never satisfactory. So three and a half stars, rounded up, and a recommendation as an overall enjoyable read but not one to be taken too seriously.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Random House Transworld.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
309804490's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tessagoth's review against another edition
2.0
I feel like this might work better as a movie. The story has good bones, but it would benefit from better character development.
dannalee's review against another edition
Too slow for me felt like I was waiting too lomg long for the somewhat obvious ending to happen.
magicadehexgraph's review against another edition
5.0
Die junge Eve ist ihre Ehe mit Clifford Forrester nur eingegangen, um den Fängen ihrer alles bestimmenden Mutter Mary zu entkommen. Ihr Leben verläuft langweilig und äußerst zurückgezogen. Ihr Mann hält sie knapp. Sicher es ist das Jahr 1948, kurz nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg sind viele Dinge noch strikt rationiert; dennoch hatte sie sich ihren Alltag anders vorgestellt. Als das geheimnisvolle Schreiben einer Anwaltskanzlei eingeht, sieht Eve dies als willkommene Ablenkung, der Langeweile zu entrinnen. Trotz Cliffords Bedenken macht sie sich allein auf den Weg aus einem kleinen Vorort Londons an die Französische Riviera, um näheres zu ihrem mysteriösen Erbe zu erfahren. Ein Abenteuer beginnt, das nicht nur Eves Leben sondern auch sie selbst komplett verändern wird.
Mit großem Einfühlungsvermögen erzählt Rachel Rhys die Geschichte Eve Forresters. Ihre verwendete Sprache ist ausgewählt schön (ein Kompliment auch an die Übersetzung). Der Roman ist eine sehr gelungene Mischung aus Spannung und Historie. Die Geschichte fesselt m8ich vom ersten Augenblick an und die Autorin kann mich die ganze Zeit über mitnehmen, zu faszinierend sind ihre Figuren und der Plot, ebenfalls schafft sie es, mich die Zeit nach Nachkriegsjahre nahezu fühlen und spüren zu lassen. Das gesellschaftliche Leben ist treffend dargestellt, die Atmosphäre mitreißend, tief und echt. Das Gefühlsleben der Protagonistin Eve, der man ihre Empfindungen jederzeit ansehen kann, ist brillant getroffen und auch deren Veränderung ist mehr als glaubwürdig .
Von Herzen gerne vergebe ich dem Roman fünf von fünf möglichen Sternen und empfehle es absolut weiter. Leser, die an die Zeit, den 40er Jahren, und das Leben der Menschen in Großbritannien und in Südfrankreich in der genannten Epoche interessiert sind, werden das Buch verschlingen, wie ich es getan habe. Ist der Roman ein Pageturner: ja, unbedingt!
Mit großem Einfühlungsvermögen erzählt Rachel Rhys die Geschichte Eve Forresters. Ihre verwendete Sprache ist ausgewählt schön (ein Kompliment auch an die Übersetzung). Der Roman ist eine sehr gelungene Mischung aus Spannung und Historie. Die Geschichte fesselt m8ich vom ersten Augenblick an und die Autorin kann mich die ganze Zeit über mitnehmen, zu faszinierend sind ihre Figuren und der Plot, ebenfalls schafft sie es, mich die Zeit nach Nachkriegsjahre nahezu fühlen und spüren zu lassen. Das gesellschaftliche Leben ist treffend dargestellt, die Atmosphäre mitreißend, tief und echt. Das Gefühlsleben der Protagonistin Eve, der man ihre Empfindungen jederzeit ansehen kann, ist brillant getroffen und auch deren Veränderung ist mehr als glaubwürdig .
Von Herzen gerne vergebe ich dem Roman fünf von fünf möglichen Sternen und empfehle es absolut weiter. Leser, die an die Zeit, den 40er Jahren, und das Leben der Menschen in Großbritannien und in Südfrankreich in der genannten Epoche interessiert sind, werden das Buch verschlingen, wie ich es getan habe. Ist der Roman ein Pageturner: ja, unbedingt!
jilljemmett's review against another edition
4.0
I was excited to read this new suspenseful, historical fiction novel. It didn’t disappoint.
This story was set in the South of France. I’ve never been there, but I would love to go after reading this book. The setting was incredibly descriptive. It was set in various villas along the coast. Though the story was tense, the setting was calming.
The tension of the story built slowly. The plot began immediately, when Eve was told that she had been given an inheritance by a mysterious man. There wasn’t much progression in that plot until the last third of the story. There were a couple of interesting subplots, that didn’t really have anything to do with Eve’s mystery. The ultimate resolution made sense, and I was happy with where Eve ended up.
This is a great historical read for the summer!
Thank you Simon and Schuster for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This story was set in the South of France. I’ve never been there, but I would love to go after reading this book. The setting was incredibly descriptive. It was set in various villas along the coast. Though the story was tense, the setting was calming.
The tension of the story built slowly. The plot began immediately, when Eve was told that she had been given an inheritance by a mysterious man. There wasn’t much progression in that plot until the last third of the story. There were a couple of interesting subplots, that didn’t really have anything to do with Eve’s mystery. The ultimate resolution made sense, and I was happy with where Eve ended up.
This is a great historical read for the summer!
Thank you Simon and Schuster for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.