The Inheritance: A Novel (Inspector Trave, 1)

Liked the setting, just enough mystery from the very beginning to get you started. Plot goes all over the place after that, too many intricacies and changes of direction, I was disappointed. Too much of the story is carried by lengthy descriptive passages, while the characters' thoughts and motives are not given enough voice. Lots of coincidences made it hard to get into the sub-plot which goes from being a curiosity to a reason for murder. There are many better historical mystery/detective story reads out there.

In 1959 in London Stephen Cade is on trial for murdering his famous war hero and Oxford historian father. The case is obvious as the evidence condemns Stephen. He and his father were estranged for a long time and he only goes to see him when his dad cuts him out of his will. Soon after they argue, the older Cade is shot to death by a gun with the younger Cade's fingerprints on it. He is convicted rather quickly and sentenced to die. Oxford and Midland CID Police Detective Inspector William Trave finds the evidence too overwhelming for someone as intelligent as Stephen is. The prosecutor tells him to let it go as this was a crime of passion not intelligence. Unable to ignore his gut as five other people were in the crime scene mansion on that fatal night with tales that fail to match then and in 1944, Trave finds ties to Normandy where the famous late famous war hero apparently was part of an incident that left French civilians dead. This is a super historical police procedural that brings to life England during the Cold War as Trave finds one revelation after another tying 1959 to 1944. The story line is fast-paced throughout although the audience figures out who the culprit is well before the cop does. Fans will enjoy Simon Tolkien's entertaining whodunit as the investigation brings out a sort of historiographic feel to the plot with readers observing how the English in 1959 recall Normandy in 1944. Harriet Klausner

I have to wonder if the Tolkien clan has some secret spring of artistic inspiration water. This fine work by Simon Tolkien is crafted with a skill of like magnitude of the elder Tolkien but in a quite different direction -- twentieth century detective and researcher action rather than an alternative Middle-Earth setting. They both share some Medieval elements such as religion and its artifacts -- even if used in very different ways. "The Inheritance" especially excels in adding points-of-views of various characters without changing the underlying flow-of-events. Likewise there are a number of turns-and-twists of the action and actors without once violating the underlying flow-of-events. The narration and description by Simon Tolkien is rich and lively too -- not too surprising as Christopher Tolkien created the Silmarillion with the elder Tolkien. I have to wonder if the Tolkien clan has some secret spring of artistic inspiration water +++

"Inheritance" is a murder mystery written in the best English tradition of Agatha Christie and her many noble successors. Simon Tolkien deserves to be in the pleiada of detective novel authors. His novel meets all expectances of a seasoned mystery reader. John Cade, an Oxford professor of history and a hero of World War II, is shot to death in his mansion. His younger son, Stephen, is charged with murder and put on trial - he was found in his father's study, locked from inside, a few moments after the shot and his fingerprints are on the key to the study door and on the murder weapon. He also has a motive - he was estranged from his father for two years and only came home when Cade was about to change his will and practically disinherit him, turning the mansion into a museum. During the trial, Stephen pleads innocence, but he faces death sentence - hanging is still lawful in 1959, when the action is set. Inspector Trave, the detective who arrested Stephen based on evidence, has more and more doubts while the trial unfolds. Probably the fact, that Stephen reminds Trave of his son Joe, who died in a tragic accident, adds to Trave's belief in Stephen's innocence. There were five other people in the house at the time of the murder - the grounds were under surveillance after Cade had been pestered by his former subordinate from the army. The people present were: Cade's older, adopted son, Silas, a sneaky photographer; Cade's assistant, Sasha Vigne, involved in cataloging the valuable collection of illuminated manuscripts; Stephen's girlfriend, beautiful actress Mary Martin; and a couple of housekeepers, Sergeant Ritter (also Cade's associate from the war) and his French wife Jeanne. The murderer must have been one of them. And everyone could have a motive. Trave decides to look for the murderer, despite the lack of support from the prosecutor Thompson, who is happy to condemn another man. Although all of the people involved are lying, the truth slowly emerges... Is Cade's death a matter of his change of will, or is it connected with his obsessive search for St. Peter's Cross which led Cade in 1944 to the cold-blooded crime in the French village of Marjean, described in the opening chapter? I enjoyed the twists and turns of this classical mystery novel. I think it is not difficult to guess who is the murderer - but although my initial guess was correct at the end, I had my doubts as Tolkien skillfully led me through his plot. And anyway, it was interesting to find out how everything will come together at the end. I also enjoyed the moral meaning of the story and the characters, all superbly depicted. Definitely, Simon Tolkien is not using the name to sell his books, he is an accomplished writer.

During World War II, three British soldiers (Colonel Cade, Sergeant Ritter and Corporal Carson) travel to Normandy in Northern France. They ambush and kill Nazi soldiers who are occupying the home of the Rocard family. Henri Rocard is forced to give Colonel Cade the Marjean codex, a religious artifact containing a secret code that will lead its owner to the priceless cross of St. Peter. Unfortunately, the Rocard family is slaughtered before the code is deciphered. The war is over but Colonel John Cade is living a nightmare. Someone wants him dead for killing the Rocard family. After being sent a blackmailing letter, he is crippled by a sniper. Fearing for his safety, he builds a gated wall around his home, Moreton Manor, and becomes a virtual prisoner. But he still can not escape death. After a dinner party with his family, someone executes him in his study. The main suspect is his estranged son, Stephen, who was angry at him for killing the Rocards. However, several other members of the dinner party had a motive for murdering the despicable colonel. "The Inheritance" is a superb whodunit in the vein of Agatha Christie. The setting is a large gothic manor in the isolated country. Colonel Cade, a man who everyone loathes, is shot in the head. The study is locked from the inside. A mountain of circumstantial evidence points to Stephen Cade, the estranged son who is very likeable. There is a cast of bizarre, perverse characters. The list of suspects is slowly whittled down as some of them are murdered. Silas Cade, the adopted son, has felt rejected and unloved by his parents ever since his brother, Stephen, was born. He has an affair with Jeanne Ritter, the abused wife of the burly Reginald Ritter, manservant for Colonel Cade. Silas is also a voyeur; he photographs the scarred beauty, Sasha Vigne, who was hired to catalogue the colonel's extensive collection of rare manuscripts. Colonel Cade planned to disinherit both his sons and convert Moreton Manor into a museum for housing his collection. Mary Martin, a beautiful, elusive actress, convinces her boyfriend, Stephen, to beg the colonel for money that is needed for her mother's heart operation. Deception and betrayal abound and everyone has secrets to hide at Moreton Manor. Because of these secrets, poor Stephen sits convicted inside the walls of Wandsworth Prison. The gallows are only a few feet away, separated by a wall with a secret door. The reader will feel incredible tension as Stephen's execution draws closer. Detective Inspector William Trave races against time to save him, even traveling to the small town of Marjean in Normandy, France to question anyone who may shed light on the Rocard family massacre. "The Inheritance" is an historical mystery of revenge and greed. Some want the Marjean cross, some want Colonel Cade dead, and some want both. It is a dramatic, emotional tale that is extremely engaging. I cried when one of the characters w