This book has it all.........glamour, mystery, intrigue, danger, plot twists, a fabulous setting and romance. I loved every moment!
London, 1948, Eve is a young woman, recently married and already somewhat disillusioned. She learns that she has an inheritance- from a man she’s never heard of- but she must go to the south of France to discover what she has been left. Eve sets out, against her husbands wishes, and soon falls in love with life on the Côte d’Azur. She is shocked to discover that she has been left a significant bequest and this is where the mystery begins. Who was Guy Lester and why has he left Eve a small fortune? Eve sets out to discover more, and as she does rivals and misfortunes start to beset her. Is someone trying to stop her and do they mean to do so at any cost? The tension and excitement build as the story unfolds, and kept me reading late into the night. Fab characters, wonderful descriptions of late 1940s Antibes, and a great plot line as well. A brilliant read from beginning to end- treat yourself!
Thank you Netgalley and Random House UK.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for an advance copy of Fatal Inheritance, a stand alone novel set in 1948 on the French Riviera.

Eve Forrester is trapped in a dull life when, out of the blue, she is advised that she is a beneficiary of Guy Lester's estate but can only find out what her legacy is by travelling to the South of France for the reading of the will. Eve is more interested in what links her to Guy Lester than the part share in a villa she inherits.

I thoroughly enjoyed Fatal Inheritance which has a very inviting style of writing that drew me in from page one. There is a warmth to the novel, not just from the well depicted warmth and sunshine of the Riviera, but from Eve's somewhat naïve and candid view of life. Eve's decision to stay on at the villa and find out what she meant to Guy Lester is not well received by the other beneficiaries, Guy's children, who want to sell immediately. There is ill feeling, several "accidents" and harsh words as Eve tries to find a link to Guy. It is very moreish in a genteel way. Delicious is the word used in the blurb and it's very apt.

The atmosphere in the novel is excellent from the heat and sunshine to the rather dissolute and louche inhabitants of the upper echelons where appearance wins over substance. Eve, the outsider, finds herself mixing uncomfortably in this milieu, unsure and gauche in the face of their worldliness. Yet, nothing is as it seems and there are some deft touches as the veneer is stripped away. Ms Rhys portrays a bygone age where hedonism struggles with the realities of post war society and I really liked the passing mentions of societal issues which illuminate the setting without bogging it down.

I love the characterisation as all the characters are well drawn and I felt as if I knew them almost immediately. The novel opens with Eve watching two raindrops she has named sliding down the window to see if her favoured one will win. It encapsulates the dreariness and boredom of her existence perfectly and drew me straight into the novel. It is lovely to watch her blossom in the heat as the novel progresses. There are telling little details on all the characters which say so much more than a straight description ever could.

The plot gets a little farcical towards the end which is why I have rated it 4* rather than 5* but overall it is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

An enjoyable frothy read perfect for unchallenging sunshine reading with a cocktail by your side... I kept having flashbacks to other books: The Enchanted April for Eve’s liberation from an almost comically uptight husband; a million romances where the love interest is flagged from the outset by his green eyes, broad shoulders, and seeming lack of interest in Eve... except for the fact he’s always turning up and whisking her off in his car.

There’s definitely a Cinderella-fantasy vibe about the whole thing as Eve steps out from her dowdy no-friends life in Sutton and straight into something far more glamorous and enticing in the Riviera where she’s insta-friends with a Hollywood starlet, a famous writer (who himself knows the Fitzgeralds and Hemingway) and is invited to parties thrown by a couple we assume are Edward and the previous Mrs Simpson, now simply dubbed the Duke and Duchess.

Throw in dark family secrets, the inserted voice of the now-dead Guy Lester, Nazis and Eve’s life being threatened and you have something that looks over its shoulder, vaguely, at the films of Hitchcock. I didn’t find this as gripping, subtle and engrossing as Rhys’ A Dangerous Crossing but there’s certainly a deck-chair nearby just crying out for a book like this.

After enjoying Rhys' first novel (or at least the first published as Rhys - the writer also writes thrillers under a different name), 'A Dangerous Crossing', I was keen to read more. As with the first novel, this one features a glamorous historical setting, a strong female protagonist and some well-plotted mystery and intrigue.

The main character, Eve, is suffocating in her staid and safe post-war existence in dreary Sutton with her controlling husband. When she receives news of an unexpected inheritance from a mysterious benefactor, she heads off to the South of France to uncover secrets in her past that have brought her the promise of fortune. On the glamorous Riviera, she begins to move in very different circles to her existence in Sutton and her life changes forever.

I really enjoyed this novel. It's engaging and draws you along as you root for Eve in her new (and sometimes hostile) situation. There's plenty of mysteries and secrets to uncover, plus some hints of romance along the way. The characters are well-drawn and appealing and the tension between them is tangible. Finally, the star of the novel, the setting is so beautifully drawn - the lush Riviera seems to spring off the pages and draw the reader into the story as it is, by turns, hot and oppressive, then gorgeous and beguiling.

I'd recommend this to anyone who loves historical fiction with plenty of twists and immersive detail. The glamour of the late 1940s Riviera is an enthralling setting for a beautifully written story of self-discovery.