An exceptionally well researched historical mystery that moves between the last days of the First World War and modern day Edinburgh, The Inheritance of Solomon Farthing by it's very gifted author Mary Paulson-Ellis is a multi-layered story that slowly unfurls to reveal the soul destroying tragedy at its heart.

The protagonist, Solomon Farthing is a down on his heels professional heir hunter, a man who makes his living tracking down lost family members of those believed to have died without an heir, in exchange for a percentage of the inheritance. When a very large sum of cash is found sewn into the lining of an elderly man's burial suit, the hunt is on, and this hunt will take Solomon back almost a hundred years to an abandoned farmhouse in France, in the last weeks of the so called "Great " War where a tight band of men are waiting for their orders and passing the time by gambling away what little treasures they possess. As Solomon chases down various leads he finds a much more personal connection to the case than he could have ever expected.

The author has a great skill in bringing the separate strands of her story to life on the page, be it the bustle of 2016 Edinburgh or the sleepy French countryside, and her characters are particularly well drawn. I found the sections of the story set in the past particularly deeply emotional, seeing the scars of what the men , some no more than boys had already been through, their quiet acceptance of their fate, and their simple hopes and dreams for the unknown future.

There is a real emotion and an elegance to the way she tells their story that makes it incredibly moving. The initial pacing is definitely a little on the slow side, especially in the first part of the book, but I think that is necessary to set up the rest of the story and introduce all the different characters , but once the story starts to get going it becomes really very gripping and I just could not put it down. Whilst the character of Solomon is not exactly pleasant , there is still something appealing about him, and his hunt for the truth.
Very strongly recommended.

What an absolutely beautiful work of art this book is. A complex plot that weaves forwards and backwards from past to present, stunning word craft and a book that made me lose all track of time - I can't recommend The Inheritance of Soloman Farthing enough. The story centres around Soloman Farthing and his mission to solve the mystery of Thomas Methvan whose burial suit has £50 000 sewed into it. Soloman is tasked with finding Thomas's next of kin, and he takes this task on in the hope that he can trace them, and persuade them to sign a contract that will give him a rich commission on the inheritance, thereby solving his debt problem once and for all. But the task becomes so much more than this. We're taken back to 1918 and meet a group of soldiers who are waiting for their last orders. They kill time gambling with precious tokens and the intricacies of their relationships are revealed as we return to them again and again. Mary Paulson-Ellis lets us into the secrets of each soldier and how their histories become intertwined in the most intricate of ways. Soloman learns about his grandfather Godfrey who was haunted by the horrors of war, and the decisions he made. This book is about loyalty, honour, regret and redemption and was truly spell-binding. In-depth characterisation made this story something out of the ordinary, and an absolute triumph. A treasure hunt with stakes that cannot be defined in monetary terms, it was a book that kept me wanting to find out the answer to the riddle of Thomas Methven into the small hours. You won't want to put this one down!

Solomon Farthing is at the end – he has no money and “certain people” in Edinburgh are on the lookout for him. Then a police inspector puts a story his way – who was the old soldier with thousands sewn inside his wedding suit? Can Solomon find out the answer before Colin Dunlop? Alongside this we follow a troop of men in WWI in the final days of the war.

I loved the story and the idea of this book but not the execution. The book jumps about all over the place – Solomon, WWI and anywhere on the timelines of the soldiers in WWI and Solomon himself. The book jumps around all over the place & it wasn’t always easy to keep track of what slotted into whose history. I like books which have different timelines but I found this hard to follow. I really had to work hard to enjoy this book & did contemplate giving up on more than one occasion.

The story itself is excellent once you get to the end & fit all the pieces in the jigsaw. The soldiers in WWI – some battle weary, mostly bored, dirty, tired and hungry. Their interaction is brilliant & I really enjoyed seeing how this part of the story worked out. I just wish it had been told in a more straightforward manner. The modern story of Solomon is lighter & has its amusing moments. It is an excellent contrast to the other main thread.

I do wish this book had been easier to follow and not such hard work. I really enjoyed the story just not the way it was written.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

Multiple timelines are woven together in this story - Solomon is a modern day heir hunter, a bit of a loveable rogue and the story flicks back and forth between him unraveling a mystery and a group of soldiers at the very end of World War I.
The story got confusing at times with all of the different characters, some of whom appear in more than one timeline. That being said I found it interesting to read a different perspective on WWI and life as a soldier.
A recommended read but it takes some concentration to keep all of the storylines of each of the characters straight.

I thoroughly enjoyed this dual timeframe detective story. The ‘detective’, Solomon Farthing, is in fact a professional heir hunter, “a pursuer of all that remained when someone died without a will” who digs deep into the lives of the deceased to trace relatives who might be in a position to inherit (and take a healthy commission for himself in the process). Solomon is a very interesting and likeable character. A bit of a loveable rogue, shambolic and scruffy and with no qualms about venturing onto the wrong side of the law in order to get results, often with the blessing of the local police who turn a blind eye to his shady tactics when it suits their own purposes.

I mentioned that this is a dual timeframe novel, but in fact there are multiple timeframes throughout the book. Solomon lives in 21st century Edinburgh, a city still digesting the result of the 2016 Brexit referendum. His investigations into the legacy of a man who died in a care home, apparently with no family left to claim him, take him back to late 1918 when his own grandfather, Captain Godfrey Farthing, was leading a disparate band of soldiers into the final days of the war. As the men await their orders to go over the top, their frustration and sense of hopelessness erupt into violent actions which will haunt the survivors throughout the rest of the century. (That’s where the multiple timeframes come in – throughout the book we meet up with the surviving soldiers as they rebuild their lives and try to bury the secrets of the past.) Although for the most part the wartime scenes aren’t set in the bloody heat of battle, they are just as poignant in their description of the lasting effects the war left on these men’s lives.

Solomon is an intriguing character who reminded me in many ways of Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie. I’d love it if this was just the first in a series of adventures for him and indeed there are hints at the end of the book about a new investigation for Solomon of an equally personal nature. I’ve done a bit of digging of my own about Mary Paulson-Ellis and realised that her previous book, The Other Mrs Walker (which I have on my Kindle but haven’t read yet), features a minor character from this one - Margaret Penny from the local Council’s Office for Lost Souls whose work is similar to Solomon’s in that she tracks down down the families of people who have died alone. I plan to read it soon, and wonder whether Solomon will make a guest appearance?

Solomon Farthing is an heir hunter, searching for the relatives of an elderly man who died with a small fortune on him. Solomon’s investigations take him into the past, his own past and that of the deceased. This was a little difficult to get into initially, and a bit confusing and slow moving, but as you keep reading it just gets better and better. The descriptions of life in the trenches during WW1 are so well written, the desperate circumstances that the men found themselves in, the things they did to distract themselves from their situation and the small objects which became treasures when you are placed in a sea of freezing mud with no way out. Heartbreaking! I found the sections of the book describing the First World War really gritty and truly horrifying, and it was these sections I enjoyed the most. .

An enjoyable read, if a little confusing in places. I'm a big fan of heir hunters and love unraveling the mysteries of finding people and their stories. I loved reading about the war and the soldiers' experiences and how decisions and objects held at that time can make a difference down through the years. 3/5*

This is an interesting book but you definitely have to keep your wits about you - cannot be classified as light reading! The narrative moves between different locations and dates many times, which can be confusing. The things that stand out are the grittiness of Edinburgh and the futility of the first World War.

A total page-turner. Set between modern day Edinburgh and the war-ravaged France of 1918, this is a brilliantly crafted tale of mystery, camaraderie, mortality, history and conflict - both on the battlefield and within the lives of ordinary men. It is engrossing and, at times, intensely moving - a wonderful book, and not just for lovers of historical lit.

I have always been fascinated by the idea of inheritance hunters - people who search for the rightful beneficiaries of unclaimed legacies. Solomon Farthing is one of these - an "heir hunter". By turns comic and moving this is an impressive and unputdownable book.

Solomon Farthing - what a wonderful name for the leading character in a novel! Solomon earns his living as an "heir hunter" who, when successful gets a percentage from the inheritor. Clearly this, as the story reveals, providesis very erratic income terms and so Solomon lives in a somewhat bleak world fighting of the debts he inevitably incurs. This particular inheritance hunt starts with Solomon breaking in to an Edinburgh house, owned by the deceased, in an effort to steal a march on his rivals. This goes comically wrong. However, fortunately Solomon has friends by whom he is owed favours and so he is soon off and "hunting". Mary Poulson-Ellis now deftly interweaves the wartime background of the deceased and his family with the present day and, indeed, the family history of Solomon himself. Will Solomon, in this instance, find himself the inheritor and all his problems solved. Maybe? He certainly discovers out a backstory full of the unexpected which yields him peace of mind and real satisfaction. Fluently written and cleverly constructed this is a genuinely intriguing read which contains humour, sadness and touching humanity in equal measure. Highly recommended.

An exceptionally well crafted mystery that moves between the last days of the First World War and modern day Edinburgh, The Inheritance of Solomon Farthing by Mary Paulson-Ellis is a densely layered story that slowly unfurls and reveals the tragedy at its heart.
The titular character, Solomon Farthing is a down on his heels professional Heir Hunter, a man who makes his living tracking down lost family members of those believed to have died without an heir, in exchange for a percentage of the inheritance. When a large sum of cash is found sewn into the lining of an elderly man's burial suit, the hunt is on, and this hunt will take Solomon back almost a hundred years to an abandoned farmhouse in France, in the last weeks of the so called "Great " War where a group of men are waiting for their orders and passing the time by gambling away what little treasures they possess. As Solomon chases down various leads he finds a more personal connection to the case than he ever expected.
The author has a great skill in bringing the settings of her story to life on the page, be it the hustle of Edinburgh or the sleepy French countryside, and her characters are all well crafted. I found the sections of the story set in the past particularly emotional, seeing the scars of what the men , some no more than boys had already been through, their acceptance of their fate, and their simple hopes and dreams for the future. There is a real eloquence in the way she tells their story that makes it incredibly moving. The pacing is definitely a little on the slower side, especially in the first part of the book, but I think that is necessary to set up the rest of the story , and once the story starts to unravel it is gripping. While the character of Solomon is not exactly likeable , there is still something appealing about him, and his hunt for the truth.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

This is a really good book executing dual timeline perfectly. The idea is also very interesting and well written. It's set in present day, but we go back to the times of First World War as well.
It looks at the actions of a man against his soldiers and their families, and the consequences of those after 100 years.
If you like historical stories, dual timelines, literary fiction, I'd recommend this one.

Thanks a lot to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Heir Hunter Solomon Farthing is in his sixties and having a very hard time. His family came from money which is all gone and Solomon's gambling debts are mounting, when he gets a heads up about a recently deceased Male with no apparent heirs to his fifty thousand pound fortune he is straight on the case with only a pawn ticket from his grandfather's old shop found on the dead man,Solomon is going to have to use all abilities and favours to figure this one out.
Little did he know that it would take him back to 1918 to a group of men waiting in a farmhouse in France just weeks before the armistice.

I enjoyed this and would definitely read again to get the maximum enjoyment. Set in the present day, but also spans the time from the first world war, it deals with the way a man copes with his duty to his soldiers and their families and the repercussions of his actions 100 years later. A story of debts owed, debts unpaid and debts outstanding.

A book about war. Not just the Great War and the 2nd World War - and Suez gets a mention - but the war everyday people face everyday. The ups and the downs of life. We follow eleven men through end of the Great War, and interwoven is the life of the grandson of the captain Solomon Farthing

Well written, well woven and moving.

I read a free advance review copy. This review is voluntary, honest and my own view.

Mary Paulson-Ellis writes a historical piece of fiction about a group of soldiers billeted in a abandoned French farmhouse at the cusp of the armistice in 1918, documenting the horrors of the WW1 and the losses, families, links, mementos and legacies of this group that echo through the years to the present in 2016 Edinburgh. Solomon Farthing is an old fashioned heir hunter in the age of the internet, he is desperate and in the gutter, owing debts everywhere, to his aunt who isn't his aunt, and more pressing to the ex-fence Freddy Dodds. He is in a police cell having lost his lucky silver charm, which does not bode well for the future, hoping DCI Franklin will get him out of his current predicament. Franklin wants him to find the next kin of the recently deceased Thomas Methven within 4 days. Methven worked as a clerk at the Edinburgh Assurance Company for all his life, his burial suit has £50 000 stitched into it, and a pawn ticket thrust in his pocket, the only clue to his past.

Solomon embarks on a twisted journey into Methven's past, with Colin Dunlop, another heir hunter working with the better resourced firms utilising computer based searches, snapping at his heels for a slice of the inheritance that Solomon is depending on to lift him from his financial nightmare. What he uncovers are links to his own family history through the years, that reach back to WW1 and a group of soldiers in France, led by Captain Godfrey Farthing, a man determined to protect his soldiers, particularly a new boy recruit, after the unbearable loss of another boy soldier, Beach. He has his work cut out, his second in command, another boy, is a commissioned officer, second Lieutenant Ralph Svensen, has no experience of war, unlike the rest of the group, such as temporary Sergeant Haws, who had previously worked in an abattoir, can longer bear the sight of blood after all the horrors he has seen and experienced. Ralph wants nothing more than to fight on the front, wreaking devastation amongst his own group, engaged in gambling and machinations. Solomon goes on to prove what heir hunters all know and understand, that in the oddest of ways, people turn out to be connected, especially in a city like Edinburgh.

Paulson-Ellis writes eloquently of men and boys in war, their lives and families through the years, mental health, losses, grief, love in all its forms, of secrets and silence, the ever present ghosts, the differing debts of Solomon and Godfrey, and a haunted past resurrected in the present. The cost and horror of war permeates the entire novel, with the author acknowledging the influence and inspiration of Pat Barker's The Ghost Road, with literary references littered throughout such as Wilfred Owen's Dulce et Decorum est and Anthem for Doomed Youth, TS Eliot's The Wasteland, and many others. Excellent read. Many thanks to Pan Macmillan for an ARC.

I enjoyed this story very much. Construction of a Story within a story worked really well moving between past and present. Intriguing mystery. Most satisfying ending which I didn’t see coming. Beautifully told and compassionate without being mawkish or over emotional. I shall now read anything else written by the same author. Thank you #netgalley for a book I may not have come across otherwise. #TheInheritanceOfSolomonFarthing

This is an absorbing and well written book which covers two lines of time - WWI and 2016. Solomon Farthing is an Heir Hunter but one who isn't doing well out of it. We meet him down on his luck until his friend from the police tips him off about a possible fortune which brings him not only to chasing around the country looking for family relatives but also revealing his own family secrets.
The small intimate finds link back to Captain Farthing and his troop of soldiers waiting in a French farm as the final days of the war approach. All the men reveal their own problems and ways of survival but will Captain Farthing be able to hold the remains of his regiment together or will the basic human desire of jealousy and survival cause future fall out?
There is good atmosphere of the seedier parts of Edinburgh and the underbelly of pawn shops over the years alongside the realistic portrayal of life in the final days of the war in France.
Loss, secrets, childhoods disrupted and lives upturned because of the consequences of actions all filter through this novel.
Loved it immensely. Totally drawn in by the characters and felt the burden, distress and sometimes happiness of Solomon himself as he seeks to unravel the whole mystery.

This book confused me.
On one hand there was a modern day mystery to be solved, on the other a war time story. The two tales intertwined in a tangle of threads that needed unraveling.
Unfortunately, the way it was written, jumping between the two stories, just didn’t work for me as it has done in other books. Perhaps there was too little story established before it started jumping around? Perhaps there was just too much that didn’t seem believable/“real” (eg the young boy jumping in the car & the attitude of “keep him for the day, his parents won’t mind”)?
I can’t pinpoint the exact reason, and others will undoubtedly find something that I missed, but I found the book confusing & my overall feeling was frustration.
Disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.