This is a new and welcome author for me. The privileged and wealthy Agarwal family gather to celebrate 40 years of marriage for the parents on the remote Scottish island owned by the eldest daughter. The menacing atmosphere together with the claustrophobic family dynamics set the scene for the twists and turns of the weekend. Told from a multi point of view, the secrets and lies and the extreme manipulation by both parents provide a shocking conclusion. Compelling and dark, I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend.

The Agarwal family have gathered on a private island off the coast of Scotland, to celebrate their parents wedding anniversary, but this family reunion will end in murder.

This is not an author that I am familiar with, and domestic type thrillers don't usually appeal to me. However the blurb hooked me in so I said I'd give it a try. Make no mistake, this is not your typical domestic thriller. It is engaging throughout, and the characters are brilliant, each with a backstory that has secrets to hide.

The story is told from the point of view of two different characters, Myra and Zoe. Myra is the eldest of the Agarwal sibling, and gives a good insight into the family. Zoe is married to one of the Agarwal siblings, and through her we get a great insight from an "outsider". We know from the very beginning that something bad has happened. The story then goes back three days to tell us what happened in the lead up. I had so many theories of what had happened, but none of them were right.

I highly recommend this book, and I'll certainly be checking out more offerings from this author. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ok, set on a Scottish island, a family of rich businessman come together to celebrate their parents wedding anniversary and for business reasons as the company is to be sold. The book is told from 3 points of view, Zoe, the son's wife and an online influencer , Myra the eldest child and the owner of the island and an unknown person who says little. The family is mostly obsessed with money and looking after family interests. They have had their troubles throughout the years and all have their own secrets. I can't say that I particularly cared for any of them. I had been hoping for more description of a Scottish island, but the owner is determined to make it into a luxury resort. The plot is quite twisty and some one does die, not who I expected. The action is mostly in the last couple of chapters.
I did not really engage with the book, characterizations did give some insight into the family members but you have to wait too long to find out their histories which explains why they are in the situation they are in. Rather than drawing out the suspense, I found it reduced the affinity I had with any of the family. I was at the point a couple of times where I didn't want to carry on with the book, but did finish it. Not sure if it is that believable.
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC

This is a fabulous book and the story twists as various voices tell the events.

Zoe is married to Assem, they have been living with his parents in Delhi, it is expected that his father is going to hand over the business to him. There is a family meeting on a Scottish Island that Myra owns, she has helped her father in the past with his business. Aisha is the youngest of Aseem's family, she has arrived with her latest beau, and this shocks the family as they were expecting to discuss family matters.

This book is effectively a clash of characters and personalities. Each has their viewpoint, perspective, expectations and wishes for their future. Their parents, Raj and Shalini have built up a business, they have brought up their children to be respectful and for the most part, have made sure that they are a family unit and there are traditions and customs to follow.

As the family get together it soon becomes apparent that things are frayed around the edges. There is a family secret that plays a huge part in this story and it is one that I am not going to mention as it hovers over the family.

Zoe has married into the family, but she is a Western woman being part of a successful Indian family. She was originally the best friend of Aisha, before getting to know Aseem. Aseem is very respectful of his parents and what they require of him. But why is he the only one of the three siblings who spends all of his time living with and working for his parents? His dreams and those of his wife are on hold.

I really enjoyed getting to know the characters, there are some that you are obviously going to like more than others, but I found by the end of the book, my opinion of some had changed. There is one main secret, but that is not the only one. The author gradually reveals more and more about each of the characters and to a certain extent there are explanations as to what they are.

This is a character-led story and one that had me hooked, it is a crime and mystery but it also has a psychological side to it. Full of mystery and secrets, lots of twists and one that I would happily recommend.

The Inheritance is about family intrigue, with characters who are pretty unlikeable but nevertheless interesting. A wealthy Indian family gather together one weekend on a remote Scottish island to celebrate the wedding anniversary of their parents, Raj and Shalini. Children Aseem, Myra and Aisha are expecting their father to announce his retirement plans and consequently hope to hear news of their inheritance. The story is told from the point of view of Myra, who owns the island, and Zoe, Aseem's wife, who is an outsider. A murder takes place but it's not until much later in the book that it becomes part of the story and this slows down the narrative. Overall I found The Inheritance rather disappointing.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK/Cornerstone for the opportunity to read and review this book.

What I really liked about this book was the way the reader discovered a lot about the Agarwal family before any bodies were found!
Myra, part of the wealthy Agarwal family has invited the family to her Scottish island to celebrate their parents forty years of marriage. The three remaining children are expecting their father to sell his business and distribute the proceeds between his children.
As chapters are written from. The perspective of different family members, so the tension and menace grows.
I found this a gripping read, one very hard to put down.

A remote Scottish island. A wealthy, dysfunctional family. The promise of an inheritance announcement. Trisha Sakhlecha's new novel pieces together the perfect components for a locked room murder mystery thriller, and it delivers a whole lot more.

On the surface, the Agarwals seem like a regular, close-knit family - admittedly, with a little more money than the average. Raj and Shalini are parents to Aseem, Myra and Aisha, and the story is told using two narrators, Myra and Zoe, Aseem's wife.

The story takes place over one long weekend, when the wealthy, globetrotting family have come together, supposedly to celebrate Raj and Shalini's wedding anniversary, but the younger generation are also expecting important news on their father's retirement, his business and inheritance plans.

You'd think the looming retirement and inheritance would be enough to contend with, but there's more dark secrets lurking under the family's glossy exterior. What unfolds over the long weekend, is a character-driven, slow-burn story. The author takes time revealing the layers of these characters as the mystery unfolds.

I have to admit, when I got halfway through the story and no murder had taken place, part of me was feeling a little cheated of my murder mystery. In fact, the murder doesn't occur until relatively near the end of the story and it's wrapped up fairly quickly - but don't worry, there's still a final twist to look forward to.

In fact, this story is much more intelligent than an average murder mystery; it's a complex family drama, with just a little murder and intrigue thrown into the mix. The author tackles themes of grief and past trauma alongside money and influencer fame, and it's all wrapped up in a gripping, complex story.

A remote island off the Scottish coast, cut off from civilisation. A dead body. A rich family gathered to celebrate the 40th Wedding anniversary of the Patriarch and his wife - and the expectation that the family's petrochemical business (@ £300 million) will be soon divided amongst the adult children. We don't know whose the body is, or how it got there and the journey to that end involves learning about the family's past; its inter-relationships, tragedies, secrets, manipulations, hidden financial problems and 'back-stabbings'.
The story unfolds, told from the different viewpoints of the characters - not very likable; greedy and self- absorbed for the most part. Descriptions of the desolate landscape are wonderful and the feeling of claustrophobia is ever-present. The atmosphere and suspicion never leave you and the ending is a surprise but as others have said, with the long build up to it, it does feel a bit rushed.
However all round a very good, suspenseful read. I enjoyed 'meeting' these characters and was reminded of 'Succession' at times - you don't have to like the characters to be massively interested in them!

I liked this 'locked room', or more like 'locked island' mystery. I enjoyed finding out the story from the different characters' point of view and it certainly kept me interested.

The Inheritance by Trisha Sakhlecha

The Agarwals, a rich Indian family have gathered on their daughter's private island in Scotland to celebrate the anniversary of Mama and Papa. There is another reason for the gathering. Papa, Raj is selling his company and dividing up the dividends between his three children.

I liked that each chapter was written in the voice of one of the family members so that the reader reads the story from their point of view as well as gradually revealing each of their back stories.

Family, loyalty, image, social class and manipulation are the main themes of the book. Just how far are all the individual players willing to go to protect their family and their perfectly engineered image and their place in society?

Trisha keeps the suspense up right to the end. Just when you think that you've worked everything out you are proved wrong.

Setting the story on an isolated island which has no internet access and is reached only by boat is a clever way of adding to the claustrophobic atmosphere.

It's always good to read about how the other half live. This priveliged life is not always all it's cracked up to be, though. Money doesn't necessarily buy you happiness!

I really enjoyed this book and would definitely read more of Trish's books. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Penguin Books for a pre release e-copy of the book in return for an honest review.

From the first pages, you know someone's dead- but who? This is the tale of the Agarwal family, a dysfunctional bunch if there ever was one, and what happens on the weekend they spend on a private Scottish island that was meant to celebration and an announcement about the future-the inheritance. Told by Zoe, wife to Aseem. who is an outsider to the clan and her sister-in-law Myra who owns the island, it's got more twists than even veteran thriller readers would expect. Aisha, the younger daughter has brought along her new boyfriend Gabe. Everyone, everyone has a secret and there's a lot of sadness lurking in the background. This is hard to review without spoiler but know that you should not trust anyone or anyone's motives. The atmospherics of the island (I'd love to go mussel-ing) are good especially when Sakhlecha leans into the creepy. The pacing works as do the short chapters and the way the onion is peeled. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A page turner!

The Inheritance was a solid family saga, and the island setting was vivid—I could really picture it. However, the thriller aspect took way too long to get going. For about 75% of the story, it felt like the focus was mainly on building the family dynamic and setting things up. The last 25% was when the action really picked up, and that part was great, but it just took too long to get there.

Thoroughly endjoyed The Inheritance. Set òn a private remote island was atmospheric and menacing. The island is owned by the Myra, the eldest daughter of the wealthy Argawal family. The family are together on the island to celebrate tge parents wedding anniversary. There is an undercurrent throughout the book of secrets that are kept hidden. Not everything is as it seems for this entitled family. As the layers start to peel away from this engrossing read the tension increases. Really good characters, some likeable, some not. Nearing the end of the book I thought I knew how it was going to end. I was completely wrong! This is a new author to me and I look forward to reading more by Trisha Sakhlecha.

I've always enjoyed a locked room mystery. It's always fun to see if you can work out who and how before the end. (I'm really quite bad at this but I enjoy trying).

The Inheritance is set on a fictional Scottisj island where the Agarwal family are meeting to celebrate their parents anniversary. Of course when families get together it always brings simmering tensions to the surface and the Agarwals have more than most.

Unfortunately, for me this was the book's downfall. There were simply too many secrets that were alluded to for the first three quarters of the book and virtually all the action took place in the last 20% of the narrative. The characters are also difficult to like because they all seem quite dodgy. They were certainly all extremely arrogant.

But the final nail in the coffin was the utterly unbelievable and ridiculous conclusion to the book. This is a purely personal opinion but it actually made me laugh. I'm sure I was supposed to be horrified. It wasn't so much the whodunnit that was unbelievable but the aftermath. Again, personal opinion.

In general I thought it was a little repetitious and bit too drawn out. Otherwise, a fair read but not my cup of tea.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Random House for the advance review copy.

This book does not make me want to go a secluded island with my family! Great story telling and the twists and turns kept me guessing while also being quite fearful of what might happen next.

Family can surprise you and this one did that!

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A family go on holiday together to celebrate. What could go wrong? Nothing is as it seems here.

First book I’ve read by @trishasakhlecha and I really enjoyed it.
We meet the Agarwals who are gathering for a family reunion to celebrate their parents anniversary on a private and remote Scottish island.
It’s a dark and twisty thriller. A story of privilege, buried secrets, grief, love, greed, family dynamics and murder.
With short chapters and multiple POV’s it’s easy to follow. The well developed characters are interesting and believable and a brilliant atmospheric setting. Full of mystery and suspense to keep you engrossed.
It’s a fast paced page turner you can’t put down. Definitely recommend this one. It’s well worth a read.
With thanks to #NetGallery #RandomHouseUK @cornerstone for an arc of #TheInheritance in exchange for a honest review.
Book publishes 13 February 2025.

The short prologue gives a sense of what is to come and raises the questions of who has been murdered and who did it? The setting is a remote and secluded Scottish island where a successful and very wealthy business man and his wife have gathered together their three grown up children, Aseem, Myra and Aisha, and their partners. An announcement is expected on changes to the family trust on the forthcoming retirement of the father.

The story is skilfully told through the eyes of Zoe, Aseem’s wife, and Myra, the eldest sister. This alternating perspective provides a good momentum to the story and introduces alternative interpretations of the events and conversations as they unfold. There is a growing sense of unease and tension between the family members as secrets gradually get exposed. There are exciting plot twists through to the end. Once started this was a very hard book to put down.

A very slow book.
A dysfunctional family meet up on a small Scottish island the eldest daughter and separated husband bought, they are celebrating the parents 40th anniversary and waiting for the father to announce his retirement and they all get billions to share, lots of arguments and lots of secrets but nothing to keep you interested and no interesting characters, but a good twist at the end.
The cake making was confusing as they first did royal icing then rolled fondant then made the cake only to cover it in butter icing!!! Totally unnecessary chapter
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC and give my honest review.

I didn't love this, but I did like it, sure. I wasn't on the edge of my seat as I sometimes am with thrillers. But I really enjoyed the this strange family who all seem to be harbouring secrets from each other...Not quite my cup of tea but happily recommend to those who enjoy an isolated island slow burn (excuse the pun)