Synopsis -
1806: Astrid Poole sits in her bridal clothes, overwhelmed with happiness. But before her marriage can be consummated, she is murdered, and the circle of gold torn from her finger. Her last words are a promise to Collin never to leave him…
Graphic designer Sonya MacTavish is stunned to learn that her late father had a twin he never knew about―and that her newly discovered uncle, Collin Poole, has left her almost everything he owned, including a majestic Victorian house on the Maine coast, which the will stipulates she must live in for at least three years. Her engagement recently broken, she sets off to find out why the boys were separated at birth―and why it was all kept secret until a genealogy website brought it to light.
Trey, the young lawyer who greets her at the sprawling clifftop manor, notes Sonya’s unease―and acknowledges that yes, the place is haunted…but just a little. Sure enough, Sonya finds objects moved and music playing out of nowhere. She sees a painting by her father inexplicably hanging in her deceased uncle’s office, and a portrait of a woman named Astrid, whom the lawyer refers to as “the first lost bride.” It’s becoming clear that Sonya has inherited far more than a house. She has inherited a centuries-old curse, and a puzzle to be solved if there is any hope of breaking it…
Review -
I have heard of Nora Roberts but can't remember if I read any of her books before. This one looked interesting, but I honestly didn't notice it was a trilogy until the book ended and the story was left on a cliff-hanger. I get it, but honestly prefer trilogies to each have a sequential separate story in case I can't get to the next book right away. Despite that, I really enjoyed this book.
I felt the plot offered an original take the idea of the past affecting the future. It begins with the death of a bride in the paste, then lands firmly in the future with a descendent - Graphic Designer Sonya MacTavish. Unknown to her, she has family she didn't now about, and one of them bequeaths her a beautiful Victorian mansion as well as a trust to pay for the upkeep. She can work anywhere through the internet, so packs her bags and heads off the Maine.
She learns quickly that there is a downside - the mansion is haunted. Most are benevolent, but one spirit has evil intentions. There is also a mystery. One bride from each generation dies on her wedding day - a familial curse that began oh so long ago. Sonya juggles the move, the house, building her own business, a budding romance, and discovering the meaning of all the dark dreams that visit her most nights. Can she figure out how to remove the curse, and can she find love again?
Inheritance is full of twists and turns, romance and betrayal, and great storytelling. I binge read it. Hope I can get to book 2 before too long.
Meet the Author -
She worked briefly as a legal secretary. “I could type fast but couldn’t spell, I was the worst legal secretary ever,” she says now. After her sons were born she stayed home and tried every craft that came along. A blizzard in February 1979 forced her hand to try another creative outlet. She was snowed in with a three and six year old with no kindergarten respite in sight and a dwindling supply of chocolate.
Born into a family of readers, Nora had never known a time that she wasn’t reading or making up stories. During the now-famous blizzard, she pulled out a pencil and notebook and began to write down one of those stories. It was there that a career was born. Several manuscripts and rejections later, her first book, Irish Thoroughbred, was published by Silhouette in 1981.
Nora met her second husband, Bruce Wilder, when she hired him to build bookshelves. They were married in July 1985. Since that time, they’ve expanded their home, traveled the world and opened a bookstore together.
Through the years, Nora has always been surrounded by men. Not only was she the youngest in her family, but she was also the only girl. She has raised two sons. Having spent her life surrounded by men, Ms. Roberts has a fairly good view of the workings of the male mind, which is a constant delight to her readers. It was, she’s been quoted as saying, a choice between figuring men out or running away screaming.
Nora is a member of several writers groups and has won countless awards from her colleagues and the publishing industry. Recently The New Yorker called her “America’s favorite novelist.”
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