The Inheritance by Michael Phillips

The death of clan patriarch Macgregor Tulloch has thrown the tiny Shetland Islands community of Whales Reef into turmoil. Everyone assumed Tulloch’s heir to be his much-loved grandnephew David. But when no will is discovered, David’s calculating cousin Hardy submits his own claim to the inheritance, an estate that controls most of the island’s land. And Hardy knows a North Sea oil investor who will pay dearly for that control.

Past and present collide in master storyteller Michael Phillips’ dramatic new saga of loss and discovery, of grasping and grace.

(Official synopsis)

There is no denying Michael Phillips is a storyteller. It takes skill to make a character live and breathe and Phillips breathes life into the entire village of Whales Reef and beyond.For those willing to wrestle with the "simplified" local dialect, which can be a little difficult to understand if you're like me a reading into the wee hours of the morning, a wonderfully developed little town with a rich history is waiting to be introduced in The Inheritance. Oh, and I do mean introduced.


Those of you who don't like cliff hangers may want to wait until book 2 is released because very little is resolved in this one. The Inheritance reads like the introduction it is. At times, I even found the book to be too "jumpy" as we were carted off to Whale's Reef and back to Washington to meet more characters and even off on side treks to Pennsylvania for good measure. While a part of me can see the necessity of these character introductions and the importance of the build up (not to mention how they should lessen in book 2) , this jumpy sensation did prove frustrating for the times I wanted to get lost in the world Phillips had crafted.


That said, for people looking for a good novel that takes its time, slowly unraveling the plot (although I was able to guess why we kept jumping over to Loni's storyline), and takes a look at harder subject like faith, community, perceptions, etc . . This is a book that rewards if you're patient and allow the story the time it needs to set it's roots.


Although I was sorely tempted to stop reading in the first 100 pages, I'm now quite curious for Volume 2 in October.


4 out of 5 stars.

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."