The Inheritance is Trisha Sakhlecha’s third novel although the first of them I have read. It is a slick, psychological thriller set on a remote Scottish Island that is privately owned and accessible only by boat – the helipad not yet built. It bears all the hallmarks of the genre in: length, structure, the building of tension and subsequent reveals. It features a wealthy Indian family, most of whose members are hard to admire but who have always, seemingly, stuck together whether for good intent or more malicious.
The story opens with an unnamed person returning to a house covered in blood. There is mention of a dead body. The rest of the family are assumed to be asleep but two of them witness the return and demand an explanation. Thus the stage is set for a climax that most of the rest of the book will lead up to.
The unfolding tale is narrated from various perspectives. A key character is Zoe, the young wife of Aseem who has run the family business since its founder, his father, suffered a stroke. Zoe is an Instagram influencer who counts success in follower count and comments on her posts. She and Aseem moved to Delhi when her in-laws needed their son to help keep everything afloat. He has been negotiating a sale that would enable the couple to return to London where Zoe has been preparing a luxurious house – away from the pernicious influence of her mother-in-law.
Aseem’s older sister, Myra, has invited the whole family to spend a week on the Scottish island she and her husband purchased – planning to turn it into a luxury resort for the uber wealthy. Their parents want everyone together to celebrate their wedding anniversary, and what they want they usually get. Myra now lives on the island having taken a sabbatical from her successful law practice in Edinburgh to oversee the renovations. She is, however, running out of funds and could lose everything. Like her siblings, she is counting on the sale Aseem has been negotiating to turn her fortunes around.
The third sibling, Aisha, is more of a wildcard although this is mostly indulged. She arrives on the island later than everyone else and brings along unwelcome baggage. As Myra has given her staff and contractors time off while she hosts her family, these characters will be left alone to play out the pretence of a happy and loyal family unit albeit one that cannot entirely hide the many hurts and festering resentments.
The first few hundred pages provide backstories alongside the building of a sense of place. There is rather a lot of ‘after what happened’ and ‘given what they’ve been through’ type attempts at building interest before explanations are provided. The island is clearly large and has an interesting if disturbing history. There is more focus, however, on the renovations – including the cannibalisation of an historic manor house as it is: gutted, outer walls replaced with glass, classic fixtures replaced with modern alternatives and furniture. This is new money appreciating what is opulent rather than apposite and tasteful.
There is an ongoing undercurrent of unease when the family go outside the building. The explanation of this, when revealed, is well done, especially its resolution. From this point the pace picks up and the story now firmly holds reader attention. Characters’ choices become easier to go along with rather than a source of irritation.
The Indian family closeness and mutual expectations do not come across as positive in this depiction. Those who have married in are easier to empathise with being less cowed by the parents. For all their talk about the importance of family and loyalty, these parents are clearly focused of controlling their grown children.
The ending worked given everything that had gone before. Threads are tied neatly and characters have a chance to move forward. That what they did was appalling is somewhat glossed over. They have not been developed to be nice but rather selfish and loyal to each other.
For those who like to read psychological thrillers this book should be enjoyed. It flows well and I noticed no inconsistencies or plot holes. That the main characters were so hard to like may be partly cultural. It need not spoil what is an easy to read and ultimately engaging story.
The Inheritance is published by Century
