The Will by Rebecca Reid
Genre: General fiction, Mystery
Read: 27th August 2023
Published: 3rd November 2022
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
The Mordaunts aren't like most families . . .
For one, their family home is Roxborough Hall - a magnificent, centuries-old mansion in the Norfolk countryside. For another, the house isn't passed down from parent to child - but rather to the family member deemed most worthy.
Cecily Mordaunt is dead. On the evening of her funeral, her family will gather for dinner and each will be given a letter, revealing who is the next custodian of Roxborough Hall.
The house is a burden, a millstone, a full-time job . . . but they all want it. And some are willing do anything to get it.
MY THOUGHTS:
One family. Eight letters. Who will get what they deserve...?
What a thoroughly entertaining read. Reading about wills and entails was slightly reminiscent of the early "Downton Abbey" days when no one knew who was to take up the reigns as Downton's heir apparent, with the estate being entailed down the line to male heirs. THE WILL is somewhat different in that respect...in a lot of respects, in fact...with the entail being decided by she who now holds the reigns.
The Mordaunt family extended have been summoned. Matriarch Cecily Mordaunt has died. And now the fate of Roxborough Hall on its sprawling Norfolk estate lay with the entail. A letter to each of them explaining why he or she did or not inherit the beautiful historic stately home. This is how it has always been done since the 1600s. A letter is given to all those in line to inherit with the one deemed most worthy to receive it bequeathed the vast estate. So who will it be?
David, the eldest but rather pompous son, and his ghastly second wife Bryony? Or maybe it's the youngest son, aging playboy Grant? It couldn't be Cecily's only daughter Elspeth, who hasn't graced Roxoborough's halls for three decades vowing never to return...could it? Or what about the grandchildren? David's daughters from his first marriage - Lizzie and Willa? Or even Jonty, Grant's adopted son? Who of these are the most deserving? Who wants Roxoborough the most? And who needs it the most? And more importantly, what plans do each of them have for Roxborough should they inherit?
Overseeing everything is Cecily's lifelong companion Violet, who first joined her as a ladies maid on her 21st birthday in the 1958. But what if Cecily left Roxborough to Violet? Surely not? She is, when all is said and done, basically a servant. A servant? Owning Roxborough Hall? The family would be a laughing stock. But who knows with flighty Cecily?
THE WILL is a twisty character-driven whogetsit with a vast array of character hopefuls. Almost everyone has a reason for wanting Roxborough but only one of them will get it. Who will it be?
I quite enjoyed this romp through the Norfolk countryside by way of Roxborough Hall. I did guess one major plot twist involving two of the characters and what a long buried secret meant to them. But the reason everyone has gathered to find out which one of them has been bequeathed Roxborough is the piece-de-resistance in a clever fait accompli delivered by Cecily herself.
A deliciously deviled tale filled to the brim with secrets. I especially love the flashback chapters which might seem a bit random at first but their place within the story comes at exactly the right time. Thoroughly entertaining.
I would like to thank #RebeccaReid, #Netgalley and #RandomHousePenguin for an ARC of #TheWill in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
She graduated from Royal Holloway’s Creative Writing MA in 2015. She is the author of Perfect Liars, Truth Hurts, Two Wrongs and The Power of Rude.
Rebecca lives in North London with her husband.
Social media links:
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