Inherit by Cole Poindexter

A young woman learns that she’s inherited her great aunt’s grand estate after a personal tragedy in Cole Poindexter’s Inherit, a gripping debut thriller about vindictive family members fighting over money and property.

After her mother’s death, the last thing Parker Derrick expects to receive is a letter from her Aunt Amelia Abbott, naming Parker as sole heir of a home in Arkansas. When Parker visits the estate, the remaining staff are exceptionally kind, but then events take a turn for the worse. Another relative, smarmy lawyer Luther Abbott, arrives with his family and attempts to take the house. Cruelties abound as Luther tries his best to frighten Parker away from the property through threats and violence, eventually leading to a dangerous showdown between Aunt Amelia’s remaining kin.

The novel doesn’t contain a huge amount of suspense, as it’s apparent who’s behind the bad luck plaguing Parker and her friends from early on in the novel, but there are surprising revelations about the scope and extent of the manipulation. Poindexter’s real strength lies in his expert character-building, particularly the relatable, complicated relationship between Parker and her estranged father. Readers will be compelled to stick around and see whether father and daughter are able to reconcile, despite the current chaos surrounding their lives.

All told, Inherit is a page-turner less for the mystery and more for the inter-family dynamics, which is where this novel really thrives.