INHERITANCE BY NICHOLAS SHAKESPEARE, HARVILL SECKER, $32.95.
Andy Larkham, a 30-something pen-pusher about to be dumped by his fiancée, is rushing to attend the funeral of his favourite schoolteacher.
He’s one of just two mourners. A stranger takes down their names after the service, though it turns out it’s the wrong man’s funeral. Within a week, Andy learns he’s inherited $31 million. He wrestles with his conscience, then starts spending, only to be confronted by the dead man’s only child and true heir, Jeanine.
A book of many strands, at its centre is the mystery of how a successful man can be so disappointed by life that he would play such a strange game with his fortune. Yet it’s also a love story, a vivid portrait of a con-artist and a cautionary tale about the perils of unexpected wealth.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
