An Unwanted Inheritance

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The way each character relates to each other and the people around them from close friends to casual acquaintances tells the reader a great deal. By the close of the story, I knew what I wanted to happen to the money but I could not see how it could come about. Thankfully, I can report without spoilers that Imogen guides this story expertly, to reach an utterly satisfying and clever solution. I also was disappointed with the pace. For me, it lulled about half way through. I felt that the day to day doings of the characters were a bit boring and found I skimmed quite a bit just to get past it. I suppose, my expectations were just too high. Sometimes a beneficiary does not want to receive their inheritance, but how does someone go about this and why would someone refuse to accept a share in an estate?

I loved that, in addition to giving us a twisty, compelling story, Clarke also explores some big questions — about the insidious power of money, about personal integrity and honesty — and challenges us to consider what we might do in similar circumstances. Although this is an intriguing, well-written and enjoyable read, I really didn’t like the characters that much. Ellie is a ridiculous spendthrift, James is a bit pompous. Nathan is in a mess of his own making yet thinks his family should bail him out time and time again and Caroline, well, perhaps she’s just a more virtuous person that me but, crikey, she’s a bit annoying! Legally, there are two ways to refuse an inheritance. You can either disclaim it or create a deed of variation in the Will. But to make sure your wishes are taken into account, declining inheritance must be made in writing, and done within two years of the date of death of the testator. What Clark does well is to describe and develop the characters, and the hidden dislike and resentment between them.Caroline is married to Max, the eldest son. She found the money. Her instincts, and that of her husband, are to keep everything above board. I hope you enjoy the book and it makes you think about where your integrity sits on a scale. I'd also love to hear what you would have done if you had faced the same dilemma as the Frosts. Would you take the money or would you hand it in? I know what I'd have done. The four Bliss siblings have got a loving yet complex bond, however when Dorothy, their mom, dies apparently without any will, this relationship gets put to the test. While these mourning siblings attempt to make sense of this situation, one of them gets caught with a secret: before Dorothy entrusted her favorite daughter with her will and this letter. And she told her to destroy them both. The story explores the siblings’ reasons for wanting the money, looking into their relationships with each other and their father. When their father dies unexpectedly, siblings Max, Ellie and Nathan can’t even contemplate emptying his house—not least because he spent his last decade curating what feels like a museum to his polished public image. So it is Max’s wife, Caroline, who finds the suitcase under a bed… A suitcase stuffed full of an awful lot of cash.

When Cara stumbles upon a stash of old postcards up in the attic, their contents make her question everything that she believed she knew. I don't think [hoarders] want to leave their children with a mess," says Dr. Fugen Neziroglu, a psychologist with the Bio Behavioral Institute in New York. "They don't go through in their minds what's going to happen with the clutter, or what the kids are going to do with it." She suggests raising the topic as part of an intervention that's carried out with love and encouragement rather than anger and blame—and capping it off with a visit to a therapist. But as an expert in the field, Dr. Neziroglu is well aware that's easier said than done. There's no magic bullet or wonder drug for hoarding, and relatives often throw in the towel in frustration. They'd rather "wait it out" and deal with the hoard "when the time comes."Imogen gets inspired to write by asking herself ‘what if?’, and if the answer is an interesting one, then she begins jotting ideas down. Sometimes the ideas just go nowhere. But sometimes they will sit in her head for months or even years at a time before she’s able to work out how they might make a book. An Unwanted Inheritance by Imogen Clark is the story of a family and a suitcase full of money. It examines values of honesty, integrity and honour through - what I felt were - unlikeable characters. An Unwanted Inheritance is a book to enjoy and its premise forces the reader to examine their own values and beliefs. Imogen Clark pens thoughtful contemporary women’s fiction all about the secrets which hide at the heart of the fictional families she creates. However maybe there is a bigger picture after all. When one tragic accident brings even more truths to the surface, Cara’s forced to question all that she believes, and fears, about long term. And these answers aren’t at all obvious. Could she possibly rewrite her family’s history and create a love story of her own? And, I felt that the way the dreadful characters forced the reader to examine their own values and beliefs was also quite clever. I often found myself contemplating what I’d have done in the situations the characters were faced with.

The premise is an immediate attention grabber. Siblings Max, Ellie and Nathan are mourning the sudden death of their father, when Max’s wife Caroline discovers over a quarter of a million pounds in cash hidden in a suitcase at his home. It should be a happy windfall, but as doubts as to the money’s provenance come to light, the family’s loyalties are stretched to breaking point. Ellie, the middle sibling starts off thinking the same, but her husband Jamie discloses information that makes them want the money more. When their father dies unexpectedly, siblings Max, Ellie and Nathan can’t even contemplate emptying his house—not least because he spent his last decade curating what feels like a museum to his polished public image. So it is Max’s wife, Caroline, who finds the suitcase under a bed…A suitcase stuffed full of an awful lot of cash.There's an often misquoted saying about money being the root of all evil...in fact, found in the New Testament (1 Timothy 6:10) it is the love of money that is the root of all evil. Love is the word that gets left out yet love is the key to the problem. I always feel like I literally 'dive into the family' with all of Imogen's books and can easily visualise the scene and characters with ease Max, Ellie and Nathan have suddenly lost their beloved larger than life father. When it falls to Max and his wife Caroline to clear his house out, she finds a suitcase full of money! Another way to deal with an unwanted inheritance is to use a deed of variation to redirect the gift. This alters the will as if the change had been made by the testator before they died. This gives executors and beneficiaries more control of redistribution meaning they can also refuse part of the estate. There is one chapter in this book where I was so immersed in the story that I was actually shouting “NOOOOO” and my heart was hammering!

Each family member has their own option on what they should do with the money ! Max and Caroline , Ellie and her husband James and youngest son Nathan have always been close that’s until the cash discovery which threatens to tear the family apart. The way the money was found could be compared with looking under a stone, revealing character traits and personality differences never seen before. Max, Ellie and Nathan need to decide what to do with this windfall of cash ... whether it is rightfully theirs to keep ... or whether it will indeed be their undoing, the love of money plaguing their lives more than they realised. Each sibling examines their own conscience - if aware they have one - individually and collectively.One finds a stash of cash hidden by the man they thought they knew, and it raises all sorts of dilemmas. It was Anna, of course, their mom turned to for this mission. Miriam, who is the oldest, is much too sensible, while Clare (the middle child) has been too rebellious to rely on and always has been; she also cut herself out of her siblings’ lives a long time ago. Sebastian, the baby of the family, is too sensitive. The tale that she pieces together is unsettling and confusing, and seems to have been patched over with lies. However who can possibly tell her the truth? With her dad sinking deeper into Alzheimer’s and her brother hesitant to help, it appears she will never get her questions answered. One thing is certain, however: somebody knows more than they let on.