A Question of Inheritance

A Very English Mystery, Book 2

By: Elizabeth Edmondson

Narrated by: Michael Page

December 1953

Hugo Hawksworth is on the tail of rogue Cold War agents at a top-secret government facility, while back home at Selchester Castle they're awaiting the arrival of the new earl - an American, the long-lost son of the murdered Lord Selchester.

The town of Selchester, rich in scandal and gossip, is unsure what to make of the earl or his teenage daughters, but they know that his sharp-tongued half-sister, Lady Sonia, furious at being deprived of her inheritance, won't be a merry guest over Christmas.

The new Lord Selchester can cope with the strangeness of English country life, but he hadn't expected stolen paintings - or a body in the hothouse.

What's the link between Hugo's investigations and the suspicious goings-on in the town and at the castle? And will he and his allies get to the heart of the mystery before the murderer gets to them?

©2015 Elizabeth Edmondson (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, Inc. All rights reserved.

I really like the series. fifteen words and I have

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Question of Americans

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Question of Inheritance?

Although it's not a very important scene, romantic, or witty, the scene when Gus fixes the fuses stays with me. Elizabeth Edmondson weaves a nice web of a detective story, giving us just enough clues and spacing them just so that we may or may not see them for clues. I like her writing and enjoyed "A Man of Some Repute" and this sequel. The scene of fixing the wiring is just confusing. I get it that Ms Edmondson is British and therefore has that slant on her writing, but she wrote the American Gus to be, well if not British, definitely not an American. His word choice and sentence structure is all off. The daughters have less of a role in the stories, so it was easier to disregard their strange (for Americans) lexicon, but Gus had a larger role and so he was harder to reconcile. The wiring scene took the cake. It didn't make any sense that Gus would know how to do electrical work, when so much of the emphasis of his character background was his academia. Then, to add that he would recognize and have practical knowledge and experience with the British writing convention? To automatically call the third wire "the earth" rather than "ground" after only being in the UK for a few days?Augh! As an aside, it also irritated me that Gus referred to Hugo's leg as "lame", which is a word that an American wouldn't have used, even that generation. Would I have been as sensitive to this if Gus had been from somewhere else? Canada, generically? Maybe not. A specific place in Canada, say Guelph or Toronto? Probably. If he had come from France or another country where it would have been reasonable that he and the daughters would have learned some sort of British English as a second language? Most likely not, and then I probably wouldn't have even noticed. Reader, please don't let this dissuade you from reading/listening to the book. The story is engaging and even if you figure out who-done-it before the end, you are still guessing for several chapters on the question of why. While it's helpful to have read "A Man of Some Repute" first, you can probably catch on well without it. Hopefully there is a third book, and Ms. Edmondson will keep Gus and his daughters in it, but maybe pay a closer attention to how genuine the dialogue would be, with their backgrounds and experiences.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Michael Page is one of the GREAT readers, and so my three stars is not really comparing him to others readers, but to other performances of his own. He's the perfect voice for "A Man of Some Repute" and continued the voices and pacing with "A Question of Inheritance." Unfortunately, there are three distinct American characters in this story and Mr Page didn't seem to settle on how how to portray them, or how to make a convincing American accent, let alone three. Elizabeth Edmondson didn't do him any favors, having the father, ,Gus, grow up in Virginia, but the daughters in the Boston area -- separate and distinct accents, particularly in the mid-20th century. Okay, maybe with his background in academia, Gus would try to shed his Virginia accent for a more generic, All-American one, but not a British one especially if he was raising his daughters in Boston.

All the same, if there is a third book, I hope that Mr. Page will be the narrator, but maybe hone up on some generically mid-century American and Boston accents if Gus and the daughters are in it.

Engaging and suspenseful without sex or gore!

I love to listen to stories that are interesting and engaging without the use of sex and violence to "help" keep the reader's/listener's interest. I'm sad that there are only 3 books in the series due to the author's death. Michael Page does an excellent job as always. His ability to create female voices without making them a caricature is truly enjoyable.

Entertaining cozy mystery

If you like light British mystery you will probably enjoy this one. It's not the very best of the genre but I thought it was very good. Occasionally the voices of the different characters were not easy to distinguish but the author almost always identified the speaker anyway. Overall this was definitely good entertainment.

Very English Mysteries

Would you listen to A Question of Inheritance again? Why?

Yes. The reader is excellent. I can hardly keep my brain wrapped around that one man is doing all the characters - even the children.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Question of Inheritance?

I liked it when all the various thread finally came together in a coherent way.

Which character – as performed by Michael Page – was your favorite?

I love them all. He does an amazing job.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I don't watch TV or movies so I can't imagine.

Any additional comments?

I would like to recommend this series to everyone who enjoys an English who done it. It won't disappoint. The only regret I have is that it will be awhile before the next book in the series comes out.

Really enjoyed the series, so sad it's over

What made the experience of listening to A Question of Inheritance the most enjoyable?

I came back to see if a new book in series was released and after some google search, found out that the author had passed away after a short battle with cancer.

So very sad to hear. I enjoyed this series very much. Rest in Peace, Elisabeth. Thank you fo your books.

Thoroughly Delightful!

Satisfying, entertaining and thoroughly delightful. I am loving the characters and the mysteries. Please continue writing more books for this series.

Good sequel to A Man of Some Repute

I enjoyed this so much, I didn’t want it to end, so I listened to it all over again.

Great Read/Listen

This is the perfect book to listen to and unwind at the end of the day.

A wonderful historical mystery

I am truly enjoying the writing of Elizabeth Edmondson. I had never heard of her until someone suggested her in a British book club I belong to on Facebook. This is my third novel in a row. The stories are well written, historical, and the mysteries intricate.