This was an enjoyable read and I would recommend it. thanks for letting me have an advance copy. I'm new to this author.

This was such a wonderful read, I read this in England on a cold wet afternoon and I was transported to the French Riviera, A fabulous and gripping read,

Set in the blazing warmth of the Riviera just after the second World War, it brings new life to cold, tired bones and the characters unfurl themselves onto the page. Intriguing and atmospheric, this is a great book to read on a grey English day. Be transported.

Intriguing and beguiling. We travel with our protagonist, Eve, from a grey and bleak London to the glorious, sunny and colourful French Riviera as she pursues a mysterious legacy. Eva suddenly begins to experience glamour and a whole new way and meaning of life. However, things are about to get very deadly indeed......A beautifully written novel with a compulsive mystery at its heart. Very enjoyable.

This was a lovely book to read in a cold North of England January. I could feel the heat and the sun of the Riviera throughout. The story was really good and I couldn’t quite see what the ending was going to be. It was very evocative of the time just after the Second World War when women were expected to obey their husbands and settle back into an oppressive life. For Eve the opportunity to travel to the riviera to find the secret of her inheritance was a great opportunity to break free from her unfulfilling life. She struggled to fit in and her lack of confidence was very well portrayed. Very enjoyable. Will look out for others by Rachel Rhys

‘Fatal Inheritance’ by Rachel Rhys is a mystery set in the South of France three years after the end of World War Two. This is a glamorous place of sun and colours and beauty but which hides wartime shade and recriminations, canker beneath the luxury and smiles.
When Eve Forrester receives a solicitor’s letter promising ‘something to her advantage’, she leaves her husband in England and travels to Cap d’Antibes. Clifford disapproves of her journey, he thinks it inappropriate, a waste of time, doubts the veracity of the will of this mysterious Mr Guy Lester who Eve does not know. But Eve defies her husband and goes anyway, curious, listening to the inner voice which tells her there is more to life. This is a novel where you want to shout to the heroine, to encourage her onwards, to have strength to take a new path.
Eve inherits a part-share in the Villa La Perle at Cap d’Antibes, near neighbours are the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Eve, in her ‘make do and mend’ clothing, is thrown into a glamorous social whirl of people she finds awkward, dismissive and arrogant. Rhys draws a layered picture of society where obvious wealth may hide troubled finances, make up and lipstick covers bruises, and smiles hide venom. It is a place where the locals avoid people and businesses which ‘helped’ the German occupiers, where memories of the war are fresh. In the middle of this, Eve struggles to understand her inheritance while delaying Guy Lester’s family from signing papers to sell the villa. And all the time, Eve wonders what Clifford is doing at home, knowing he disapproves of her being there, knowing he worries about the cost.
An entertaining novel in a beautiful, flawed setting – neatly mirroring the flawed people - not quite suspense, not quite a romance in the conventional sense. Rhys writes about women particularly well, not just Eve but the housekeeper Mrs Finch, actress Gloria Hayes, and fellow tourist Ruth Collett. I liked Eve, disliked her husband, and chuckled when the ‘love interest’ switched between surly to over-attentive. If I have one query, it is the solution to the mystery which comes rather out of left-field and left me feeling a little cheated. The ending, though, is unbelievably poignant. A great beach read.
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So beautifully written I felt as though I was there on the French Riviera. Rhys' writing is flawless and I would pick up one of her books in a heartbeat. Totally recommend. Lose yourself in this book.

England in the dull spring of 1948. Eve Forrester is a bored suburban housewife in south London, married to the fastidious and tedious Clifford – a self-styled company director of a struggling small road-haulage business. The old tried, trusted and rather passé plot device of an unexpected inheritance changes affairs completely. Guy Lester, whom Eve had not known at all, had been a wealthy family man living in the south of France and left her a legacy in his will. She has to travel to Cannes to learn about this mystery bequest, and is delighted to escape a domestic boredom and immerse herself in the scintillating sunshine of the French Riviera, where she learns the nature of the bequest and meets the suspicious and surprised members of the Lester family, who are equally in the dark about the reason for this bequest. It is an inheritance which turns Eve’s world upside-down as she determines to find out more about Guy Lester and his connection to her and uncovers a lifetime of secrets and deception.
The story is fully absorbing, if at times rather melodramatic, and the delineation of the Riviera in the first years after the War, the glamour of the brittle lives of the privileged denizens of society, and the legacy of the German occupation are excellently depicted. Characters are entertaining and vibrantly delineated, if somewhat cliché-laden, wit little subtlety or ambiguity in their definition. Rachel Rhys is a pen name for Tammy Cohen, writer of psychological thrillers.

Something didn't connect for me with this book. Whilst wonderfully written, the story itself i found just a little dull. Don't even get me started on Clifford! What a boring, know-it-all, stick in the mud. I mean his name IS Clifford. haha

Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Enjoyable escapism if you can suspend your disbelief! I adored the glamorous setting and depiction of these wealthy but ultimately miserable people, the plotting was a little slow but I didn't mind that too much as it allowed me to linger in the French Riviera a little longer. A solid beach read.

Another great novel by Rachel Rhys following on her previous novel ('Dangerous Crossing'), which I thoroughly enjoyed. Rhys depicts France beautifully and keeps the tension and suspense going throughout the novel whilst tweaking our curiosity. We are rewarded with a satisfying ending. Highly recommended.

Married in haste, Eve lives a stultifying life in Sutton with her stiff and unemotional husband Clifford. Then a letter arrives in the post saying that Eve has inherited something from someone she doesn't know and must travel to the French Riviera to claim this. Post-War Riviera life is very different to post-War Britain and when Eve discovers she has been left a share in a villa she realises that her life could be so much more.
I enjoyed Rhys' first novel and again I enjoyed this one, but with a few more reservations. The writing about Eve's life in Britain and the contrast with the light of the South of France was terrific. I also quite enjoyed the plot about why Eve had been led the inheritance and the secrets hidden in her life. However I didn't really care for the plot about the stolen Nazi art. It seemed to take quite an enjoyable novel about life changes and emotional trauma and try to make it into a thriller. This plot line wasn't really developed too far and rushed to an ending which spoiled the more psychological / romance for me.

This is a very enjoyable book, rich with period detail and highly evocative of time and place. The plot moves along at a perfect pace and the characters are well-constructed and believable. The author depicts the contrast with post-war England and the decadent French Riviera very effectively. Some of the plot is a little predictable but the novel is not diminished in any way by that and I would thoroughly recommend this book.

Fatal Inheritance is the second standalone novel by Rachel Rhys and the first book I have read.  To be perfectly honest I didn't read her debut book A Dangerous Crossing because Rachel Rhys is the pen name of one of my FAVOURITE psychological thriller authors TAMMY COHEN and was worried that because I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction and the change in genre that I wouldn't enjoy it.  What a silly-billy I am!  So I am now apologising to Tammy/Rachel and will hopefully make up for my lapse in judgement by my review.

Fatal Inheritance is a stunningly, glamorous novel set in a post war French Riviera.  Eve Forrester lives in Sutton with her stuffy, controlling and dull husband Clifford when she receives a letter from a solicitor inviting her to the French Riviera to the reading of a will of a man she has never heard of.  Eager to escape her monotonous and lonely life she decides to travel to Cannes to find out why a wealthy stranger has named her in his will.

Once Eve arrives in Cap d'Antibes she meets the Lesters, a dark and dysfunctional family who instantly resent her presence and intrusion in their lives especially being named in the will with no explanation.  However, Eve sees this as a perfect opportunity to find out more about the mystery benefactor and why she has been left an inheritance.

This cast of characters in this sumptuous drama are absolutely wonderful from Gloria, the Hollywood A Lister; Sully, the American Author and the wonderful Rupert and Ruth Collett.  Even dull Clifford with his waxed moustache was so believable and real that I was transported to the beautiful French Riviera amongst the glitter of the fabulously wealthy families.  It was so descriptive and atmospheric that I was able to "see" the beautiful villas, hear the Mediterranean Sea and smell the fragrances of all the flowers.

If you enjoy atmospheric historical fiction then I would definitely recommend Fatal Inheritance.

Fatal Inheritance is the ideal late summer read. Set in 1948 in the war-scarred but still glamorous French Riviera, it oozes old school class and entertainment. This is definitely a book that should be read cocktail in hand, reclining on a poolside sun lounger or perhaps relaxing on a cosy sofa accompanied by a big glass of wine and a box of chocolates on a rainy afternoon; because, make no mistake, Fatal Inheritance is a luxury novel and an absolute classy treat of the finest order.

There is much to enjoy - a heroine who the modern reader can genuinely like and root for, a colourful cast of heroes and villains who never disappoint, a fabulous period setting and a subtle but intriguing plot which draws you in until you find yourself unable to stop reading. I was genuinely sorry when I reached the end.

Thanks very much to Doubleday, to Rachel Rhys and to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this lovely book.

This is an atmospheric and claustrophobic novel, where Eve Forrester, trapped in a loveless marriage and living a gloomy life is presented with the unexpected. A mysterious inheritance takes her to the French Riviera in 1948. She has been left a share in a beautiful villa, but not everyone is happy to see her. And why has she been left this inheritance by a man she's never heard of?

This is a great holiday read, and I really felt like I was on the Riviera.

Fatal Inheritance is a perfect holiday read. A good old fashioned mystery in the sun, with a splash of post-war danger. The main character, Eve, is endearing as she rediscovers her identity when travelling away from her controlling marriage and cruel, distant mother. Despite the French Riviera also revealing itself to be pretty unwelcoming, her rediscovered strength of character helps her to unfold the mystery surrounding an inheritance. This had a good cosy mystery feel, with a heroine you can really route for and, I felt, perhaps a splash of Pride and Prejudice in there too.

The pink house on the Riviera... 3½ stars

It’s 1948, and Eve Forrester is living a dull, restricted life in London with her staid, passionless husband. Out of the blue, she receives a letter telling her that a man she has never heard of has left her a legacy. To find out more, she’ll have to travel to the French Riviera. Once there, she discovers she’s been left a share in a lovely pink house overlooking the sea. The dead man’s family don’t know why he named her in his will either, and resent her very much. Pushed to agree to an early sale and division of the proceeds, Eve finds herself unwilling to comply until she can find out what’s behind it all...

Naturally, when writing a slow-burn book set in the fairly distant past, Rhys has used the present tense. Well, you would, wouldn’t you? No, nor would I. So, despite the fact that she does it as well as most, Rhys was always going to have to work extra hard to win me over.

To a certain extent she did, though it took a long time to really grab my interest. The first section in Cap d’Antibes is full of lengthy description that goes well beyond scene-setting. The house in particular is described in minute detail, putting me in mind of the kind of brochure that is produced for a house sale. But I was intrigued to discover the reason for the legacy and that kept me reading. I formed a theory fairly early on which proved to be completely wrong, so that’s always a major plus!

This is one of those books that works best if you switch off your credibility filters going in. If it weren’t for fear of spoilers, I could make a list of plot holes and inconsistencies, and little side mysteries that are left entirely unresolved and are completely illogical once the final revelations are disclosed. They add to the suspense during the read but are left hanging at the end. The story too requires quite a lot of suspension of disbelief. Within a week, this ordinary unremarkable woman is consorting with Princes and Hollywood stars, invited to their parties and weddings, and looked on as an intimate friend.

However, if you can buy into it, then it’s all quite fun. The rather faded glamour of post-war life in this playground of the rich and pointless is portrayed very well, with an underlying feeling of the desperation of people trying to party away the recent horrors of war. Rhys also shows the scars left after the Nazi occupation of France, with the lingering divisions between those who collaborated and those who resisted. And, in a time when the social order has been broken and reformed, she shows how it can be hard to know whether people are who they present themselves as, or if they have remade themselves to hide their unacceptable pasts. There’s a romance element which is quite enjoyable too, if a little clichéd, and there’s more action in the second half which speeds the thing along at a better pace than the slow first half.

I’ve struggled to rate this one. I don’t think it’s up to the standard of her earlier novel, A Dangerous Crossing, and I suspect that may be, as so often, down to rushing it out without the kind of firm edit that was really required to tighten up the various plotting weaknesses and unnecessary padding. (No, I’m not blaming the editor – authors have the ultimate responsibility for their own books.) The present tense feels entirely wrong for the story and was a running, if minor, irritation to me throughout. However, once it speeded up a bit, I found myself turning pages quite happily and was certainly interested in discovering how it would all play out. But afterwards, I found myself asking – “but what about...?” And “why didn’t she...?” And “who...?” And that’s never satisfactory. So three and a half stars, rounded up, and a recommendation as an overall enjoyable read but not one to be taken too seriously.

NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Random House Transworld.

Oh what a gloriously sumptuous book Fatal Inheritance by Rachel Rhys is. Set in 1948 it features Eve Forrester, an English woman married to a man she doesn't really love, never mind like, who discovers that she has been left an inheritance by a Guy Lester. The only problem is, she has never heard of Guy Lester and has no idea who he is. She travels to the French Riviera to meet with his solicitor and it is there that she discovers that she has inherited a share in a villa right on the coast. Guy's family is unhappy at the interloper and mistrust her from the get go, assuming she is one of the many women he had affairs with throughout his lifetime. She doesn't know why she has been left the property, or who he is, but she does know that the French Rivieria is unlocking something within her that she didn't know existed.

Set in the post-war era Eva leaves a battered and bruised England still struggling under rationing in her sensible woollen skirt, blouse and thick tights and arrives in glamorous Cannes. A place where novelists and movie stars rub shoulders, art dealers and millionaires do deals over cocktails and where women think nothing of walking around in a bikini. There is a wonderful contrast between the two worlds which Eve inhabits which was stunning to read. The French Riviera is depicted so wonderfully with descriptions of the flowers, the smells and the heat oozing from the pages. It is beautifully written and at one stage a sunset is described in such vividness that I felt I was there,

By now the iny sky is streaked with pink and the water is at first, then rose.

Eve lives a miserable life with her husband, Clifford, who doesn't treat her with love or kindness. In fact she has been starved of affection for most of her life as her mother is a difficult and joyless woman. Between them they have controlled Eve's life in a subtle way. Of course it is wrapped up in concern and devotion but her trip to France makes her realise that "she has always been a passenger in her own life". There is an awakening withon Eve which was wonderful to read as she is such a compelling character who I really connected with. The characterisation and richness of descriptions are wonderful in this book making it an engaging read.

But who is Guy Lester? Why did he leave the property to Eve? Well, if I told you that I would be spoiling the book for this is the mystery at the heart of the novel. Things are revealed to us slowly with hints dropped here and there and then there is a kind of feeling that something isn't quite right. His family is an odd bunch - a widow who is only a few years older than her step-sons and tensions galore between the three of them.  Theirs is a family full of secrets and collusion and it is great fun to unpick their relationship and read the snippy comments that fly at each other.

This is a book with a secret at its core but more than that it is an exploration of women and their value. It is filled with wonderful women who are underestimated, emotionally manipulated and who are victimised. Beauty is used as a barometer of how worthy somebody is with a character at one stage exclaiming, "And I'm afraid that if there's one thing I've learned its that if a woman can't be beautiful, she'd damned well better be rich". I loved reading about these women, their brittleness and their strengths are compelling and characters such as Eve, Ruth and Gloria really made the book for me.

If you like your fiction set in glamorous surroundings with a clever mystery and a strong female led protagonist then this could be the book for you. It is a great Summer read as it is something to really get lost in. I couldn't put this book down and felt a little bereft when I had finished it.

I was excited to read Fatal Inheritance (great title and the cover's beautiful!), as the blurb promised the kind of a story that I usually enjoy and I liked the author's books written under the name of Tammy Cohen. I must admit, I was disappointed. I didn't like the contrived writing style, the characters were cliche and the main mystery rather dull. This one was definitely not for me.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.