A remote Scottish island. A wealthy, dysfunctional family. The promise of an inheritance announcement. Trisha Sakhlecha's new novel pieces together the perfect components for a locked room murder mystery thriller, and it delivers a whole lot more.

On the surface, the Agarwals seem like a regular, close-knit family - admittedly, with a little more money than the average. Raj and Shalini are parents to Aseem, Myra and Aisha, and the story is told using two narrators, Myra and Zoe, Aseem's wife.

The story takes place over one long weekend, when the wealthy, globetrotting family have come together, supposedly to celebrate Raj and Shalini's wedding anniversary, but the younger generation are also expecting important news on their father's retirement, his business and inheritance plans.

You'd think the looming retirement and inheritance would be enough to contend with, but there's more dark secrets lurking under the family's glossy exterior. What unfolds over the long weekend, is a character-driven, slow-burn story. The author takes time revealing the layers of these characters as the mystery unfolds.

I have to admit, when I got halfway through the story and no murder had taken place, part of me was feeling a little cheated of my murder mystery. In fact, the murder doesn't occur until relatively near the end of the story and it's wrapped up fairly quickly - but don't worry, there's still a final twist to look forward to.

In fact, this story is much more intelligent than an average murder mystery; it's a complex family drama, with just a little murder and intrigue thrown into the mix. The author tackles themes of grief and past trauma alongside money and influencer fame, and it's all wrapped up in a gripping, complex story.

A remote island off the Scottish coast, cut off from civilisation. A dead body. A rich family gathered to celebrate the 40th Wedding anniversary of the Patriarch and his wife - and the expectation that the family's petrochemical business (@ £300 million) will be soon divided amongst the adult children. We don't know whose the body is, or how it got there and the journey to that end involves learning about the family's past; its inter-relationships, tragedies, secrets, manipulations, hidden financial problems and 'back-stabbings'.
The story unfolds, told from the different viewpoints of the characters - not very likable; greedy and self- absorbed for the most part. Descriptions of the desolate landscape are wonderful and the feeling of claustrophobia is ever-present. The atmosphere and suspicion never leave you and the ending is a surprise but as others have said, with the long build up to it, it does feel a bit rushed.
However all round a very good, suspenseful read. I enjoyed 'meeting' these characters and was reminded of 'Succession' at times - you don't have to like the characters to be massively interested in them!

I liked this 'locked room', or more like 'locked island' mystery. I enjoyed finding out the story from the different characters' point of view and it certainly kept me interested.

The Inheritance by Trisha Sakhlecha

The Agarwals, a rich Indian family have gathered on their daughter's private island in Scotland to celebrate the anniversary of Mama and Papa. There is another reason for the gathering. Papa, Raj is selling his company and dividing up the dividends between his three children.

I liked that each chapter was written in the voice of one of the family members so that the reader reads the story from their point of view as well as gradually revealing each of their back stories.

Family, loyalty, image, social class and manipulation are the main themes of the book. Just how far are all the individual players willing to go to protect their family and their perfectly engineered image and their place in society?

Trisha keeps the suspense up right to the end. Just when you think that you've worked everything out you are proved wrong.

Setting the story on an isolated island which has no internet access and is reached only by boat is a clever way of adding to the claustrophobic atmosphere.

It's always good to read about how the other half live. This priveliged life is not always all it's cracked up to be, though. Money doesn't necessarily buy you happiness!

I really enjoyed this book and would definitely read more of Trish's books. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Penguin Books for a pre release e-copy of the book in return for an honest review.

From the first pages, you know someone's dead- but who? This is the tale of the Agarwal family, a dysfunctional bunch if there ever was one, and what happens on the weekend they spend on a private Scottish island that was meant to celebration and an announcement about the future-the inheritance. Told by Zoe, wife to Aseem. who is an outsider to the clan and her sister-in-law Myra who owns the island, it's got more twists than even veteran thriller readers would expect. Aisha, the younger daughter has brought along her new boyfriend Gabe. Everyone, everyone has a secret and there's a lot of sadness lurking in the background. This is hard to review without spoiler but know that you should not trust anyone or anyone's motives. The atmospherics of the island (I'd love to go mussel-ing) are good especially when Sakhlecha leans into the creepy. The pacing works as do the short chapters and the way the onion is peeled. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A page turner!

The Inheritance was a solid family saga, and the island setting was vivid—I could really picture it. However, the thriller aspect took way too long to get going. For about 75% of the story, it felt like the focus was mainly on building the family dynamic and setting things up. The last 25% was when the action really picked up, and that part was great, but it just took too long to get there.

Thoroughly endjoyed The Inheritance. Set òn a private remote island was atmospheric and menacing. The island is owned by the Myra, the eldest daughter of the wealthy Argawal family. The family are together on the island to celebrate tge parents wedding anniversary. There is an undercurrent throughout the book of secrets that are kept hidden. Not everything is as it seems for this entitled family. As the layers start to peel away from this engrossing read the tension increases. Really good characters, some likeable, some not. Nearing the end of the book I thought I knew how it was going to end. I was completely wrong! This is a new author to me and I look forward to reading more by Trisha Sakhlecha.

I've always enjoyed a locked room mystery. It's always fun to see if you can work out who and how before the end. (I'm really quite bad at this but I enjoy trying).

The Inheritance is set on a fictional Scottisj island where the Agarwal family are meeting to celebrate their parents anniversary. Of course when families get together it always brings simmering tensions to the surface and the Agarwals have more than most.

Unfortunately, for me this was the book's downfall. There were simply too many secrets that were alluded to for the first three quarters of the book and virtually all the action took place in the last 20% of the narrative. The characters are also difficult to like because they all seem quite dodgy. They were certainly all extremely arrogant.

But the final nail in the coffin was the utterly unbelievable and ridiculous conclusion to the book. This is a purely personal opinion but it actually made me laugh. I'm sure I was supposed to be horrified. It wasn't so much the whodunnit that was unbelievable but the aftermath. Again, personal opinion.

In general I thought it was a little repetitious and bit too drawn out. Otherwise, a fair read but not my cup of tea.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Random House for the advance review copy.

This book does not make me want to go a secluded island with my family! Great story telling and the twists and turns kept me guessing while also being quite fearful of what might happen next.

Family can surprise you and this one did that!

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A family go on holiday together to celebrate. What could go wrong? Nothing is as it seems here.

First book I’ve read by @trishasakhlecha and I really enjoyed it.
We meet the Agarwals who are gathering for a family reunion to celebrate their parents anniversary on a private and remote Scottish island.
It’s a dark and twisty thriller. A story of privilege, buried secrets, grief, love, greed, family dynamics and murder.
With short chapters and multiple POV’s it’s easy to follow. The well developed characters are interesting and believable and a brilliant atmospheric setting. Full of mystery and suspense to keep you engrossed.
It’s a fast paced page turner you can’t put down. Definitely recommend this one. It’s well worth a read.
With thanks to #NetGallery #RandomHouseUK @cornerstone for an arc of #TheInheritance in exchange for a honest review.
Book publishes 13 February 2025.

The short prologue gives a sense of what is to come and raises the questions of who has been murdered and who did it? The setting is a remote and secluded Scottish island where a successful and very wealthy business man and his wife have gathered together their three grown up children, Aseem, Myra and Aisha, and their partners. An announcement is expected on changes to the family trust on the forthcoming retirement of the father.

The story is skilfully told through the eyes of Zoe, Aseem’s wife, and Myra, the eldest sister. This alternating perspective provides a good momentum to the story and introduces alternative interpretations of the events and conversations as they unfold. There is a growing sense of unease and tension between the family members as secrets gradually get exposed. There are exciting plot twists through to the end. Once started this was a very hard book to put down.

A very slow book.
A dysfunctional family meet up on a small Scottish island the eldest daughter and separated husband bought, they are celebrating the parents 40th anniversary and waiting for the father to announce his retirement and they all get billions to share, lots of arguments and lots of secrets but nothing to keep you interested and no interesting characters, but a good twist at the end.
The cake making was confusing as they first did royal icing then rolled fondant then made the cake only to cover it in butter icing!!! Totally unnecessary chapter
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC and give my honest review.

I didn't love this, but I did like it, sure. I wasn't on the edge of my seat as I sometimes am with thrillers. But I really enjoyed the this strange family who all seem to be harbouring secrets from each other...Not quite my cup of tea but happily recommend to those who enjoy an isolated island slow burn (excuse the pun)

4.5 stars
Trisha Sakhlecha is a new to me author but when I read the blurb, this sounded right up my street and I was interested to see if I would discover a new favourite author. And I'm so happy to say that I loved this book!
First off, I'm a sucker for a book set on a private island or somewhere that is cut off from the rest of society and this definitely had that, with the entirety of the book set on a private island off the coast of Scotland. This setting did add a lot to the story, however I do think it could have played into the plot a bit more than it did.
As soon as I started this, I was immediately hooked. The writing style really drew me in and the pacing flowed well.
I liked the characters and I was fully invested in them and the story throughout.
I absolutely raced through this one, I didn't want to put it down and when I did I was thinking about it (which is always a sign of a good book!)
This is a book that was packed to the brim with rich people drama and I was HERE for it. And then you add in secrets, mystery and family drama you have me hooked.
This is an author I will definitely read more from, I loved it!

Think of television's "Succession", but Indian style.
Two generations of the wealthy Agarwal family meet up on a s3cluded Scottish island to celebrate the 40th wedding anniversary of Mama and Papa.The majority of the action takes place over a view day's, but with frequent recall of earlier events. Over this period of the celebration, cracks appear in the seemingly close relationships between the parents and their offspring. This is described throughout any through the viewpoint of Maya, the eldest child and her sister in law Zoe.

This book gives gripping insight into family life. It shows how past happenings can have devastating and lasting effects on everyone. Some of these have resulted in grudges that are only now coming to the fore.
Trish Sakhecha has written an inciteful story that may make some readers want to examine relationships, past and present, within their own family. The descriptions of the rugged Scottish scenery re stunningly graphic. Not only that she keeps us guessing right up to the very last page. Recommended.

When Myra's family all come to her Scottish holiday island to celebrate Papa and Mama's wedding anniversary, They appear to be a united family but beneath the surface, cracks are starting. They are all hoping that Papa will retire and sell his business to his rival as they all need the money for their own businesses and lives.
Told by the women, the story unfolds, especially when there seem to be some strange things going on.
This Indian family drama is played out and I liked the insight into the Asian family dynamic. The ends came together at the end.

The wealthy Agarwal family, headed up by Raj and his wife, Shalini, are celebrating their wedding anniversary on a remote Scottish island, with their three children and their partners.

The prologue tells us that someone is dead, but who is the victim and who is the killer? All of the characters are unreliable, self-absorbed, driven by greed and have their own agenda. There are lies, secrets and terrible parenting! I found the pace to slow for my liking and as I didn’t like any of the characters, it was hard to know who to root for! More family drama than thriller.

2 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This book had me invested throughout. With that being said, I do think because majority of this book is building up to the death with only a small part at the end from the death it makes the ending feel a bit rushed. Which kind of took a little bit of enjoyment out of it for me.
There was so much build between the characters. Who dislikes who. Motives that could be possible. But the ending just didn't work for me. I needed a bit more of that part of the story.

What a book. A family, an island, previous history with locals, new relationships. A family gather to celebrate an anniversary on a private island owned by the daughter. A body is mentioned in the prologue but whose and why. Twist and turns throughout, it kept me guessing to the end.