The Belting Inheritance

A gripping yarn from Julian Symons. I love stories that centre around possible intruders or impostors trying to wheedle their way into large country houses and the story revolving around trying to prove or disprove the person being genuine. Symons had a very dry sense of humour and it was just up my......more

Another cracking British Library Crime novel! Gothic country houses, odd families, and the return of a long thought dead heir. Great story telling with wit, charm and atmosphere! Perfect reading material! Oh and a small part about the decline of the great estates popped in there too!......more

It isn’t often I laugh out loud on the first page of a book, still less when it’s a detective story, but I did just that when I began reading The Belting Inheritance by Julian Symons. It’s a slightly unusual read for me, a rerelease of a book first published in 1965, which isn’t exactly the Golden A......more

A woman who bore four sons expects to die soon. Two of the sons were declared dead in the war. The other two live. A man claiming to be her son David shows up. Is he who he states he is? The woman believes he is. The two sons do not. Will the sons be able to prove he's an impostor before she dies--o......more

This is almost like two different books. The first half is a classic British mystery set-up: a family living in an elegant manor home, waiting for the family matriarch to die so they can inherit her fortune, is shocked when a long-thought-dead son appears out of nowhere. Is it really him or an impos......more