Inheritance

by Allie Ray

Lars Gustafson has one job to do. The mortician hired him for his size---not his brain, and certainly not his English---and Lars carries the bodies. Young and old; big and small; drowned, pneumatic---and murdered. When wealthy farmer Harold Eklund is found shot---and frozen---on his dining table, the small, windswept town of Osceola, Nebraska is consumed by the mystery---and Lars more than anyone. Harold and his family fascinate Lars, and despite his usual reticence, he seeks ways to get closer to them--- Especially Harold's daughters, Rachel and Mildred. Pulled further and further into the Eklund family's secrets, Lars begins to unwind the mystery of Harold's murder---and the strange part Lars himself played in the man's demise. Fifteen years of pain and lies, jealousy and scandal, have festered like a corpse. From covering a lurid crime in 1915, to ruthless land buyouts in the Twenties, to the devastating secret Rachel has hidden her entire marriage---Harold's choices have destroyed himself, his family, and even his murderer. Lars must now choose between burying a tragic truth, and shattering the fragile remains of Rachel and Mildred's family.

437 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 18, 2020

About the author

Allie Ray is an author, educator and librarian from the little rural town of Osceola, Nebraska. She earned her BA in English from Concordia University — Seward, Nebraska, with minors in creative writing and theater arts. She is the author of HOLLER, INHERITANCE, SUFFERING FOOLS, CHILDREN OF PROMISE, and two one-act plays. She currently lives in her hometown with her daughters.

Reviews

[Allie Ray McIntyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

One Saturday afternoon when I was in high school, Bill--the man who owned the Monson Block at the time--took my mom and sister and I up to the old opera house. My mother operated a bakery out of part of the block. The original stairway to the opera house was closed off, so we had to go down into the basement to reach a back staircase to the opera. In the darkness, we passed a little enclave with a board on a pulley; “This used to be the morgue,” Bill said. “They would lower the bodies on that thing right there.” That’s how INHERITANCE got its start, though it wouldn’t fully come together for another ten or eleven years. But it did—slowly—and with a lot of help from Osceola’s Centennial Book published in 1972.

Of all my books, INHERITANCE is closest to my heart. Set in my hometown of Osceola, Nebraska--a location otherwise only mentioned, briefly, in a couple Stephen King novels--INHERITANCE blends a classic murder mystery with a sweeping family saga. At its heart, it's a book about the secrets we carry; it's a book about the families we make; it's a book about Osceola.

[Kirk Weikart · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Good -- an interesting and complicated plot. Who killed Harold Eklund? It keeps you guessing most of the book. The reader is exposed to the perspective of the different characters, including the dysfunctional Eklund and Crouse families and especially Swedish undertaker Lars. The characters are all flawed, but it adds to the mystery and charm of the story.

The Bad -- I am not sure there is much of a market for small town Nebraska murder mysteries in the 1920s.

The Ugly -- too many curse words; the flaws in the characters were communicated well enough without all the f bombs. Also, several words were interchanged with their homophone counterparts (eg, discrete instead of discreet, breaks instead of brakes).

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a unique book; strange storyline. It's definitely a clever. The characters could use a bit of filling out. I do have to confess that I did not finish it. Not that I was bored, but it got too creepy for me. I'm not into spooky stories but I give the author full credit for a very different kind of book.

[Beth Wienck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading this book centered on my hometown. I could just picture the places mentioned and the story is quite good - kept me guessing the entire time! I do agree there is a lot of swearing in it that could have been left out.

[Randi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing and suspenseful story. A little creepier than I like, but it will keep you guessing until the end.

[Laura Hundley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story, intriguing plot, creepy premise with a protagonist that takes some time to get used to.