The author of our 2017 Scottish Book of the Year, The Other Mrs Walker, Mary Paulson-Ellis captured readers' attention with her skilful blending of past mystery and present lives through the stories held within a collection of everyday objects. Her new novel displays the same attention to detail and character, intertwining the stories of a down-on-his-luck heir hunter with a compelling and moving World War One secret. The result is a novel that keeps readers following the cleverly laid breadcrumbs, discovering a compelling human drama in the process.
Solomon knew that he had one advantage. A pawn ticket belonging to a dead man tucked into his top pocket - the only clue to the truth...
An old soldier dies alone in his Edinburgh nursing home. No known relatives, and no Will to enact. Just a pawn ticket found amongst his belongings, and fifty thousand pounds in used notes sewn into the lining of his burial suit...
Heir Hunter, Solomon Farthing - down on his luck, until, perhaps, now - is tipped off on this unexplained fortune. Armed with only the deceased's name and the crumpled pawn ticket, he must find the dead man's closest living relative if he is to get a cut of this much-needed cash.
But in trawling through the deceased's family tree, Solomon uncovers a mystery that goes back to 1918 and a group of eleven soldiers abandoned in a farmhouse billet in France in the weeks leading up to the armistice.
Set between contemporary Edinburgh and the final brutal days of the First World War as the soldiers await their orders, The Inheritance of Solomon Farthing shows us how the debts of the present can never be settled unless those of the past have been paid first...
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 9781447293941
Number of pages: 528
Weight: 672 g
Dimensions: 225 x 148 x 48 mm
A profound and moving book - Woman's Weekly
The characterisation is great and the atmosphere powerful. The bored and fractious platoon is wonderfully evoked. - Daily Mail
Skilful juggling of the twin timelines in this engaging mystery reveals a darkness at its core - Sunday Times Crime Club
Riveting . . . A deftly woven, moving plot - Woman & Home
Richly enjoyable. Paulson-Ellis writes with verve and vividness, also with sympathy. - The Scotsman
The “Other Mrs Walker” was an instant best seller and we were wondering if she was able to capture our hearts again with her second novel. Well the answer is definitely yes, it is equally good if not better.
Solomon...
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Solomon Farthing, an heir hunter down to his last few pennies, jumps on the chance to score off the back of an old soldier's death, quite literally, as the deceased has been buried with a cash-lined suit. But the... More
Wow! Yes, this is a wow book and I'm pretty sure it has just marched onto my favourite books of the year list.
I'm finding that books set during the First World War are really capturing my attention these...
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