Overview

From The Times bestselling author of The Other Mrs Walker - Waterstones Scottish Book of the Year 2017 - comes Mary Paulson-Ellis's second stunning historical mystery, The Inheritance of Solomon Farthing. 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 . . .

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9781447293965

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Reviews

Paulson-Ellis has been compared to Kate Atkinson for her time-shifting debut, a structure which, it has to be said, is handled impressively well here . . . She captures the greyness of an Edinburgh winter superbly well; she portrays the desperation and colourlessness of pre- and post-war London even better . . . One of the strongest debuts of the year -- <i>Glasgow Herald</i> (on <i>The Other Mrs Walker</i>) A wonderful, inventive debut with an intricate and intriguing structure, characters that fascinate and a beady authorial eye for detail. I can't wait to see what this author has up her sleeve next -- Fanny Blake, <i>Daily Mail</i> (on <i>The Other Mrs Walker</i>)

Richly enjoyable. Paulson-Ellis writes with verve and vividness, also with sympathy. * The Scotsman * Riveting . . . A deftly woven, moving plot * Woman & Home * Skilful juggling of the twin timelines in this engaging mystery reveals a darkness at its core * Sunday Times Crime Club * The characterisation is great and the atmosphere powerful. The bored and fractious platoon is wonderfully evoked. * Daily Mail * A profound and moving book * Woman's Weekly *

Author Information

Mary Paulson-Ellis lives in Edinburgh. She has an MLitt in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow and was awarded the inaugural Curtis Brown Prize for Fiction in 2009 and the Maverick Award from the Tom McGrath Trust in 2011. Her critically acclaimed debut, The Other Mrs Walker, reached number three in The Times paperback fiction chart. The Inheritance of Solomon Farthing is her second novel.

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