Review: THE SILENT INHERITANCE, Joy Dettman

• 
  this edition from my local library
  
• published 2016 by Pan Macmillan Australia
• ISBN 978-1=74354-014-5
• 405 pages

Synopsis (publisher) 

Sarah Carter, mother of twelve-year-old Marni, is raising her daughter alone in a small granny flat in suburban Melbourne. A serial killer, dubbed 'The Freeway Killer', is headline news and when Marni's classmate is abducted from the mall where Sarah and Marni shop, their city no longer feels safe.

Detective Ross Hunter's investigation into the abduction leads him to dead ends - until an unrelated incident sends him to the door of Freddy Adam-Jones, an unscrupulous barrister, who is guarding a secret that could ruin his life.

When an unexpected windfall changes the lives of Sarah and Marni, their sudden wealth opens doors long closed, and threatens to cast light on history better left buried.

What might Sarah's past reveal? What is her connection to Freddy? And can Detective Ross Hunter discover the link in time to save a young girl's life?

My Take

This novel had all the makings of a good 'un but I came away with strong feelings of dissatisfaction. On reflection I've ended up thinking that the author tried to do too much, tried to create too much mystery. It seemed that there were too many plot strands and that they never finally got wound together. At the end I had strong feelings that I had missed something. The story seemed to finish but I had a number of confusions and unanswered questions.

My rating: 3.2

About the author

Joy Dettman was born in country Victoria and spent her early years in towns on either side of the Murray River. She is an award-winning writer of short stories, the complete collection of which, Diamonds in the Mud, was published in 2007, as well as the highly acclaimed novels Mallawindy, Jacaranda Blue, Goose Girl, Yesterday's Dust, The Seventh Day, Henry's Daughter, One Sunday and the bestselling Woody Creek series.