A Testament to Murder

Nine heirs and one billionaire. You know there is going to be trouble. Wherever money accumulates very seldom will you find the heirs amicable. This is one difficult bunch of people -relations and outsiders and all heirs to the particular frame of Malcolm's will.

It seems that Malcolm is actually inviting someone to murder him. One attempted murder, two murders, three incidents which are not murder but almost there puts a lot of tension within one house whose inmates are prohibited from leaving till the inquiries are over. The list of suspects can cover all and Jasper, retired British police living in France is giving a hand to the French authorities in trying to solve these murders.

All the people in the house have a history related to Malcolm - our billionaire. Some are known like his ex wife, his ex partner who stole his wife, his secretary, his nephew, There are some who are unknown and when the story unravels it shows all have grudges and cudgels to take up with Malcolm for slights done to them, injustices shown in the past some of which he is unaware to give him his due.

The ending is most enlightening. Something I did not envisage and even that ending though clear enough, still left you with one doubt clouding your vision at the end as to who was the real culprit here.

A very different take on mystery murder, similar to an Agatha Christie.

Malcolm, an unpleasant and very rich old man, has gathered nine of his equally unpleasant family and associates into a villa and challenged them with his will. What a complicated premise it seems on the surface and clearly it isn't because two of the "heirs" quickly end up dead. Jasper, a retired Scotland Yard detective, is called in to sort things out and find the murderer(S). Things get better once he's on the case. Set in the 1920s, it's more or less a historical cozy. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is a quick (it's short) entertaining read.

A Testament to Murder by Vivan Conroy is the classic mystery set in beautiful French villa where a wealthy dying man has invited his closest family and friends to spend his last days with.
He proposes to write a new will every day with new name in it, and if he dies on that day the person whose name is in the will, will inherit everything.
He has concoted a devious plan and he expects them to fight, argue and even kill for his money.
However his actions will result in a ending that no one sees coming.

Very well written and cleverly plotted, this book has that old fashion feel to it. Not much action but a absorbing psyhological game.
Characters are brilliantly defined, setting is absolutely gorgeous and even a scorching summer sun can't warm up the evil that lurkes beneath.

Malcolm Bryce-Rutherford is a miserable, cruel misanthrope in possession of a great fortune and the Villa Calypso on the French Riviera. But none of his extended family and associates fares much better: his ne’er-do-well, drunken nephew Hugh with ridiculous artistic pretensions, Hugh’s shallow gold-digger American bride; Malcolm’s greedy ex-wife Cecily, who has remarried with Malcolm’s business partner and borne a possibly sociopathic son; Malcolm’s long-suffering but overbearing former secretary, spinster Theodora Cummings, and a pretty, too-good-to- be-true British nurse, Anna Case. These people are pitted against one another when Uncle Malcolm reveals that he’s terminally ill and that he will leave his vast fortune to a different legatee each day. If he happens to die on that day, the inheritor gets the lot; if not, a new beneficiary will be named at midnight. An invitation to murder? You bet!

Although the novel begins just a tad too slowly, once retired Scotland Yard police superintendent Jasper comes on the scene, I couldn’t put it down. Although newly written, author Vivian Conroy captures the flavor of Golden Age cozy mysteries with a dash (very small) of Patricia Highsmith. Not very many of the characters are what they seem. It would be too easy to reveal too much and spoil Conroy’s novel, so I will leave it at that. I really look forward to the future adventures of retired Superintendent Jasper.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Canelo in exchange for an honest review.

I haven't read an Agatha Christie book, but this book is pretty much what I imagine them to be. The premise was certainly very interesting. All these different people gather in a villa, trying to kill each other so they can inherit money and fortune. It was filled with murder and mystery, and it managed to keep me entertained throughout the whole story.

There were too many characters, though. Names were just being thrown out and I didn't know who was who. Ultimately, A Testament to Murder was an entertaining and quick read, just not my cup of tea.

This is another book featuring Scotland Yard Inspector Jasper. This time he finds himself in a situation reminiscent of And Then There Were None. Set in the 1920's in a glamorous villa, a group of individuals have been brought together in a mysterious environment where it doesn't take long for a murder to occur. And then we're off and running! Written in the style of Agatha Christie, this is very well plotted and keeps you guessing about motives, victims and whether or not Jasper can figure things out in time. I will say, there are mostly very unlikeable characters in this story but they all fit into the story nicely and you aren't sad when one of them becomes a victim!
Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy to read for review.

A retired Scotland Yard detective is invited to an estate in the French Riviera to investigate 2 murders where a Billionaire who is dying is playing a game, with friends, family and frenemies. He plans to change the sole heir of his will every night at midnight. The catch no one knows on any given day who is named the heir. Uncle Malcolm is playing a rather twisted game with deadly consequences. None of the characters are particularly likeable. Clearly has the Agatha Christie style and I did enjoy the mystery. Worth the read.