His Fatal Legacy

 

This third book in the Alardyce House series ended with a cliffhanger just as the earlier books ended. Now I will have to wait until June for the next one to be published. Grrrr. The series is fantastic. It takes place in Victorian Edinburgh and features the Alardyce family as the main characters. Amy is married to Henry and is the mother of Robert. Robert is the villain. He has beaten, raped and killed several characters and is unable to stop his compulsion for violence. The family don't want him to hang so his crimes are covered up. 

The publisher's summary:

Amy Alardyce's once-perfect life is in tatters. Her eldest son, Robert, has come of age, become the master of his own home, and married his childhood love Jane.  But with maturity has come a terrible legacy, and the dark desires Robert inherited from his evil father Matthew, are fighting to get loose.

Whilst Jane is working hard to get her and Robert accepted into fashionable society, poor women are being hunted on the streets of Edinburgh, and Amy fears her son is to blame.  And once the infamous Inspector Murphy takes up the case, Amy has to face a stark choice - denounce her son as a monster or risk her own safety to protect him from the consequences of his lethal actions.

This series is remarkable. It has captivated me since I read the first two books last month. They all are page turners and His Fatal Legacy is no different. The Edinburgh setting is not prominent. The Victorian era is more of a setting here as the characters fumble under the era's strictures on life.  It is amazing to me that the Alardyce family is more concerned about their reputation than stopping one of their own from beating and raping women.  Every decision they make is centered around maintaining their social standing. Robert is the perfect villain.  We don't know why he kills other than a darkness coming over him before he strikes. It sounds like schizophrenia to me and a diagnosis for Robert in a future novel would be interesting to read about. His dark side was abated for a short while after the birth of his daughter which I did not believe would last. It didn't. Robert is a character that I enjoy hating. He does not like anyone in society, refuses to attend balls or parties with his wife and is generally disagreeable. 

His mother Amy metamorphoses quickly between motherly love and the desire to protect society from her son. While she has tried to help him, ultimately, she will protect him from himself.  I don't think her character, or Henry's, was as strong in this installment of the series as in earlier ones. This novel was primarily about Robert and his wife Jane. The arrival of Inspector Murphy brings suspense to the story because he is never far behind Robert and I thought that he would catch Robert in the act. 

The writing in the novel was suspenseful and with its quick pace is a fast read.  I highly recommend this historical mystery.  5 out of 5 stars.