The Inheritance

by Richard Whitten Barnes

In the early summer of 2021, two graves are discovered in the woods of beautiful St. Joseph Island, just a kilometer or two from Ontario Provincial Police Detective Andy Blake’s home. Forensics and police records fail to identify the elderly woman and younger man.

The story begins back in 2007, two years before Andy joined the Sault Ste. Marie OPP. Her partner was brand new then, handling his first case, a prominent widow abducted from her elegant home in the city.

After months of effort, Arnold Terry is unable to name a suspect in her presumed murder. Against regulations to the contrary, he fails to close the file, keeping it among his personal effects.

Fourteen years later, Terry is unaware of the graves until Andy describes the estimated age and description of the exhumed bodies. Only then do Andy and Terry tie the two cases together. But Andy is stumped by the same issues Terry faced back in 2007; the prime suspect had an airtight alibi.

Solving the mystery comes from an unexpected Andy’s son Tim and his lovely young bride. The fallout from the events results in life-changing consequences for Andy and her ultimate love, Grant Stacey.

226 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 1, 2022

About the author

Richard Whitten Barnes was born in Minnesota but grew up on the north side of Chicago. A music scholarship took him to Michigan State University, where he majored in chemistry. He is now retired from a long career in international chemical sales and marketing, which has taken him worldwide. Barnes is a U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division veteran and an avid sailor. He lives in Charlotte MC., but spends summers with his wife Marg and cat Maggie at their cottage on St. Joseph Island, Ontario.

Reviews

[Marshall Sparberg, · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Inheritance is probably the last of the Andy Blake series by this prolific author. It involves unsolved mysterious deaths plus personal events in Andy's life. It is complex with an unusual final resolution.