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Inheritance: Kindred Spirits
Inheritance:Kindred Spirits is book 2 in the Inheritance Trilogy.
Fulfilling the conditions of the Will means a fresh start in Britain for young American Marketing Executive, Josh MacMaddock. Unbeknown to Josh MacMaddock, the mysterious property he has inherited hides a secret.
A series of incidents centred in the chapel of the house leads to the climatic revelation that it is situated on the site of an ancient druidic stone circle, itself an intersection of ley-lines which have been reactivated after centuries of dormancy, by oil-drilling in the near-by Irish Sea
He discovers the mysterious circumstances of his relative’s death: combustion within the henge. Further investigations into his deceased relative reveals his membership of an ancient secret Order ‘that has existed across centuries from druidic times to the present day.
Tormented by flashbacks, Josh senses impending disaster unless he discovers the nature and purpose of the Secret Order. Teaming up with Dr Gwyn Rowlands an ex alcoholic, archaeologist, they attempt to unravel the Order’s purpose, the secret of the house and as other murder attempts fail, the reason why they are on someone’s death list. Hypnotic regression provides evidence of transmigration and clues to the nature of the house.
Extract
The tunnel
Rounding a corner my flashlight picked up writing carved into the rock of the tunnel.
“What’s that?” whispered Bob.
I played the beam across the smoothened rock face and examined the writing. Lichen covered the surface in patches, masking letters and words. I pulled a ten pence coin from my pocket and used the edge to scrape away the green growth, stepped back and shone the flashlight beam over the exposed rock. Bob started reading in a hoarse and hesitant voice.
“Be warned and commaunded ye who so trespasseth here!
Hither lieth a gate of Samhain, to the otherworlde...”
Quotation
The Celtic Druids teach this: “souls are not annihilated, but pass after death from one body to another, and they hold that by this teaching, men are much encouraged to valor, through disregarding fear of death."
Julius Caesar – Dictator & Consul of the Roman Republic (100 BC to 44 BC)
The Trilogy
Inheritance: Who Do You Think You Are? (Book 1)
Inheritance: Kindred Spirits
Inheritance: In Their Bloodied Footsteps
Fulfilling the conditions of the Will means a fresh start in Britain for young American Marketing Executive, Josh MacMaddock. Unbeknown to Josh MacMaddock, the mysterious property he has inherited hides a secret.
A series of incidents centred in the chapel of the house leads to the climatic revelation that it is situated on the site of an ancient druidic stone circle, itself an intersection of ley-lines which have been reactivated after centuries of dormancy, by oil-drilling in the near-by Irish Sea
He discovers the mysterious circumstances of his relative’s death: combustion within the henge. Further investigations into his deceased relative reveals his membership of an ancient secret Order ‘that has existed across centuries from druidic times to the present day.
Tormented by flashbacks, Josh senses impending disaster unless he discovers the nature and purpose of the Secret Order. Teaming up with Dr Gwyn Rowlands an ex alcoholic, archaeologist, they attempt to unravel the Order’s purpose, the secret of the house and as other murder attempts fail, the reason why they are on someone’s death list. Hypnotic regression provides evidence of transmigration and clues to the nature of the house.
Extract
The tunnel
Rounding a corner my flashlight picked up writing carved into the rock of the tunnel.
“What’s that?” whispered Bob.
I played the beam across the smoothened rock face and examined the writing. Lichen covered the surface in patches, masking letters and words. I pulled a ten pence coin from my pocket and used the edge to scrape away the green growth, stepped back and shone the flashlight beam over the exposed rock. Bob started reading in a hoarse and hesitant voice.
“Be warned and commaunded ye who so trespasseth here!
Hither lieth a gate of Samhain, to the otherworlde...”
Quotation
The Celtic Druids teach this: “souls are not annihilated, but pass after death from one body to another, and they hold that by this teaching, men are much encouraged to valor, through disregarding fear of death."
Julius Caesar – Dictator & Consul of the Roman Republic (100 BC to 44 BC)
The Trilogy
Inheritance: Who Do You Think You Are? (Book 1)
Inheritance: Kindred Spirits
Inheritance: In Their Bloodied Footsteps
Unknown Binding
First published February 23, 2013
1 person want to read
About the author
Philip Maxwell
3 books1 followerBorn in the UK and lived in various places including London, North Wales and the North West of England.
Spent several years in Spain living on the Costa del Sol, near Marbella.
I'm married with three grown-up kids at Uni, so now it's just me, my wife and two dogs at home! Actually, that's not true: end of term time and things can get a little hectic.
I attended Lancaster University and left with a degree in politics and a pretty bad lenin style beard. I abandoned the beard when I joined Ford Motor Company but have recently rediscovered my roots!
I have some Welsh ancestry and my interest in all things welsh was rekindled when we moved to Wales as a family. We lived an a very old barn (converted I hasten to add) built in 1639 and originally belonging to a much older manor house dating back to the 12th Century and reputedly owned by the 'Chancellor' of Owain Glyndŵr's principality back in the 1300's. The place was very atmospheric and it certainly got me thinking and provided inspiration for some of work.
Spent several years in Spain living on the Costa del Sol, near Marbella.
I'm married with three grown-up kids at Uni, so now it's just me, my wife and two dogs at home! Actually, that's not true: end of term time and things can get a little hectic.
I attended Lancaster University and left with a degree in politics and a pretty bad lenin style beard. I abandoned the beard when I joined Ford Motor Company but have recently rediscovered my roots!
I have some Welsh ancestry and my interest in all things welsh was rekindled when we moved to Wales as a family. We lived an a very old barn (converted I hasten to add) built in 1639 and originally belonging to a much older manor house dating back to the 12th Century and reputedly owned by the 'Chancellor' of Owain Glyndŵr's principality back in the 1300's. The place was very atmospheric and it certainly got me thinking and provided inspiration for some of work.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 30, 2013
I just finished reading Kindred Spirits the second book of the Inheritance trilogy. The book is an exciting read with a mystery that keeps you interested.
I also reviewed the first book and noted that I didn't much care for Helen, the female lead. I did start to appreciate her a little more in this installment. I was better able to pinpoint my problems with her character as I read through this book. I realized that I couldn't figure out why Josh cared for her. She didn't seem supportive of him, or the intrigue surrounding the events in his life. I understand that she had to be skeptical--but her lack of faith in the person she cares for shaped her as a character that came across as cold and unsympathetic. Having said that though--in Kindred Spirits Helen is forced to accept the supernatural events as real and as a result becomes more supportive, caring and all around more likable. She is still obstinately resist to what is in front of her sometimes, but she is getting better.
The same goes for Bob, the main character's close friend. Again, skepticism is important for authenticity, but if my "friend" was so condescending and dismissive I would be a lot angrier than Josh was.
However, the characters ARE growing and changing and developing throughout the story, and that is important and the sign of engagement and forethought on the part of the writer.
The plot brings in lots of legend, theories and lore concerning history, landmarks, groups and organizations. This works because anyone who is a fan of the unsolved mysteries, and history's mysteries types of shows and readings will enjoy the factual elements that have been brought into the story. With Kindred Spirits the mystery and supernatural facets of the story are really fleshed out. The amount of research and study that the author did becomes obvious as well. I had fun recognizing historical phenomena that I have heard of and read about before through out the novel. I have always enjoyed authors' attempts at explaining their take on events, artifacts and historical mysteries.
The only downside to how many of these historical elements are into the story is that it sometimes feels like too much is going on. The puzzle/mystery, at times, seems to have so many pieces the bigger picture gets distorted and lost. This goes back to my thoughts on the first book and the idea that the Inheritance Series might be better served as a larger more collected novel instead of broken into small pieces. I think this would do more justice to the complexity of the story.
I'm genuinely looking forward to finishing the series and seeing how the mystery unfolds and wraps up. It's not often that I find myself eagerly awaiting the author's resolution as opposed to trying to figure it out myself. But I with the Inheritance Series I am enjoying letter the author tell his story and I am excited to see where it goes.
I also reviewed the first book and noted that I didn't much care for Helen, the female lead. I did start to appreciate her a little more in this installment. I was better able to pinpoint my problems with her character as I read through this book. I realized that I couldn't figure out why Josh cared for her. She didn't seem supportive of him, or the intrigue surrounding the events in his life. I understand that she had to be skeptical--but her lack of faith in the person she cares for shaped her as a character that came across as cold and unsympathetic. Having said that though--in Kindred Spirits Helen is forced to accept the supernatural events as real and as a result becomes more supportive, caring and all around more likable. She is still obstinately resist to what is in front of her sometimes, but she is getting better.
The same goes for Bob, the main character's close friend. Again, skepticism is important for authenticity, but if my "friend" was so condescending and dismissive I would be a lot angrier than Josh was.
However, the characters ARE growing and changing and developing throughout the story, and that is important and the sign of engagement and forethought on the part of the writer.
The plot brings in lots of legend, theories and lore concerning history, landmarks, groups and organizations. This works because anyone who is a fan of the unsolved mysteries, and history's mysteries types of shows and readings will enjoy the factual elements that have been brought into the story. With Kindred Spirits the mystery and supernatural facets of the story are really fleshed out. The amount of research and study that the author did becomes obvious as well. I had fun recognizing historical phenomena that I have heard of and read about before through out the novel. I have always enjoyed authors' attempts at explaining their take on events, artifacts and historical mysteries.
The only downside to how many of these historical elements are into the story is that it sometimes feels like too much is going on. The puzzle/mystery, at times, seems to have so many pieces the bigger picture gets distorted and lost. This goes back to my thoughts on the first book and the idea that the Inheritance Series might be better served as a larger more collected novel instead of broken into small pieces. I think this would do more justice to the complexity of the story.
I'm genuinely looking forward to finishing the series and seeing how the mystery unfolds and wraps up. It's not often that I find myself eagerly awaiting the author's resolution as opposed to trying to figure it out myself. But I with the Inheritance Series I am enjoying letter the author tell his story and I am excited to see where it goes.
Displaying 1 of 1 review