The Nature of My Inheritance

by Bradford Morrow

When Liam Everett's reverend father passes away in the prime of his life, Liam knows something foul is afoot. Everyone insists that the reverend's slip down the basement staircase of the church was simply an accident, a misstep. But the reverend knew those steps better than the back of his hand and Liam is sure he would never have been so careless and clumsy. But with everyone happy to accept Revered Everett's death as a mishap, his son is left to find solace with the legacy his father left behind: 60 antique bibles. But it seems the reverend was more in life - and death - than everyone thought.

Soon Liam is surrounded by more priceless books than he could ever have imagined, and the more he reads, the more shady characters keep showing up at his door. The Nature of My Inheritance is our latest bibliomystery, penned by the wonderful Bradford Morrow.

The Bibliomysteries are a series of short tales about deadly books, by top mystery authors.

Genres: Short Stories, Mystery

76 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Bradford Morrow has lived for the past thirty years in New York City and rural upstate New York, though he grew up in Colorado and lived and worked in a variety of places in between. While in his mid-teens, he traveled through rural Honduras as a member of the Amigos de las Americas program, serving as a medical volunteer in the summer of 1967. The following year he was awarded an American Field Service scholarship to finish his last year of high school as a foreign exchange student at a Liceo Scientifico in Cuneo, Italy. In 1973, he took time off from studying at the University of Colorado to live in Paris for a year. After doing graduate work on a Danforth Fellowship at Yale University, he moved to Santa Barbara, California, to work as a rare book dealer. In 1981 he relocated to New York City to the literary journal Conjunctions, which he founded with the poet Kenneth Rexroth, and to write novels. He and his two cats divide their time between NYC and upstate New York.

Visit his website at www.bradfordmorrow.com.

Reviews

[Berengaria · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

short review for busy readers:
A good thriller with a fabulous premise, but a problematic narrative voice. The "deadly book" theme of the series is well-integrated into the plot.

in detail:
The premise – what sneaky use a collection of Bibles can be put to – is truly excellent, as is most of the story. This poor preacher's kid has not only to deal with the loss of his father, but also his not-so-churchy legacy.

However, I seriously doubt that enough middle schoolers today know the term “milquetoast” to apply it as an insult. And how many know, much less use, the term “kemosabe”? And if they did, they'd probably think it racist. (Note: the Canadian Supreme Court has ruled it isn't racist, but the fact that the word was put on trial says something.)

This is mainly where “The Nature of My Inheritance” stumbles – the narrative voice is not believable. It is not that of a young teenager, but clearly that of an adult male over 50– possibly the author, Marrow, himself -- due to the cultural tidbits and vocabulary use.

If it just weren’t for the narrative unevenness, this Bibliomystery would get a full 5 stars. As it is, 4.

[Lynx · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Reverend Everett passed away his son Liam was left with two things, his fathers Bible collection and the strong suspicion the tumble down the flight of stairs that the police ruled accidental was anything but. With no clear motive Liam's suspicions seem pretty far fetched - that is until he finds antique first editions of some of the most beloved literature in history. Why did his father own these and who could he have got them from? Could these be the key to solving his death?

This started out pretty interesting but doesn't end up going very far. I kept waiting for something exciting to happen but always felt let down. Interesting but wasted concept. 2.5/5

*Thank you Mysterious Press and Edelweiss for this review copy.

[Amina (ⴰⵎⵉⵏⴰ) · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story started awesome and developed in a good way, it was easy enough finding out who "that person is too shady for my taste" was, but in the last pages, it felt like the author wanted to finish quickly, so it spoiled the whole thing.

[~:The N:~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Huh.
It's not unusual to encounter a short story that leaves you wishing for more but unfortunately this one that should have been read in a single session felt drawn out, requiring me to read it over three sittings. I'm sure you understand what I meant.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like many other reviewers, I felt let-down by the rushed and inconclusive ending. This needed tightening up at the conclusion...too many loose ends and a sense of anti-climax.
Also, I felt the time period was confusing: for the most part it seemed to be set in the present day, but then there were references to an old-school telephone where you didn't know who was calling!
The premise was great, but not properly developed. I think the author should expand this into a full-size book so it can be fully realized. But a lot of fun for a quick, easy read!

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the Bibliomysteries series of books for booklovers, each one featuring bookstores, libraries, rare books, manuscripts, priceless volumes or eccentric book collectors. They are relatively short (this one was 76 pages), written by some well-known authors, and written only for The Mysterious Bookshop (https://www.mysteriousbookshop.com/co...). In this tale, a teenager inherits a large number of Bibles from his Methodist minister father. Initially disappointed, he finds hidden cavities carved into each bible, with a fortune in old, rare, and likely stolen books inside. The kid takes over his father's illicit dealings in rare books. Too bad this was short, because I would have liked to see it develop into something more in-depth, but it makes for a pretty good quick read while waiting to pick up stuff I have on hold at the library.

[Gwen - Chew & Digest Books - · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is safe to say that I wanted to like this much more than I did after reading the beginning. Short stories tend to be the bain of my existence. I'm truly picky and if there isn't real depth of character or an actual resolution to the story that I can point to, I get grumpy and unsatisfied.

There is no resolution to any of my questions, whether I had them going into the story or as they popped into my mind while reading. It didn't make me angry, just unfulfilled, which is a personal problem that I often have with shorts. It isn't them, it's me and my expectations.

Still, there are things that should have been known here that were never explained and things that I didn't really even care about that were left hanging. It wasn't a neat package with a bow.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another quick, little intriguing mystery from this very fun series of book related mysteries. Liam's father, a reverend, dies suddenly from a questionable fall down the stairs. Liam inherits a whole bunch of bibles from his father and he is left grieving and wondering why in the world his father would do such a thing. But wait! There is a secret in the bibles that leads Liam see a side to his father he never expected. I enjoyed this very clever tale and the twist at the end was very good.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bunch of bibles left to his son after the Reverand’s death.

But inside these books a treasure trove of first editions of valuable books worth up to millions.

His son will embark upon a research into authors and such and will be the start of a lucrative career.

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

I probably would have said 3.5 stars but I deducted half a point for sheer stupidity on Liam's part.

[Oana-Maria Uliu · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5
The idea is ok, but then I kept waiting for something to happen and nothing really did.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the characters and the mystery, but I am not certain if there was a murder and if so who the perperator was. Kristi & Abby Tabby Childless Cat Lady

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quirky short story.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Your minister dad has died suddenly – fell down the stairs of all things after preaching a sermon – and you inherit….a bunch of old Bibles – you figure that was a loss, until one day you take one down and open it and discover….

….that it’s been hollowed out inside – and so have the rest – and in each of them is a rare – I mean – almost one-of-a-kind-rare book – except for one that has a bunch of cash….

What do you do?

What do you do when you’re at home pretending to be sick so you can use the internet to find out just how much each is worth and a guy stops by and it turns out that he is the guy who has been ‘finding’ these rare books and your dad is the middleman who sells them to crazed collectors, taking a percentage and passing the rest to this visitor…

Then you figure, well why not? I’ll take over for my dad…

Until…but you will have to dive into this incredibly well written and thought out tale to find out!

[Jean Kolinofsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liam Everett is given his father’s Bible collection after his father dies in a fall after giving a sermon. Liam questions the ruling of accidental death and his suspicions become even stronger after he a Bible and finds a rare first edition book in a cutout. Faking an illness to remain home, he explores each of the books and takes stock of the rare editions and their values. When he is contacted by a “friend” of his father who was involved with the acquisition of the books, he has some decisions to make. There is also the detective who investigated his father’s death and is still coming around with questions. Morrow has written an inter sting story that makes you consider what would you do?

[Gabriela Galescu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe too subtle for me…

Masterfully written piece that doesn’t really go anywhere plot-wise. Not a lot more I can say without spoiling it for future readers. I guess one could do a lot worse than reading this. And BTW, I will look for more by this writer: he really does atmosphere and characters very well.

[Martha Greenough · Rating 3 out of 5]

short story - bibliophiles

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

charming

A pleasant evening’s entertainment. More a coming to age story—with a few interesting twists— than a mystery. And engaging for that reason exactly.