This year, more than ever, we’re all in need of a bloody good book.
A book you can’t put down. A book that transports you to another place, with a new and unfamiliar world of characters, secrets and family dynamics.
A book that picks you up, lifts you out of the latest unsettling news, and places you gently inside a recently renovated house on an autumn night in Adelaide.
The Family Inheritance is that book.
The novel, by bestselling and multiple award-winning author Tricia Stringer, opens on a warm night at the home of Felicity Lewis, who is turning 50. She’s spent weeks planning for her birthday party, and now she’s surrounded by friends and family who are excited to celebrate it with her. There’s her fitness-obsessed husband Ian, her warm-hearted daughter Greta, and her sister June - who she couldn’t be more different from.
As more guests arrive, Felicity finds it strange that there's no sign of her mum and dad, but assumes some drama (not uncommon when it comes to her dad) has slowed them down. Then, just as Ian tells her it’s time for speeches, she gets a phone call. It’s her mum, Hazel. And her dad is dead.
While the family appear devastated by Franklyn’s sudden death, we soon realise that for Hazel, this loss isn’t what it seems. There’s far more to her relationship with her husband than what meets the eye.
And that’s not Hazel’s only secret.
When a stranger turns up at Franklyn’s funeral, the family learns Hazel has a sister she hasn’t seen in decades, and it suddenly becomes clear that a story Hazel always told about her childhood wasn’t entirely true.
Then, the family gathers for what they assume will be the unsurprising reading of Franklyn’s will. Within mere moments, Felicity discovers that a lot of what she’s taken for granted about her identity is a lie.
The impacts of this bombshell reverberate throughout the family, with three generations of women dealing with the fall out. Inevitably, their relationships, their connections with each other, and their identities are challenged, as they struggle to rebuild upon the foundations of a new family story. Each woman must go on her own journey to figure out where she fits, and who she is, in this changed reality.
Set in Adelaide, Stringer is able to make a fictional world feel instantly like your own. Her characters aren’t just characters - they’re people you’re convinced you know. And as you turn the pages, you begin to feel their pain, regret, hope and joy.
Part of Stringer’s skill is in weaving the experiences of different generations of women together, with sensitivity and familiarity, gently showing how context can shape women’s decisions. Perhaps, the book suggests, you don’t have to completely understand the choices made by the people you love. You just have to accept them.
Like Stringer’s previous books - including Table for Eight and The Model Wife - The Family Inheritance has authentic female characters and their compelling, complex stories at the forefront. As a former teacher who grew up in rural South Australia, Stringer effortlessly hooks a reader in, revealing the vivid world of the Gifford family.
The story itself is striking in its familiarity. No matter the make up of your family, you'll be able to identify with the experiences and emotions of Hazel, Felicity and Greta, whose struggles are universal in an age where 'family' is often complicated. Many of us have learnt of secrets and untold challenges after years and sometimes decades of being in the dark. Stringer shows how these can be overcome, and ultimately make us stronger.
It’s this theme of family - what it looks like and what it means - that really forms the crux of this book. The Family Inheritance explores what happens when the truth comes out, and the second chances that emerge.
It's a moving, feel-good, warm read about strong, loving women.
And it's the exact book we all need right now.
The Family Inheritance is available to buy now at all good bookstores, as well as instore and online at BIG W, also available in eBook from Apple Books and also in audiobook on Audible.