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What if everyone in your family was given a DNA test at Christmas: would there be any surprise results? For two women the answers are shocking, and dangerous. Perfect for readers of Liane Moriarty and Sally Hepworth.
Families lie. DNA doesn’t.
Isobel Ashworth breezes through life, blissfully accustomed to the privilege which comes with her family name. But that changes when she arrives in the exclusive town of Hartwell. Sent there by her father to complete a controversial property development – and prove herself a serious player in the succession plan – her perfect life is unravelling. Isobel’s fiance is telling lies, the project is a disaster and the locals hate her; could her father be setting her up to fail?
Buzzing with the promise of a big story, journalist Meg Hunter arrives in Hartwell to expose the Ashworth family dealings, and transform her faltering career. As she follows the trail of corruption, she uncovers clues about her mother’s mysterious past.
When the next-gen Ashworths each receive an anonymous Christmas gift of a DNA testing kit, Isobel questions everything she knows about her family. Isobel is drawn to Meg and her pursuit of the truth … but someone out there will stop at nothing to hide the secrets of both families.
Publisher: HQ/Harper360
Format: Ebook, Audiobook (1 January 2025) | Paperback (24 September 2026)
Source: Copy received for review
MY THOUGHTS
Set partly in Sydney, Australia and told from the perspectives of two characters, journalist Meg and Ashworth daughter Isobel, this story of privilege, wealth and power had me gripped from the beginning.
Meg’s mother Jenny has dementia and is in a care home. She has always been secretive about her life and had moved around continually during Meg’s childhood. It is when, in a confused state, she mentions a name and Hartwell, Meg’s investigative curiosity is piqued and she decides to follow up when she discovers that Hartwell is only 90 minutes away.
Isobel (Issy) is the only daughter of the powerful Ashworth family. Their name and influence has spread far comprising of a chain of hotels and numerous other developments, the latest being in Hartwell, on the site of the old gaol. This development has not been without controversy and protest and Issy is sent there by her father to ensure it is completed on time.
Meg and Issy are worlds apart but both have their own issues with families and careers. Despite the privilege her name gives her, Issy feels undervalued and sidelined by her father and older brother whilst Meg has a strained relationship with her mother and feels the lack of any other family. Her dreams of a more fulfilling career in journalism have hit the buffers and she is struggling to get her work published.
There are many themes here to make the story interesting. Familial tensions, drama, secrets and lies, corruption, and it gets worse when an unexpected DNA test is thrown into the mix.
Kate’s writing definitely hit the spot for me. she is an author I’d love to read more from. The Inheritance is a compelling mystery, well paced with intrigue, a dysfunctional family and a dangerous undercurrent, I couldn’t wait for the next discovery to be revealed. One to be recommended.
My thanks to Anne of Random Things Tours for the invite and to the publisher for the review copy.
Kate Horan has spent the last seventeen years working in corporate communications, helping executives to pitch and present. Before that, she taught English and Drama at high schools in western Sydney where she relished inspiring teenagers with a love of reading and writing. She graduated from the University of Sydney in 2001 with an Honours degree in English Literature. After many years of feeling the niggle to write her own stories, she attended Faber Academy’s Writing a Novel program in 2020.
Kate’s debut novel, The Inheritance, was an instant Australian Bestseller. Her second novel, On the Edge, will be published by HQ HarperCollins in January 2026.
When she’s not dreaming up stories about complicated families with dark secrets, she’s chauffeuring her teenage boys to and from social engagements, listening to true crime podcasts and walking her golden lab on Sydney’s beautiful Northern Beaches.
Author Website | Insta | AmazonUK
