When twenty writers each contribute a chapter to a novel, the result can be fun or a disaster. Inherit the Dead is a little of both. Inherit the Dead is a remarkably bland novel -- not a disaster, not really bad, but nothing to be really excited about.

Chapter 1 by Jonathan Santlofer sets up an ordinary premise: Ex-cop turned private detective Perry Christo is asked to find Angel, Julia Druscilla's missing twenty-year-old daughter. If Angel doesn't sign some trust documents on her twenty-first birthday, her share of a sizable trust will be forfeited to Julia. Christo was booted off the police force for misconduct that remains unspecified until chapter 2's writer fills in the details, but we're given to believe that the accusations were false, making Christo a typical wronged-cop-turned-PI. Santlofer also appends a first-person narrative to the end of the chapter, voiced by someone who is following Christo. Some of the other writers do the same, but that aspect of the novel is largely abandoned by its midway point.

This book was written in support of a charitable cause, so kudos to the writers for taking the time to do it. It strikes me as false advertising, however, to list Lee Child as one of the writers. Child dashed off a three page introduction praising all the writers for being so wonderful but he didn't contribute a chapter of his own. However praiseworthy the other writers might be for contributing their time, any of them writing individually would probably have produced a novel with a stronger plot and fleshier characters. ( )

The idea is good, but the story plods along at a snails pace. To much repeating for my liking. Did not finish the book. ( )

AUTHOR: Various
TITLE: Inherit the Dead
DATE READ: 01/04/2016
RATING: 3/C
GENRE/PUB DATE/PUBLISHER/# OF PGS Crime Fiction/ 2013/ Simon & Shuster/ 296 pgs
SERIES/STAND-ALONE: S/A
CHARACTERS AUTHOR: Pericles Christo / private eye former police detective
TIME/PLACE: 2013/ NYC
FIRST LINES The call had been unexpected. The reference -- a friend of a friend of a friend -- too complicated to follow.
COMMENTS: This is a serial novel -- 20 authors, each writing a chapter. Perry is called by an aging socialite to find her missing daughter who is due to inherit a large sum of money soon, only if she can be there on her 21st birthday. The daughter has been living w/ her father (her parents have been divorced) out on the island in the Hamptons. Altho' I like the authors writing in this book it is hard to read this w/o hearing distinctive voices ea chapter and losing something in being a cohesive tight storyline. The premise -- gather these great crime fiction writers together to donate for a charitable cause is a good one. The end result for me was a mediocre light read. ( )

At first glance, I thought that Inherit the Dead was a collection of short stories from some of my favourite authors. (20 of them to be exact) Upon closer inspection I realized that it was one story, a serial novel, with each chapter written by a different author. And that there was a purpose behind the compilation - monies raised go to support Safe Horizon - an organization championed by Linda Fairstein.

Perry Christo is a disgraced former cop turned P.I. When a wealthy 'uptown' woman summons Perry, he runs - he really needs the money. But the case is odd - Drusilla wants Perry to find her daughter Angel - she hasn't seen her in two weeks, but hasn't bothered with the police either. Christo takes the case, but as he digs, it just gets more complicated - everyone has their own agenda and Angel may have been right to disappear.

I was quite eager to read this as I do follow about half of the authors regularly. The initial chapter sets the stage and from there, each author added their own twist and direction. But, sadly, as the book progressed, I found myself losing interest. I like a good meaty mystery. With the format used here, the flow was choppy and the plot seemed cobbled together. Which it was. You can easily identify the hood or twist that dictates where the plot is headed. I did have reading each chapter and identifying the style of known authors. And finding some new authors to try. You would think that with so much talent, it would be a great book. It's a neat premise and a good hook for a fundraiser, but for this reader, it was just an okay read. ( )

Former cop, now private investigator Perry Christo gets what he thinks is a simple gig with a big payoff by locating the daughter of a rich socialite. But things are never easy and it seems.

What was intriguing about this novel was that it took an old and tried plot and used twenty different authors writing a chapter each to advance the story. Unfortunately, I found it to be boring to say the least. The characters weren’t interesting, the mystery and thrills not so exciting. Like I said I liked the idea, and this book’s royalties are to be donated to Safe Horizon and I do hope they do succeed, but this but it is not one to stay in my library. ( )