The Legacy: A Novel

The Legacy by Kirsten Tranter. It also has one of the most gorgeous covers I’ve seen. But the content is disappointing. The plot is good- girl goes missing in New York on September 11, 2001- or does she? But it doesn’t seem to execute itself well- jumping back and forth in time, vaguely alluding to events and skipping large chunks of time. After 150 pages, I gave up and read the last chapter. I still can’t tell you exactly if Isabel was killed, disappeared or simply never existed- but I don’t care. There’s no sympathy created for the characters and the descriptions of Perth as a backwater were cruel and unjustified. I would debate whether the author has ever been to Perth, as the descriptions of the city are unclear and show more geographically incorrect. Just goes to show that a PhD doesn’t automatically make you a writer! Research is completely different to fiction writing and this book could have used some emotion and editing. show less

The story started off a bit slow, there was quite of bit of background information given on how the 3 main characters met and their relationship to each other. But I thought the writing was very beautiful. You find out right away that Ingrid goes missing and Julia begins to discover that her death/disappearance may not be as it first seems. I couldn't wait to finish this novel and the ending did not disappoint me. A really satifsying, good read.

This is a slow moving book at first concentrating on developing the three main characters, Julia, Ingrid and Ralph, but it still did keep me interested and when it came to the mystery element in the second part I was hooked and wanted to read to the end. Ingrid goes to America to marry an older man Gil Grey and then on September 11th 2001 she has an appointment down town and is never seen again. Julia goes to America to find out about Ingrid's life there and it is then that the mystery deepens. Did Ingrid in fact die that day? I enjoyed the book. It kept me interested till the end.

(7.5)

I am amazed that this slow story could hold my interest so long! It takes at least half the book to discover that Ingrid has disappeared presumed dead, with the over-riding possibility of a mystery or crime. The book is well-written.

A first novel and the author used A Portrait of a Lady by Henry James as her inspiration
for the story. Centres on three friends at university in Sydney, Ralph who
is gay but loves Ingrid. And then there is Julia who secretly loves Ralph.
Ingrid is beautiful and elusive and after she inherits a large sum of money
from Ralph's father leaves Australia and marries a much older man in New
York amongst the art world and becomes stepmother to Fleur a child prodigy.
Then the events of 9/11 occur with Ingrid never being seen again after she
has an appointment in the vicinity of the two towers. Ralph at this stage is
ill and he asks Julia to go to New York to look for clues as to the mystery
surrounding Ingrid's disappearance. I found this a bit of show more struggle at first
but it did improve in the second half with the mystery aspect holding my
attention to the end. show less