The Will by Rebecca Reid

The Mordaunts aren’t like most families…

For one, their family home is Roxborough Hall – a magnificent, centuries-old mansion in the Norfolk countryside. For another, the house isn’t passed down from parent to child – but rather to the family member deemed most worthy.

Cecily Mordaunt is dead. On the evening of her funeral, her family will gather for dinner and each will be given a letter, revealing who is the next custodian of Roxborough Hall.

The house is a burden, a millstone, a full-time job… but they all want it. And some are willing do anything to get it.

One family. Eight letters. Who will get what they deserve?

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I’m delighted to be taking part in the blog tour for Rebecca Reid’s latest novel, The Will. I absolutely adored Truth Hurts, and I jumped at the opportunity to read her latest offering ahead of publication.

The Will introduces the reader to the Mordaunt family and their ancestral home, Roxborough Hall, in Norfolk.  Rather than passing the home to the eldest (male) heir, they have a fairer yet unnecessarily elaborate system of passing the house to the one deemed most worthy.  Prior to their death, the current owner writes letters to the potential inheritors of the house detailing why they have or haven’t been left the property. These letters are then distributed at a dinner on the day of the previous owner’s funeral.  Why they can’t just bequeath the house in their will with the rest of their possessions, I’ve no idea, but it does add a wonderful degree of tension as you wonder who will get it, whether it will be the one you think should get it, and what upset it will cause when the recipient is finally revealed.  And it does seem like the sort of arbitrary ritual that rich families might indeed get up to.

And the Mordaunts are rich. They aren’t aristocracy but nor are they “new money”, sitting somewhere comfortably between the two.  While you might think that their lives are blessed as a result, this is a family that quickly reveals itself to have secrets and problems galore, all of which are slowly and gloriously revealed to the reader as the novel progresses.  There are jealousies and rivalries to unpick alongside more than a little bad feeling and resentment and I think that this is just about as dysfunctional as families can get.  I’ll be honest – if this is how the other half live, I could read about them all day.

With the passing of the current owner, Cecily, the Mordaunts gather at Roxborough Hall for the funeral and entail at which the new owner will be revealed.  Of course, this would be a short novel if everything went according to plan, and Reid plays with both the characters and the reader, plausibly drawing out the revelation of who the new owner of the house will be.  It’s brilliantly done as the family begin to suspect each other of foul play and as some wonder how they can manipulate events and turn the situation to their own advantage.  There’s a question of how far these individuals will go to get the house that they all seem to think should be theirs…

Over the course of the novel we get to know the whole family, including Cecily through characters reminiscing over their mother / grandmother as well as through flashbacks which reveal more of the family’s history, and which start to reveal the many secrets that the reader will uncover.  There is quite a large cast of characters to get to grips with, although there’s little risk of confusing them – they all have their idiosyncrasies which makes it easier to remember who’s who.  As I got to know them, I found myself not really liking any of them.  They all seem entitled and spoiled, and while some have redeeming features, these didn’t quite balance out the negatives for me.  If you need someone to root for in a novel, this may not be the one for you although it didn’t stop me from enjoying the way in which the drama unfolds. 

I think that Reid has written The Will with an element of dark humour and is perhaps having a little dig at those who are “to the manor born”.  At the same time, it does tackle some more serious subjects throughout its pages (which I won’t reveal here as there are some potential spoilers), and it pulls no punches in doing so.  That’s not to say that it’s gratuitous in the portrayal of these matters, but nor does Reid sugar-coat them.  I think that the novel also highlights the harm that people can do to those closest to them, even when they may have the best of intentions.   

The Will is a fascinating family drama that reads like a thriller / whodunnit with its ups and down and gradual reveal of all the secrets, lies, and betrayals that Roxborough Hall has witnessed.  I thoroughly enjoyed picking apart the secrets of this well to do but ultimately dysfunctional family, and recommend it for those that enjoy a family drama. 

The Will is published by Penguin and is available now as an eBook with the paperback and audiobook to be published tomorrow, 10 November. Huge thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours and the publisher for my copy of the novel and the opportunity to take part in the blog tour.

Disclaimer – I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. This has in no way influenced my review.

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About the Author

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Make sure you check out the other wonderful bloggers taking part in the tour: