The Inheritance

I enjoyed the stories told about the resistance during World War Two. A bit too much information about wine making for the average reader, unless you owned a winery or worked for one. The book lacked excitement, it just wasn’t a page turner for me. A good story is when you don’t want it to end and you feel connected to the characters during your read.

The Inheritance by JoAnn Ross is a fascinating dual timeline story that focuses on a French Resistance worker, and an American Forces Pilot in the World War II timeline, and three half-sisters, and their grandmother in the present-day timeline. Tess, a novelist and former child actress, Charlotte, a southern designer, and Natalie, a French photographer are all summoned to the Maison de Madeleine winery in Aberdeen, Oregon, to listen to their Father’s reading of his will. Each of the sisters has different mothers, and they grew up separately, and not knowing each other. In fact, some did not even have knowledge of their sister’s existence until the summons. At the winery, they meet their 96-year-old Grandmother who tells them her story of meeting their Grandfather during the war in France. They were each a hero in their own way during the French resistance and have a fascinating story of their own. The sisters also have to learn to forgive their father for his lack of parenting and learn to forgive and love each other as they learn more about their famous photographer’s father. I found this book to be a fast read and I was engrossed in the story immediately. I love stories of sisters and forgiveness and love, and the author did an excellent job of giving us well-developed characters who are all likable and flawed at the same time. I also enjoyed reading about the grandmother and her time in Nazi-occupied France, and her rescue of the American pilot who she eventually marries. The suffering of the French people during this terrible time in history is illustrated in the Grandmothers story. I recommend this book to fans of WWII history and lovers of multi-generational family sagas. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.