Crime Writer Margot Kinberg

Part of settling a will is identifying who inherits from that will. Even if the testator is clear about who will inherit, the process can involve trying to locate an heir, especially if the will was not written recently. This can be a tricky business; sometimes an heir has died or cannot be located. But looking for an heir can add suspense to a crime novel, and can build layers of character, too

In Edmund Crispin’s The Moving Toyshop, Richard Cadogan is taking a late-night walk in Oxford when he happens to see a toyshop. On a whim, he pushes the door and is surprised to find it open. He goes into the shop and is shocked to find the body of a woman there. He’s getting ready to leave when he’s knocked unconscious. When he wakes, he sees that, instead of a toyshop, he is in a grocery. Shocked and unsure of what to do, he visits his friend, Oxford don Gervase Fen. Fen’s intrigued by the mystery, and he and Cadogan begin to investigate. Soon enough, they discover that a woman named Emilia Tardy did die that night. She lived abroad but returned to England recently. She was also set to inherit a large fortune from a Miss Smith, who died not long before. But there are several stipulations to that inheritance, and Miss Smith was certain that Miss Tardy would not follow the instructions. So, she named other heirs who would benefit if Miss Tardy could not. In order to find out who killed Emilia Tardy, Fen and Cadogan will have to locate those other people and unravel the mystery.

Ellery Queen’s The Dragon’s Teeth sees Queen suffering from, and later recovering from, appendicitis. He’s recently opened a private investigation company with a business partner, Beau Rummel, but he can’t take an active part in any investigation while he’s recuperating. So, Rummel takes the lead on the strange case of wealthy and eccentric Cadmus Cole. He’s lived most of his life at sea, but he wants to trace any living relatives and make provisions in his will. Queen and Rummel soon track down two heirs. Kerrie Shawn is an aspiring (but so far, unsuccessful) Hollywood actress. Margo Cole has lived in Paris most of her life. When word comes that Cole has died, his will is made public. According to the document, the two young women must move to Cole’s Hudson River mansion and live there for a year in order to inherit. Both young women agree to the proviso and relocate. Not long after they’re both settled in the house, Margo is shot. As you can well imagine, Kerrie becomes the main suspect. Rummell has fallen for her, though, and wants her name cleared. So, he investigates the murder.

In Reginald Hill’s Child’s Play, we are introduced to wealthy Geraldine Lomas. She wanted her considerable fortune to go to her son, who went missing in World War II. Her will specifies, though, that if this son returns or is found by 2015, he will inherit everything. Efforts to find this man have failed, and everyone assumes he died long ago. Oddly enough, a man shows up at her funeral and insists that he is Geraldine Lomas’ son. He even calls her ‘Mama.’ His claim will have to be investigated, of course, but before there’s a chance to do that, he is found shot in his car. Now, Superintendent Andy Dalziel and his team will have to find out who the man really was, and who would have wanted him dead. 

In Sulari Gentill’s Where There’s a Will, Australian artist and ‘blueblood’ Rowland Sinclair travels to the US when his friend Daniel Cartwright is murdered and his body found at Harvard. Sinclair and Cartwright were friends at Oxford, and Cartwright has specified that Sinclair is to be executor of his will. Cartwright’s family members assumed that they would inherit, but to everyone’s shock, Cartwright has left his fortune to someone named Otis Norcross. No-one knows who this person is or where he is, so it’ll be Sinclair’s job to try to find the man. In the meantime, there’s the murder itself. Who shot Daniel Cartwright, and why? Does it have anything to do with his will? If so, what?

And then there’s ML Condike’s The Doll From Dunedin. RaeAnn Hunter is a Philadelphia-area forensic genealogist. She’s got a good reputation, so it isn’t surprising when New York-based attorney Austin Bradley calls to ask her to take on a new case. One of his clients, Jill Hamilton, has died, and now there’s a question of a forty-million- dollar inheritance. She specified in her will that Roy Beauchamp is to inherit everything, but only if he can be found within a year of her death. As six months have already passed, RaeJean will only have six months more to find Beauchamp. Otherwise, the money will all be donated to Columbia University. If she finds Beauchamp in time, RaeJean stands to earn over a million dollars, so she is motivated. The man’s last known location was New Zealand, so RaeJean starts her search there. It turns out this case is related to a past murder, but there are people who are determined that the facts will not come out. RaeJean ends up getting in more danger than she’d imagined.

Searching for a missing heir can be a lengthy and expensive process. But it can add to a crime novel. And wouldn’t it be nice to find out you’re a long-lost heir….

*NOTE: The title of this post is a line from Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller’s Searchin’, made famous by the Coasters.