The Oxford Inheritance
by Ann McDonald
When I first saw the blurb for The Oxford Inheritance by Ann A. McDonald, I thought this was 1000% my thing. A dark, gothic mystery set in a prestigious university? Hints of secret societies and conspiracies? Yes, please. While I liked the book, and I found it wonderfully readable (I read most of it in a single sitting), I thought that the twist at the end didn’t mesh well with the rest of the narrative and that some of the darker themes wouldn’t be every reader’s cup of tea.
American Cassie Blackwell moves to Oxford after accepting a prestigious scholarship to their (fictional) Raleigh College. Cassie isn’t what she seems though–rather than a serious academic, she’s managed an elaborate con to get into the university so she can solve a decades old mystery about her mother. Cassie’s mother suffered from mental illness (bi-polar disorder possibly) and committed suicide when Cassie was young. Only after her mother’s death does Cassie learn about her time in Oxford and her possible affiliation with a secret society called The School of Night.
This book is a wonderfully atmospheric mystery–Cassie spends lots of time in dusty libraries, creepy vaults filled with old books, and old bookstores. Her quest to figure out what her mother was involved in is sometimes interrupted by Cassie making new friends and struggling with her schoolwork (if she doesn’t pass, she gets kicked out), but I didn’t mind because I loved the collegiate setting.
This book was a straight up A for me until the very end. The final reveal feels a little sudden and not totally in line with the rest of the narrative.
The Oxford Inheritance also contains some dark themes–mental illness, suicide, childhood abuse and neglect, and there is an attempted rape. While I found these themes in line with the gothic nature of the novel (and they aren’t extraneous, they provide context to the mystery), I know they won’t be something everyone wants to read about.
– Elyse
At prestigious Oxford University, an American student searches for the truth about her mother’s death in this eerie, suspenseful thriller that blends money, murder, and black magic.
You can’t keep it from her forever. She needs to know the truth.
Cassandra Blackwell arrives in Oxford with one mission: to uncover the truth about her mother’s dark past. Raised in America, with no idea that her mother had ever studied at the famed college, a mysterious package now sends her across the ocean, determined to unravel the secrets that her mother took to her grave. Plunged into the glamorous, secretive life of Raleigh College, Cassie finds a world like no other: a world of ancient tradition, privilege—and murder.
Beneath the hallowed halls of this storied university there is a mysterious force at work . . . A dark society that is shaping our world, and will stop at nothing to keep its grip on power. Cassie might be the only one who can stop them—but at what cost?
Gothic, Mystery/Thriller
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I just finished this- totally with you on the paranormal bit and the final reveal coming out of left field. It seemed like a different book tacked onto the end.
Agree with Elyse and The Breakfast Octopus–I was on board with this until the paranormal came out of left field. I pretty much skimmed through to the end after that because I just couldn’t take it seriously. Not to mention that so many of the twists were obvious–especially the identity of the father.