HE STARTED IT

4 stars out of 5

My emotions are mixed on this book. Some aspects I liked very much; others not so much. My rating, then, is something of a compromise - but I hasten to add that above all, it's a clever and well-written plot that made me wish I had a mind half as creative as this author.

The thing is, not a single character here is remotely likable or honest, nor do any of them like or trust each other. But on the plus side for those of us on this side of the pages, finding out how and why all that came about makes for interesting reading that leads to a bang-up ending I didn't see coming - one that left me feeling a bit like I'd been sideswiped by an errant tumbleweed (not an uncommon sight in a desert, which is where the adventure comes to an abrupt halt). 

Grandpa, you see, is dead and cremated but not mourned. As the sole survivors (well, except for two others who are pretty much out of the running), brothers and sisters Beth, Portia and Eddie Morgan stand to inherit a bundle. But as in life, with Grandpa there's always a catch. This time around, he's put strings on the deal; according to his iron-clad will, the "kids" must complete a cross-country road trip exactly as they did when he took them on an adventure when they were kids. That trip holds many memories for the siblings - most of them quite unpleasant - but if they want to get rich, they have no choice but to follow his instructions which, not insignificantly, include taking his cremains along for the ride. Two of the kiddies - Beth and Eddie - are married, and they've dragged their spouses along for better or worse (based on what I've written so far, I'll let you guess which description is more accurate).

As the chapters unfold, readers learn what happened on that earlier trip as well as secrets known only to the occupants of the car (and perhaps a couple of other nefarious characters who pop in and out of the travelogue). It all makes for great intrigue, although I have to admit that somewhere around the time they'd completed three-quarters of their trip, they were growing weary of the journey and I began to wish they'd just get it over with, already. But just a few pages later, the action caught fire and reignited my attention from there to the last page.

My own conclusion? Well worth reading. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-publication copy.

He Started It by Samantha Downing (Berkley, July 2020); 400 pp.