Murder by Bequest is a transatlantic tale of deep romance and multiple murders spanning the Indian sub-continent, Europe and the United States. It follows the often exciting lives of Sherrod Reynard Colsne and Montague Boyd 'Monty' Weston. Monty casually mentions a recent and most bizarre murder in the hopes of calling his employer and friend to action.
On a frigid Friday afternoon in February, Eleanor Harkness shows up at the door of the “granite palace,” Sherrod Colsne’s New York townhouse. Her unexpected yet incredibly timely appearance not only knocks Colsne’s normally unflappable assistant, Monty Weston, off stride, but takes both of them down a winding path of romance, past and present, and decades-old, bitter hatred. Though only four days actually elapse in the telling, Murder by Bequest is a story spanning over twenty-five years, three continents, and two primary cultures, from Himachal Pradesh, India, in the foothills of the Himalayas, to New York City, and surrounding America’s foremost family of wealth. Bertrand Wellman Harkness, IV, director of the Harkness Foundation, and statesman serving three presidents, not quite two weeks before the “blizzard of 2006,” is brutally murdered, and grotesquely, sexually mutilated after the fact.
What follows is another murder, and another attempted, seemingly the inexorable assault of a bête noire. Only Colsne’s genius is able to run the culprit to ground, but not before a final tragedy is enacted. Deep-seated and long-nursed malice, from an emotionally very dark person, and another quite distant quarter, produced the terrible killing spree, bringing almost total dissolution to the Bertrand Wellman Harkness, IV family.
Excerpt
What followed was anything but non-intrusive. Even with ninety-percent noise-reduction windows from Whyst, Inc., I knew what I heard: eight bursts from what sounded all too much like either a 9 mm automatic, or a .223 cal. assault rifle. Either I was in some kind of dimensional warp, or each salvo was distinctly three shots. That meant one of three things: 1) there were two shooters; 2) one gunman had a weapon in each hand; or 3) he was strong enough to hold and shoot a fully loaded 25- or 32-round magazine weapon, which could weigh as much as seven or more pounds, depending on the make and model. These eithers and ors all came in slow-motion. I am not at all proud of my performance during the firestorm, or in the sixty-plus seconds that followed. I have heard enough gunfire, from all kinds of weapons—handguns, rifles, shotguns, and much more—that recognition doesn’t require prolonged thought. However, at least in my memory, East 75th Street, more particularly our block, had never before been used as a shooting gallery.
Professional Reviews
Finely Crafted
Amazon.com Review
4.0 out of 5 stars
Finely Crafted
October 16, 2014
By S.A. Molteni
Format:Paperback
Murder by Bequest by John Spencer Yantiss is a finely crafted novel in the vein of Sherlock Holmes.
The story begins with Eleanor Harkness visiting detective Sherrod Reynard Colsne and his assistant, Montague Boyd 'Monty' Weston in their New York City, "Granite Palace" to discuss employing them to find her father's killer.
The book is written from Monty's point of view and spreads over many years and many continents, although the book details just four days. Throughout the story other characters are murdered and the mystery of who the true killer is becomes all the more imperative to solve.
Descriptively detailed with the sights ands sounds of New York, Europe and India, it is evident that the author is well-traveled and offers a believable story with well-developed, realistic characters.
I would recommend this to anyone who likes a good murder/mystery. This book certainly delivers a fine storyline as well as a neatly tied up ending that is well worth read.
A hell of a good ride
Lover’s of Sherlock Holmes will get a hell of a ride from book Murder by Bequest. There is nothing like being on a great literary mystery ride where the pages fly and your imagination flies higher. Solving cases as you flick at the pages of a great book. John Spencer Yantiss seeks to give his audience such a ride. So strap in and cuddle up with this great tale.
K. C. Baylor
Vengeance, Thy Name is Woman
Rating: 9.3/10 (3 votes cast)
Sherrod Reynard Colsne (pronounced kōn, with silent “l” and “s”) and Montague Boyd “Monty” Weston, the protagonists of Yantiss’ Murder by Bequest reminds me of Sherlock Holmes and Watson. And, rightly so. The author’s style of writing, the tone and treatment of the plot, the visual appetite of the story, luring murder mysteries, and of course, the Holmes-ian dialogues.
Criss-crossing three continents, are the lives of an American aristocratic family’s past. And the past certainly caught up with them. When multiple murders haunt the Harkness family, we’re pulled into a murder spiral. After the murder of Bertrand Wellman Harkness, IV, his elder daughter Eleanor Catherine Harkness, hires the two detectives to solve the puzzle. Their presence on home turf isn’t well-taken, and they end up having to almost prise open mouths to get closer to the murderer.
Colsne and Weston, put Eleanor up at Colsne’s Townhouse, as she’s desperate to get away from the clutches of her large and imposing family, including her mother, Camille. The next couple of days are packed with more murders and plots, scrutinized investigation by Colsne and then a superb climax. I thought I’d stop breathing, at one point, towards the end of the story and the book!
Revenge is Fun series. Millions of dollars are missing from the Venice Canals HOA and so are the Vice President and Treasurer. Were they kidnapped? Where is the money? Twists galore and a surprise ending with humor along the way.
