Perry Christo, a former New York Police Department homicide detective turned private eye, received a call asking him to locate a missing person. A woman reported her daughter had not been seen in almost two weeks. While he thought it odd a mother would wait that long to report her daughter missing, despite his misgivings he agreed to take the case.

The mother turned out to be Julia Drusilla, a Manhattan society matron who lived in a penthouse apartment filled with artwork and sculptures. At the end of their conversation, Julia told Perry that Angel would turn twenty-one in less than two weeks and would inherit a large fortune.

After talking to Julia, Perry still had misgivings. During the course of his investigation, he discovered why he was wavering. Following leads from Manhattan to the Hampshire’s during a particularly cold season, Perry’s own life was on the line.

Along the way he meets the allusive Angel’s dad, her boyfriend, and her best friend. Perry is threatened, assaulted, lied to and followed by someone in a black SUV. This case turned out to be one of the most challenging he had ever had and it puts not only Perry’s life in jeopardy, but a number of others as well. There is a lot at stake, and someone does not want him to succeed in his quest to find the missing Angel.

Inherit the Dead is one of the most interesting novels I’ve read in a while. Twenty bestselling writers took turns writing one chapter each and the result is a near-perfect novel. How twenty authors can keep a mystery story going without dropping a thread is one of the wonders of this book.

Another is that the storyline is so smooth and seemingly effortless, readers wouldn’t know there were multiple authors if no one mentioned it to them.

I’ve read this type of story before and it always amazes me when the novel is finished, and everything comes together just right. Of course, there is the typical surprise ending. There are also quirky characters, bad guys trying to stop the hero from reaching his goal, and numerous surprises and reveals along the way.

Author Lee Child provides the introduction. Some of the writers involved include John Connolly, Charlaine Harris, Mary Higgins Clark, Lawrence Bloc, Alafair Burke, Marcia Clark, Heather Graham, Bryan Gruley, Dana Stabenow, and more. How they can each contribute a chapter and still keep the story on track and mesmerizing is a mystery of its own.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a riveting mystery written by some of the best authors in the genre. A special thank you goes to Touchtone for providing us with a complimentary copy of Inherit the Dead for review. If you are interested in this novel, it is available at Amazon.com.