The inheritance

Sakhlecha's disappointing latest (after Can You See Me Now?) begins like a golden age whodunit: a wealthy family gathers on an isolated island to divide up an inheritance. But Sakhlecha's ambitions are more anthropological than Agatha Christie's--murder comes at the climax, rather than in the story's opening pages, and the focus is squarely on the power dynamics among the Agarwal clan. The patriarch, Raj, plans to hand over his petrochemical company to his only son, Aseem. The gathering is hosted by golden child Myra, whose seemingly perfect life masks significant inner turmoil. Aisha, the younger daughter, brings along her unsuitable fiancé, while Aseem's wife, Zoe, butts heads with overbearing matriarch Shalini, who insists on controlling every aspect of Zoe's pregnancy. The slow-burn structure does Sakhlecha few favors: traditional mystery fans will be disappointed that the puzzle plot suggested by the locale never materializes, while readers of psychological suspense will lose patience with the protracted excavation of each character's secrets. Once those secrets are revealed, they hardly warrant the cataclysmic conclusion. This uneasy mash-up of Succession and Big Little Lies adds up to less than the sum of its parts. Agent: Ariele Fredman, UTA. (Jan.)