Book Title: Inheritance (Deadly Curiosities 4)
Author: Gail Z. Martin
Publisher: SOL Publishing
Narrator: Courtney Patterson
Release Date: October 20, 2020
Genre: Urban fantasy with minor romantic elements
Tropes: Ghosts, witches, supernatural creatures, found family, hurt/comfort
Themes: Starting over, creating found family, old secrets coming to light
Heat Rating: 1 flame
Length: 7 hours and 14 minutes
It can be read as a standalone story. It is the fourth Deadly Curiosities novel and the series crosses over with a number of Morgan Brice series. Other books do not need to be read in order to enjoy the plot.
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Find the demon box. Stop the killer ghosts. Break the curse.
Blurb
Cassidy Kincaide runs Trifles & Folly in modern-day Charleston, an antiques and curio shop with a dangerous secret. Cassidy can read the history of objects by touching them, and she teams up with friends and allies who use magic and paranormal abilities to get rid of cursed objects and keep Charleston and the world safe from supernatural threats.
Caribbean ghosts terrorize Charleston and start racking up a body count. Then Beckford Pendlewood, the heir to a powerful family of dark warlocks, shows up raving about a bound demon locked in a lost box and begs sanctuary. Can Cassidy and her friends find the demon box, stop the killer ghosts, and break the Pendlewood curse before Beckford’s murderous cousins and the vengeful demon destroy them all?
Note—This is primarily an urban fantasy/supernatural adventure with a secondary romance, but there are two different evolving MM romances that play an important role in the book.
It is the ‘tent pole’ series from which all the others spin off. Cassidy Kincaide is Simon Kincaide’s cousin (Badlands), and Teag Logan, her best friend, shows up in all the rest of the Morgan Brice books as a helpful hacker. Simon and Vic (Badlands) come to Charleston in this book and play a big role in fighting the big bad, as does Dante the pirate ghost from The Rising and Loose Ends (Badlands). Teag is in a long-term relationship with Anthony, Beck and Logan (new characters in Inheritance) fall in love, and Simon and Vic are badasses–so there are three MM couples who play major roles with the plot even though the MC (Cassidy) isn’t gay. (She has a boyfriend but there’s no MF sex on page beyond very minor kisses and cuddles.)
Inheritance falls between Flame and Ash and Unholy in the in-book timeline (and slightly before Loose Ends, oddly enough). Also, Unholy takes Seth and Evan to Charleston where Cassidy and her crew play an essential role in defeating that book’s witch disciple.
From Chapter 1
“It’s a ‘sailor’s valentine,’” I said, recognizing the style. I leaned closer, careful not to touch. While the idea of an intricate design crafted from shells sounded like a kitschy souvenir, antique sailor’s valentines could be true works of folk art and fetch thousands of dollars. This one was particularly well done, with a floral rose inside a nautical wind rose, enclosed in a detailed decorative border, and all of it painstakingly pieced together from naturally-colored seashells.
“We can authenticate the original ownership,” Alfred asserted, probably hoping to regain my professional respect. “It’s old—the date on the back says 1845, and the appraiser confirmed that the materials are consistent with that period. The writing next to the date reads, ‘To my darling Millicent, undying love from Joseph.’”
“Do you have any idea who Joseph and Millicent were?”
“Unfortunately, no,” Alfred admitted. “The representative said that it had been given by a sailor to his fiancée when he returned to port.” He cleared his throat. “Unfortunately, it was a parting gift, because the sailor had already married someone else. After that, the piece passed through various hands until it was acquired a few decades later by the family of the late owner.”
I walked around the piece, which was secured on an easel. The mahogany frame appeared to be in good shape, and despite the age of the piece, the shells had not discolored or come loose from their glue, and the glass had no chips or breaks. The shell work itself was a wonder, using a variety of types—common cockles, beaded periwinkles, baby’s ears, bubbles, jingles, and more—in an array of colors and sizes. I could understand why it could catch someone’s eye.
Assuming they couldn’t feel the psychic reek of malevolent energy that made me recoil. If it has that much resonance when I’m a foot away, I really don’t want to know how it feels to pick it up.
When an item gave off vibes that were that strong, I could usually get a read without having to touch it. I closed my eyes, aware that Alfred was watching, and reached out with my psychometry, stretching my gift toward the piece but not getting any closer than necessary.
Hatred and vengefulness hit me like a punch to the face. After all this time, the resonance was so powerful that I caught my breath and took a defensive step back. I saw everything, like a movie in fast-forward. Millicent’s happiness that her beloved had returned from the sea, and her delight in the beautiful gift. Joseph’s admission of betrayal. Her shock, turning to grief and then cooling into anger. A heated argument, and the swing of a candlestick in rage, leaving Joseph in a pool of blood. Fear, remorse, loss, and guilt, and then a knife blade that Millicent used to open veins and let herself die beside her faithless lover.
The vision ended as abruptly as it had begun, leaving me breathless. I might have spared some sympathy for Millicent, despite her reaction, if I didn’t feel the temperature drop and know from the prickle on my skin that Millicent’s spirit still clung to the tragic gift.
“Get back!” I reached into the pocket of my jacket and grabbed a handful of the loose salt I kept there for situations just like this. As Millicent’s spirit began to take shape and the air around us grew freezing cold, I hurled a handful of salt at her ghostly outline, making her flicker and vanish.
“Run!” I grabbed Alfred by the arm and dragged him with me as I sprinted toward the storage room door. I’d disrupted Millicent’s manifestation, but it wouldn’t take a spirit that strong long to regroup.
Gail Z. Martin writes epic fantasy, urban fantasy and steampunk for Solaris Books, Orbit Books, SOL Publishing, Darkwind Press, Worldbuilders Press and Falstaff Books. Recent books include Convicts and Exiles, Sellsword’s Oath, Inheritance, and Night Moves. With Larry N. Martin, she is the co-author of the Spells Salt & Steel, Wasteland Marshals, Joe Mack and Jake Desmet series.
As Morgan Brice, she writes urban fantasy MM paranormal romance including the Witchbane, Badlands, Treasure Trail and Fox Hollow series.
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