It’s Friday, and that means time for Fiction Friday. I love taking this day to introduce you to books and authors I enjoy. Usually, the titles are fiction but every once in awhile I throw in some nonfiction. Today I’m thrilled to talk about Michael Phillips‘ latest release, The Inheritance. Growing up I inhaled his Stonewycke series and his translations of George MacDonald’s books. I think I’ve always been in love with Scotland because of his books. He also is one of the authors who wrote back to me when I was a young teen wondering about whether I could sometime write. I will always be grateful for his kindness in handling my dream.

In The Inheritance, Phillips demonstrates why he’s a master storyteller of sweeping, generational sagas. The book starts with short chapters that introduce to a host of characters from current and past times. All end up tied together because of one place, a tiny island in Scotland, an island where time has largely stood still, but now the current pressures of the world are pressing against it. The Inheritance also delves into deeper themes of what does it mean to inherit. Why should we care about preserving the past? How do we honor that while moving forward? There are even a few hints of ties to the older series that brought a smile to my face.

This book is perfect for readers who like to submerge in a book rich with characters and setting, one that will allow them to be swept into another place. It’s also ideal for readers who really enjoy the back and forth of multiple perspectives and times.

{MORE ABOUT THE INHERITANCE}

The death of the clan patriarch has thrown the tiny Shetland Islands community of Whale’s Reef into turmoil.

Everyone assumed MacGregor Tulloch’s heir to be his grand-nephew David, a local favorite, but when it is discovered that MacGregor left no will, David’s grasping cousin Hardy submits his own claim to the inheritance, an estate that controls most of the island’s land. And while Hardy doesn’t enjoy much popular support, he has the backing of a shadowy group of North Sea oil investors. The courts have frozen the estate’s assets while the competing claims are investigated, leaving many of the residents in financial limbo. The future of the island—and its traditional way of life—hangs in the balance.

Loni Ford is enjoying her rising career in a large investment firm in Washington, DC. Yet in spite of her outward success, she is privately plagued by questions of identity. Orphaned as a young child, she was raised by her paternal grandparents, and while she loves them dearly, she feels completely detached from her roots. That is until a mysterious letter arrives from a Scottish solicitor. . . .

Past and present collide in master storyteller Phillips’s dramatic new saga of loss and discovery, of grasping and grace, and of the dreams of men and women everywhere.

Learn more and purchase a copy.

Enter to win a copy of The Inheritance—five winners will be chosen! Click the image below to enter to win. The winners will be announced May 12 on the Litfuse blog!