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Inheritance


"And the longer Lars stared into his face, the more he wondered if maybe...maybe...the answers to this strange scene were trapped inside him, gnarl-frozen like ice swelling the cracks in a rock."

The Story


Lars Gustafson has one job to do. The mortician hired him for his size---not his brain, and certainly not his English---and Lars carries the bodies. Big and small; young and old; drowned, pneumatic---and murdered. 

When wealthy farmer Harold Eklund is found shot---and frozen---on his dining table, the small, windswept town of Osceola, Nebraska is consumed by the mystery--and Lars more than anyone. Harold and his family fascinate Lars, and, despite his usual reticence, he seeks ways to get closer to them---

Especially Harold's daughters, Mildred and Rachel.

Pulled further and further into the Eklund family's secrets, Lars begins to unwind the mystery of Harold's murder---and the strange part Lars himself played in the man's demise. Fifteen years of pain and lies, jealousy and scandal, have festered like a corpse. From covering a lurid crime, to ruthless land buyouts in the Twenties, to the devastating secret Rachel has hidden her entire marriage---Harold's choices have destroyed himself, his family, and even his murderer.

Lars must now choose between burying a tragic truth, or shattering the fragile remains of Mildred and Rachel's family. 

Summary


Part whodunnit mystery, part family saga, Inheritance follows unlikely sleuth Lars Gustafson as he pieces together the truths behind the murder that left Harold Eklund frozen to his dining table. Set in my rural hometown of Osceola, Nebraska, Inheritance leans heavily on the town's history, featuring true anecdotes and real-life people who made up Osceola at the time of the novel's setting. 

Inheritance was the subject of an article in the Polk County News in March 2020.


INHERITANCE is available on Amazon, or on loan at the Osceola Public Library.

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Allie Ray

  WHO I AM  I am an author, educator and part-time librarian from the small, rural town of Osceola, Nebraska. I earned my BA in English with minors in creative writing and theater arts from Concordia University--Seward, Nebraska. From there I moved several places, held several jobs, and had several daughters. Now my girls and I live in my hometown again, where I moonlight as the assistant librarian. I am also featured on  Nebraska Authors . WHAT I WRITE My writing tends literary, with a strong focus on characters and dialogue. I like writing in historical settings, especially the early 20th century. In general, I like writing flawed love stories and complicated families; specifically, I like writing about life in a small town, crime capers and mysteries, fast-talkers, and strong-willed women. I like mixing genres and writing situations and characters that challenge me to find hope, light, and beauty in a grim world. WHAT INSPIRES ME I am perennially fascinated by history....
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