The title is The Trust: A Novel by Ronald H. Balson. This is a really good book and I’ll be sure to check out other titles by the author.

Liam Taggart’s last visit to Northern Ireland ended badly. Very badly. Liam’s favorite Uncle (Fergus Taggart) had told him to leave as he had betrayed his family. And so he left Northern Ireland.

Sixteen years later he is a Private Investigator in Chicago and gets a telephone call from a Taggart cousin in Northern Ireland. The cousin tells him that Uncle Fergus died and the family needed him back in the North of Ireland. At this point it could have been a short story. A very short story.

But then it got very interesting and much more complicated. Uncle Fergus had been murdered and before his death had been convinced that he and his family were in danger. This fear led Fergus to leave a very odd will which involved a sealed trust that delayed any inheritance by his family members. Even more oddly he chose his estranged nephew Liam as sole trustee.

Then family members are murdered in various ways and one at a time. Is the murderer a family member trying to increase his or her share of the inheritance? Is it someone seeking revenge for the Taggart brothers previous involvement in the Northern Irish Troubles? Is it something else?

It is a very good read. The Northern Ireland angle is a bonus if that interests you. I highly recommend it. The book is almost 2 years old so you may be able to find it in a local library if you prefer the free read to buying the book.