An “original and moving” (The New York Times Book Review), “must-read” (People) portrait of an unforgettable, patrician Manhattan family and the tangled nature of inheritance and legacy, from the author of Like Mother, Like Mother “An absorbing page-turner, full of sex and secrets . . . I loved getting to know the entire Falkes clan.”—New York Times bestselling author Emma Straub AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR When English-born lawyer Rupert Falkes dies, his wife and five adult sons are bereft—even more so when six months later, their grieving is interrupted by an unknown woman suing Rupert’s estate, claiming that he was also the father to her two sons.
The Falkes brothers are pitched into turmoil, at once missing their father and feeling betrayed by him. In disconcerting contrast, their mother, Eleanor, is cool and calm, showing preternatural composure. Eleanor and Rupert had made an admirable life together, and they were proud of their handsome, talented sons: Harry, a brash law professor; Will, a savvy Hollywood agent; Sam, an astute doctor and scientific researcher; Jack, a jazz trumpet prodigy; Tom, a public-spirited federal prosecutor. The brothers see their identity and success as inextricably tied to family loyalty—a loyalty they always believed their father shared.
Struggling to reclaim their identity, the brothers find Eleanor’s sympathy toward the woman and her sons confounding, and they begin to question whether they knew either of their parents at all.
“Both original and absorbing—and a whole lot of fun . . . The major players are so richly alive, their search for the truth so absorbing, that you might tear some pages in your rush to turn them.”
—The New York Times Book Review“Elegant literary prose and supremely likeable characters make this a must-read.”
—People“Fans of Salinger’s stories about Manhattan’s elite will enjoy this novel about privileged siblings who grapple with the state of their inheritance and long-held secrets that emerge in the wake of their father’s death.”
—InStyle “Love and sex and money and betrayal make for excellent storytelling. And
The Heirs has all of that. . . . As an exploration of the hidden lives of Rupert and Eleanor Falkes, it is a posh soap opera written by Fitzgerald and the Brontës. As a window on a family shaken by death, it is
The Royal Tenenbaums, polished up and moved across town. But its beauty, economy, and expensive wit is all its own.”
—NPR “Susan Rieger is thrillingly erudite and compulsively readable, a satisfying combination hard to find in any section of the bookstore.
The Heirs is an absorbing page-turner, full of sex and secrets, and I loved getting to know the entire Falkes clan.”
—Emma Straub, New York Times bestselling author of The Vacationers “Unstoppably entertaining and astute, it describes its characters—the charismatic fauna of old, upper-class New York—with a strange, merciless sympathy.”
—Joseph O’Neill, author of Netherland and The Dog “Speaking of intrigue, who doesn’t love a good family drama? As the next step to summer reading bliss, turn off daytime TV and pick up a book that gives you the same kind of thrill without making you feel your brain’s turned to junk. Rieger’s
The Heirs is about the secrets and lies that threaten to consume the Falkes family, moneyed Manhattanites with a flawless educational pedigree.”
—Brit + Co “A thoroughly engaging family saga and an incisive probe into the upper crust of Manhattan society—a slice of Edith Wharton transported to the twenty-first century . . . Rieger’s intimate look at this intriguing family is an erudite and witty take on a social circle that most readers can only imagine.”
—BookPage
“Brilliantly constructed and flawlessly written . . . an emotional and satisfying story of how a complicated family and their outliers handle life’s most pivotal moments.”
—Library Journal, starred review “[An] assured novel of family, money, and secrets, reminiscent in theme and tone of Edith Wharton . . . just in time for poolside reading, this elegant novel wears its intelligence lightly.”
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review “Rieger wrestles perceptively with difficult questions and . . . shines incrementally increasing light on the Falkes’ extended web of familial and emotional ties, sucking the reader into the tangle of emotions and conflicting interests . . . a tense, introspective account of looking for truth, and instead finding peace.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
