The Legacy by Kirsten Tranter

 

A literary novel that borrows elements from Portrait of a Lady and The Big Sleep sounds a bit too literary and not very novel. But The Legacy isn’t all gong and no dinner. At the heart of the story is Ingrid, a luminescent lovely from Western Australia. Ingrid charms everyone on the Sydney scene, from her bisexual cousin Ralph and family friend Julia right down to Racer, the grumpy greyhound. But when a high-flying art collector suddenly whisks the pretty heiress off to New York, Ralph's suspicions are raised. And when Ingrid disappears on the morning of 11  September 2001, Ralph is sure it has more to do with domestic violence than international terrorism. Too sick to travel himself, he dispatches Julia to solve the mystery of the missing missus. It’s an engrossing tale, embellished by the author’s formidable powers of description. Nothing is safe from Kirsten Tranter’s gazillion-watt searchlight: teacups, apartments, facial expressions, Brooklyn. The sedate rhythm enhances a story that’s not so much narrated as percolated. Add a cast of characters that includes a randy professor, a drugged-up fortune teller and a dominatrix, and you’ve got yourself a mystery to remember. [James Carson]