''The Thornthwaite Inheritance'' is a

children's A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''child ...

macabre In works of art, the adjective macabre ( or ; ) means "having the quality of having a grim or ghastly atmosphere". The macabre works to emphasize the details and symbols of death. The term also refers to works particularly gruesome in natu ...

crime novel Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a profession ...

by British author

Gareth P. Jones Gareth P. Jones is an English children's writer, and author of the ''Dragon Detective Agency'' series of books. He is best known for his comic-gothic book ''The Considine Curse'', which won the Blue Peter Book Award The Blue Peter Book Awards ...

. It was published in 2009.

Plot summary

Ovid and Lorelli Thornthwaite are thirteen-year-old twins and they are very unusual. They wear only black, eat only bland food, listen and play only sombre music and have no electric appliances other than light bulbs in their house. But what is even stranger is their desire to kill each other! When Lorelli and Ovid create a truce on their 13th birthday, Lorelli brings a lawyer into the house to add to their deceased parents' will. If one of the twins kills the other before their 16th birthday, the day in which they inherit half of the Thornthwaite's massive inheritance, the other will immediately be cut out of the will. But bizarre murder attempts continue to be made, and the twins, though deeply suspicious of each other, work together to uncover the explanation. The book ends with the twins promising to discontinue trying to kill each other, and hoping that they have a better life, after they have discovered the culprit who got killed by a contraption designed to kill the twins.

Critical reception

The story was quite well received by critics. It won the Doncaster Book Award, and also the Rotherham Book Award. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' said that the book is "surely material for a film". Books for Keeps noted its similarity to

Lemony Snicket Lemony Snicket is the pen name of American author Daniel Handler and a fictional character of his creation. Handler has published various children's books under the name, including ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'', which has sold over 60 millio ...

's ''

A Series of Unfortunate Events ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' is a series of thirteen Children's literature, children's novels written by American author Daniel Handler under the pen name Lemony Snicket. The books follow the turbulent lives of orphaned siblings List of A ...

'' but thought it was less repetitive and manipulative towards the reader. The Bookbag praised the likeable characters, but noted the excessive use of plot twists, and thought that the style of writing was dull.

Adaptations

A brilliant musical based on the book premiered at the Erindale Theatre in Canberra, Australia, 13–18 September 2020, with script, production and direction by Shaylie Maskell, and music written and conducted by Caleb Wells, for new Canberra theatre company Green Oak Theatre Company.https://www.facebook.com/GreenOakTheatre

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornthwaite Inheritance 2009 British novels British children's novels British black comedy novels Novels about orphans 2009 children's books Bloomsbury Publishing books