The Paperchase
The Paperchase by Marcel Theroux (son of Paul, brother of Louis) appears to be out of print on Amazon UK but can be purchased used.
The Paperchase concerns Damien March, who works a dull job at the BBC, he hears his Uncle Patrick has died and attends his funeral more as a break from the norm than for any other reason. Then he discovers he has inherited the bulk of his Uncle's estate, in particular his home on Ionia an island off the coast of Massachussetts. His Uncle, a fairly cantankerous old man had been involved with disputes with practically all other relatives leaving Damien the last option. A bequest apparently borne of spite rather than benevolence.
Damien disconnected from and discontented with life decides to spend sometime on Ionia and in so doing becomes encumbered by his Uncle's many possessions, but amongst his paperwork discovers intrigues and secrets.
A fairly slight novel at just over 200 pages, The Paperchase is nevertheless imbued with a real sense of place and atmosphere on Ionia and manages a good level of depth of characterisation with both Damien and Patrick. It also leaves a couple of interesting open ended questions worth considering, or so I thought personally.
It was enjoyable and very readable, although the story isn't "a big one", packed with incident it is deftly handled and engaging. I think my biggest complaint would be that it was too short which is a compliment to the writer really. Certainly worth the couple of hours of your time it would take to read, and the low price on Amazon. Shame it's out of print. 8/10
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