The French Inheritance — Anne Stevenson

When the handsome young Englishman, David Hurst, came to France to claim an unexpected inheritance, he found himself caught up in the chilling crosscurrents of old secrets and new violence.

It began with the legacy.

The small house outside Paris. He had wanted to explore it before his lawyers arrived.

And he had done so.

Everything seemed in order - until he came to the last bedroom. A guest bedroom. A light was burning. And the guest, whoever she was, was still lying in bed with the sheet drawn up to her chin. It took him a few moments to realize she was dead. And a few more to realize that she had been murdered.