Wilkie Collins 
Legacy of Cain 

If you’re born in the Western world or have played a lot of video games, chances are the title "The Legacy of Cain" will make you think of either polygon vampires or take you straight back to the lazy sunlit classrooms of primary school Bible studies. Fortunately, Wilkie Collins’ 1888 novel avoids the oppressive embrace of both of these constructs yet still manages to mix in both faith and horrific murder.Against both his wife’s and doctor’s wishes, a minister decides to adopt the baby daughter of a prisoner facing execution, arguing that the mother’s evil can’t possibly have been passed down. The hitherto childless couple suddenly has a baby girl of their own and the two girls are raised ignorant of the truth. Yet as ghosts of the past creep into the girls’ lives, the question becomes how long the secret can be kept — and what the consequences its uncovering will be.An exploration of nature vs. nurture with a pinch of the supernatural, "The Legacy of Cain" isn’t about anybody named Cain at all — but we’ll wager you’ll like it all the same.-