Three Family History Mysteries


Book Description

The family history mysteries by Elaine L. Orr take you to Western Maryland' Mountains. Explore life today with Digger, a local graphics artist who has a knack for discovering things others might want to stay hidden. Starting with Book 2, she gets perspective from her late Uncle Benjamin, who reappeared on her kitchen table soon after the last shovel of dirt fell onto his grave. His advice can be helpful, annoying, or witty - it depends on whether you want to hear it. Get introduced to the series with Least Trodden Ground, The Unscheduled Murder Trip, and Mountain Rails of Old. Reviews of the Series Least Trodden Ground Least Trodden Ground hits all the notes! It has every element I want in a cozy mystery and presents them so well that I ordered book 2 when I was only half way through reading this one. Intelligent, likeable characters with a good sense of humor and good hearts paired well with a strong plot that kept me reading from beginning to end non-stop! The Unscheduled Murder Trip Elaine Orr's new series has a couple of neat twists in it. No cupcake bakers or dog groomers here; instead, Digger's hobby interest is family genealogy. Of course, then there's bound to be skeletons in the closets. Add in a ghost and you've got the makings of a fun new cozy series. "Unscheduled Murder Trip" mixes an old mystery with some feisty present day descendants and a few contemporaries. A fun read! Mountain Rails of Old I recommend the Family History Series, which is Elaine's most ambitious: She's channeling a spirit in addition to her always interesting living characters. I love how she brings the town and all the characters to life (even the ghost!) It's fun to learn about this corner of Maryland, fun to play genealogy detective, and fun to figure out "whodunit"!




Fatal Family Ties


Book Description

S.C. Perkins's Fatal Family Ties is the captivating third mystery in the Ancestry Detective series, in which Texas genealogist Lucy Lancaster deals with murders in both the past and present. Lucy is just about to tuck into a plate of tacos at her favorite Austin joint, Big Flaco’s, when she gets an unexpected visit from her former—and least-favorite—co-worker. Camilla Braithwaite hasn’t gotten much friendlier since the last time Lucy saw her, but that doesn't stop her from asking a favor. In her hand is a newspaper feature on an ancestor, a civil war corporal—and a liar, according to the article. Charles Braithwaite is depicted as a phony and a deserter, and Camilla wants Lucy’s help clearing his name. Lucy would prefer to spend her free time with her new beau, special agent Ben Turner, but takes the case, making no promises that Camilla will like the outcome of her investigation. Camilla leads Lucy to the Texas History Museum, where their first clue is a triptych painting, passed down in the Braithwaite family for generations, one panel of which has disappeared. But before Lucy can get much further, a member of the Braithwaite family is murdered in his own bed, and another panel of the painting found missing. There are no shortage of suspects among the Braithwaite clan—including Camilla herself. This case will take Lucy to Houston and back again as she works to find the truth, and catch an elusive killer.




Death in Reel Time


Book Description

In this second Family History mystery, a professional genealogist realizes the family history she’s tracing may be repeating itself after her client’s son-in-law turns up dead. A killer makes his final cut. . . . If there’s one thing genealogists Sophreena McClure and Esme Sabatier have learned, it’s that every family has a black sheep— sometimes a whole flock of them. Their new client, Olivia Clement, is hoping to uncover the truth about her ne’er-do-well father, who disappeared before she was born. But Sophreena and Esme have barely begun delving into Olivia’s past when a present-day murder interrupts their schedule. Someone has decided to prune the Clement family tree by getting rid of Olivia’s domineering son-in-law, Blaine Branch. Even without Esme’s psychic gift, it was easy to sense the tension between Blaine and his put-upon wife, Beth. Suspicion quickly falls on a young filmmaker and family friend who’s creating a documentary about their small town. Yet Soph and Esme become convinced someone else wanted to edit Blaine out, permanently. Buried deep in dusty boxes of memorabilia and 1940s film reels are vital clues, but it will take all of Sophreena’s deductive skill to expose the truth—before another victim fades to black.




Daughter of Deceit


Book Description

Katharine Murray's elegant Atlanta home has been viciously vandalized! She's prepared to devote all her time to getting it back in tip-top shape—until she meets Bara Weidenauer. Once a picture-perfect socialite, Bara has fallen on some hard times. Her husband, Foley, has hightailed it out of their marriage, and she's convinced he'll try to take her for every penny she's got. While scouring her house for anything of value to hide from her greedy ex, Bara finds a box of military medals that once belonged to her father, a beloved war hero. Eager to know the story behind these precious trinkets, she enlists Katharine's help. But as Katharine digs deeper into Weidenauer family history, she discovers that everything Bara believed about her father may have been a lie. And when Foley is found shot to death, Bara's world turns to complete chaos. It's up to Katharine to expose this family's secrets from the past and the present . . . or the future will be very grim indeed.




Death on the Family Tree


Book Description

With grown-up kids and a husband always on the road, Katharine Murray's nest would be empty if it weren't for her Aunt Lucy—until the elderly woman dies. Now Katharine's saddled with her Aunt's worldly belongings—mostly knickknacks destined for the dumpster. But there's a priceless Celtic necklace among the dross—and a diary written in German, neither of which Katharine's ever seen before. Determined to find out where these objects came from, Katharine unwittingly discovers a branch of her family tree she never knew existed—namely Aunt Lucy's brother Carter, murdered more than fifty years ago after a mysterious trip to Austria. And when Lucy's artifacts are stolen, and the main suspect turns up dead, Katharine realizes she must solve a burglary and two unsolved homicides separated by a half-century . . . before more than her family secrets end up dead and buried.




Family Skeletons


Book Description

In Rett MacPherson's Family Skeletons, as resident genealogist, historian, tour guide, and occasional amateur snoop, Victory "Torie" O'Shea can be found anywhere in the historic German town of New Kassel, Missouri--mixing fudge, giving tours, tracing family trees, and even investigating murder... When shop-owner Norah Zumwalt asks Torie for help in piecing together her family lineage to find her missing father, Torie cheerfully agrees. But before Torie delivers her results, Norah is brutally murdered. Now Torie must use her formidable skills at prying into the past--and the human heart--to solve a case of passionate secrets and betrayal. But as the Mississippi floods, she may be in deep trouble when evidence of another killing surfaces--and Torie comes face to face with a family skeleton that will chill her to the bone.




Deadly Kin


Book Description

Aummer 1764. The death of a young poacher has Alec investigating murder. And when renovations to his sprawling manor unearth a secret burial chamber, a shocking family secret comes to light. Everything Alec thought he knew about his birth is again called into question, and with it the special bond with his irascible uncle Plantagenet.




Hammer Blow


Book Description

In the 1950s and 1960s two little girls, of a similar age, grow up in two separate children's homes, 250 miles apart. Much later in life, now approaching seventy years old, one of them receives a very unexpected inheritance, one result of which is that she looks more closely at her family background. Meanwhile the other woman is receiving unpleasant, anonymous letters, accusing her mother and her of being murderers. Investigation into both the letters and the inheritance shows how intertwined the two women's life stories are. Events long forgotten are revealed as Madeleine Porter uncovers a shocking history linking them and the terrible secret they unknowingly share.




Gitchie Girl


Book Description

A terrified voice cried out in the night. “Who are you? What do you want? The sound of snapping twigs closed in on the five teenagers enjoying an evening around a glowing campfire at Gitchie Manitou State Park. The night of music and laughter had taken a dark turn. Evil loomed just beyond the tree line, and before the night was over, one of the Midwest’s most horrific mass murders had left its bloodstains spewed across the campsite. One managed to survive and would come to be known as the “Gitchie Girl.” Harrowing memories of the terrifying crime sent her spiraling out of control, and she grasped at every avenue to rebuild her life. Can one man, a rescue dog, and a glimmer of faith salvage a broken soul? This true story will touch your heart and leave you cheering that good can prevail over the depravity of mankind. Through extensive research, interviews, and personal insight, the authors bring a riveting look at the heinous crime that shook the Midwest in the early 1970s. Written from rare, inside interviews with the lone survivor, who broke nearly four decades of silence, this shocking yet moving story will not soon be forgotten.




Murder Runs in the Family


Book Description

Mary Alice has spared nothing for her only daughter's wedding -- from seventy-five yards of bridal train to gourmet food for over three hundred guests and enough glittering elegance to make Mary Alice think about finding herself a fourth rich husband to pay for it all. Practical Patricia Anne has put away her aunt-of-the-bride blue chiffon and settled back into domesticity when fun-loving Mary Alice calls to say they have a post-wedding date with a genealogist from the groom's side of the family. Lunch is a fascinating lesson on the hazards of finding dirty linens in ancestral boudoirs that ends abruptly when their guest scurries off with the local judge, leaving the sisters with their mouths open -- and finishing their luncheon companion's cheesecake -- when the police arrive. Their mysterious guest has taken a plunge from the ninth floor of the courthouse building -- an apparent suicide. But given the scandals a nosy genealogist might have uncovered, the sisters are betting that some proud Southern family is making sure their shameful secrets stay buried. . .along with anyone who tries to dig them up.