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About The Book

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.

About The Author

Brynn Bonner grew up in Alabama and is a long-time resident of North Carolina. Both her literary fiction and mysteries reflect the landscapes and the genuine people of her southern heritage. Bonner currently pens the Family History Mystery series for Pocket Books. Writing as Ellen Harris, Bonner wrote six books for the Mysteries of Sparrow Island series published by Guidepost Books. Her short stories have been featured in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Now and Then, Crossroads, and other publications.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Gallery Books (March 11, 2014)
  • Length: 320 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781451661897

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Raves and Reviews

“Fans of light mysteries will enjoy the sufficiently quirky characters and a plot peppered with an equally satisfactory number of solid clues and red herrings.”

– Publishers Weekly

“Bonner’s chatty, huggy club (Paging the Dead, 2013) returns to sort out family trees and solve murders at a leisurely pace that keeps this cozy from standing out—until what seems like a giveaway leads to a surprising climax.”

– Kirkus Review

“Before this story reaches its ultimate conclusion, many readers will be on their way to look up their own ancestry, because the read is literally that beguiling. A fantastic tale, lovers of mystery will eat up every page and gasp at the truly ‘surprise’ ending that will have one and all eagerly awaiting the next installment in this incredible series.”

– Amy Lignor, author of "The Hero's Companion: Tallent & Lowery Book Three" in Suspese Magazine

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More books from this author: Brynn Bonner

More books in this series: A Family History Mystery