Lineage Most Lethal: An Ancestry Detective Mystery (Ancestry Detective, #2)

by S C Perkins

It's the week before New Year's Eve and genealogist Lucy Lancaster is mixing work and play quite nicely at the boutique Sutton Hotel in Austin, Texas. After two months of research she's finalising her presentation for hotel heiress Pippa Sutton, her latest client.

Lucy has just arrived back at the hotel after a day of research when a strange man comes staggering toward her. She barely has time to notice his weak, sweaty appearance and broken tooth before he presses a classic Montblanc pen into her hand, whispers, 'keep them safe,' and collapses at her feet, dead.

Lucy only knows one person who might be able to explain the signifcance of the pen: her grandpa, who is a collector. But Grandpa has an odd reaction to the sight of the pen, and Lucy can't help but feel that it might have something to do with his experiences during World War II.

When Lucy becomes convinced that her hotel room has been searched and that there's more to the pen - and her grandpa - than meets the eye, she begins to draw connections from the present-day deaths and suspicious behaviors to a group of spies in World War II. Secret codes, old grievances, and traitors seem to hide behind every corner, and as Lucy begins to connect the dots someone seems determined to make sure the Lancaster line ends once and for all.

• ISBN10: 1250750075
• ISBN13: 9781250750075
• Publish Date: 1 August 2020
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 18 March 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Minotaur Books,US
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[Baroness Book Trove]

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Lineage Most Lethal by S. C. Perkins is another beautifully done historical book. I loved reading it and learning things about World War II that I never even thought of could exist.

Can Lucy figure out what is so significant about this pen?

Lucy Lancaster

Lucy Lancaster is back once again to solve a mystery that she stumbles upon unknowingly. She has been working diligently with this one client, but then once again, she gets wrapped up in another mystery. Just this mystery happens to also go into her own families' past, and Lucy is learning new things about her grandfather, then she thought possible. I loved how Lucy is shocked by what her grandpa was telling her and how that information helped Lucy solve the crime. Lucy is an excellent sleuth in that she solves crimes by looking into the past first before looking into the present. Doing this helps Lucy in so many ways. Especially if the past helps with the motive. What I like about her is that she knows that she isn't great at a lot of things but gives her something related to both history and genealogy; she is good to go. Another thing that I like about her is Lucy's relationship with her grandfather is everything. I still haven't found anything to dislike about her.

The Mystery

The mystery is in several different parts, but is each related, or are they all separate?

• The first murder happens to be of the guy that gives Lucy the pen that started this whole investigation on her part.


• The second murder didn't happen until the next day with someone else.


• In between those two was a woman who died on her walk.

There are a lot more things going on, but most of it is spoilers. But wow is this mystery very multifaceted, which is probably why it was hard for me to tell who the killer was. I didn't see who it was because I did fall for a red herring, but then once that red herring was cleared, I had no one else to look at as the potential killer. Let's just say that Ms. Perkins has this mystery writing trick down well.

Five Stars

Lineage Most Lethal by S. C. Perkins is fabulously written and so well thought out. I loved how Ms. Perkins dug up information that I never thought could be true about World War II. At least with the spies. Learning about history even in a fun way of trying to solve a cozy mystery in the present that links to the past are super cool. Ms. Perkins does a great job of doing this with her books. Taking all of that into account and the fact that I was so into the mystery that I didn't catch the right clues right away that I am giving it five stars and recommending it to anyone that loves cozies.

First Book in the Series

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Lineage Most Lethal by S. C. Perkins. 

Until the next time,



Happy Reading!

This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove