A mystery emerges from genealogical research that causes deaths in the present. The characters are likable and the story has enough twists and turns to keep you reading. ( )

This sat on my TBR for ages, and then I started reading it in April and it started off slowly enough that it languished bedside for almost 4 months. Everything else I wanted to pick up yesterday qualified for Halloween Book Bingo, so I decided to just finish this one off. This book ended up being much better than I expected.

Lucy is a professional genealogist, researching the family tree of one of the more prominent Austin families when she stumbles upon evidence that a long ago ‘accidental’ death of one of her client’s ancestors was actually a murder, paid for by a man with the initials C.A. As she tried to find out more about the people surrounding this 150+ year old crime she discovers that someone in the here and now is very much invested in what happened all those days ago.

The story starts off slow, and frankly a little bit immaturely, but about half way through the story got interesting as it became apparent how the author was going to make a 150 year old crime relevant enough for someone to kill over in the present. The writing also got better; it’s standard cozy fare, but it’s better than average once you get past the frivolous party attitude prevalent at the start.

The solution was, perhaps, trying too hard to be clever and Lucy’s little justifications of genealogy a bit tedious, but overall it was a mystery that surprised me. I had no intention of reading another one after the first 75 pages, but by the end I found myself willing to read the second one to see where it goes. ( )

I love mystery and I love genealogy! This book gave me a great family mystery and what I always seek in a book - I learned something new. I felt as if I was one of the family members finding out all of the fun twists and turns. :) ( )

This book combines two things I enjoy, genealogy and a good mystery. It pulls you along into the past and present in a unique way. When you think you have it figured out another wrench is thrown into the mix. This book has a good puzzle to figure out with many possible suspects and is a page turner for sure. I could not put it down. ( )

While explanations of once removed, twice removed and all that genealogy jazz aren't really my thing, this book sure is! I had a great time reading this first book in the new Ancestry Detective cozy mystery series. Genealogist Lucy Lancaster is hired to look into the family tree of Angus "Gus" Halloran. She discovers that his great-great-grandfather was murdered in 1849 with an old daguerreotype photograph and journals from a witness to prove it. Only problem is....the guilty party could be one of two culprits with the initials C.A. After Gus points a finger at a descendant of one of the C.A.-suspects, Lucy finds herself in trouble. The FBI shows up at her door. There's a robbery...someone tries to hack her office computer...and the woman restoring the photographic proof is murdered. Someone really wants information on this 160-year old murder to go away!

I really enjoyed this book. I like the mix of genealogy, humor and murder mystery. The characters are all fun and likable. My hands-down favorite is Neil Patrick Housecat, of course. What a name! I like Lucy as a main character. She's quirky, feisty when required, intelligent and very talented at research. The side characters help the investigation along as well as making the story fun to read.

The mystery moved along at a nice pace, with plenty of sleuthing and possible suspects. The story kept my attention from beginning to end. The ending wasn't overly predictable or old hat. Nicely done!

This is the first cozy I've read with a genealogy background theme. I found it creative and different! The front cover is colorful and fun....Neil Patrick Housecat is perched right in the middle with great cattitude. :) Cozies always have the best covers!

All in all, a fun read! I will definitely be reading more of this series.

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** ( )