Murder Once Removed by S.C. Perkins

Murder Once Removed by S.C. Perkins

Published: March 2019 – Minotaur Books

Review copy courtesy of Minotaur Books

Description:  S.C. Perkins’ Murder Once Removed is the captivating first mystery in the Ancestry Detective series, in which Texas genealogist Lucy Lancaster uses her skills to solve murders in both the past and present.

Except for a good taco, genealogist Lucy Lancaster loves nothing more than tracking down her clients’ long-dead ancestors, and her job has never been so exciting as when she discovers a daguerreotype photograph and a journal proving Austin, Texas, billionaire Gus Halloran’s great-great-grandfather was murdered back in 1849. What’s more, Lucy is able to tell Gus who was responsible for his ancestor’s death.

Partly, at least. Using clues from the journal, Lucy narrows the suspects down to two nineteenth-century Texans, one of whom is the ancestor of present-day U.S. senator Daniel Applewhite. But when Gus publicly outs the senator as the descendant of a murderer—with the accidental help of Lucy herself—and her former co-worker is murdered protecting the daguerreotype, Lucy will find that shaking the branches of some family trees proves them to be more twisted and dangerous than she ever thought possible.  (publisher)

My take:  Genealogy is a popular pastime for many people these days. My father researched the family trees of both his and my mother’s family – both back to Ireland. But he didn’t find a murder in either background. That’s just what Lucy Lancaster discovers when tasked to find out about Gus Halloran’s ancestor. After a three martini lunch with her client she unwittingly finds herself in the middle of a dangerous situation filled with political intrigue and shenanigans. Who knew genealogy could be so dangerous! Along the way Lucy meets a certain FBI agent and, of course, he’s handsome and single. The question is will they help or hinder each other in their investigation. I believe that relationship will continue to develop as the series progresses. Murder Once Removed should appeal to fans of Murder, She Wrote and other light mysteries. It will be interesting to see what predicament Lucy finds herself in next.

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About the author:

S.C. Perkins is a fifth-generation Texan who grew up hearing fascinating stories of her ancestry and eating lots of great Tex-Mex, both of which inspired the plot of her debut mystery novel. Murder Once Removed was the winner of the 2017 Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery competition. She resides in Houston and, when she’s not writing or working at her day job, she’s likely outside in the sun, on the beach, or riding horses.

Visit her website at scperkins.com or follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook  @SCPerkinsWriter

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