The code NPE in the genealogy world refers to a "non parental event" which basically means the legal father is not the biological father. I have 2 NPE's in my own family. As you can tell, I LOVE Genealogy!!

This story is set around a family that founded their local town in North Carolina, back before the revolutionary war, but some rumours have arisen thatt they now want to have buried. For this family, it would be a huge scandal to discover that they were not who they assumed they were. So when the founding family asks the genealogists to dig into the family tree and make very sure they have found proof that the family were legit, that is when the murders start to happen.

I give this four stars because well, you know how people from these "nuveau rich" families are like. They give themselves airs and think they can act like rich people trying desperately to hide the rumours. Not very likeable characters at all. The genealogists (there were 2 of them) were wonderful!! ( )

Paging the Dead by Brynn Bonner is a cozy genealogical mystery. It is more mystery than genealogy but it clips right along and is very entertaining. Published in 2013 it is a bit dated, especially the rather strange statements about DNA but don't let that put you off. The characters are all quite interesting and I look forward to finding more by this author.

Having grown up with two rabid genealogists and having benefited from their investigative skills, I'm always on the lookout for crime fiction that uses family history to solve murders. I was not disappointed with Paging the Dead.

Brynn Bonner has created a smart, funny, and relentless investigator in Sophreena McClure, and her business partner, Esme Sabatier, seems to be a good match for her, although the older woman didn't play as big a part in the book as I would've liked. Since she didn't, her skills as a medium were very lightly used, which is a good thing for all of you who do not care for paranormal elements in your mysteries. I can also see the members of the scrapbooking club being featured more prominently in future books, and I look forward to that.

The uninitiated can get a glimpse of real genealogical work throughout the book, as the victim's family history contains some of the clues to the identity of the killer. The only tiny blight on the mystery for me was that I spotted the killer very early on, but there is so much to enjoy while reading the book that it didn't really matter.

Besides the characters, the setting, and the insights into genealogy, I appreciated learning how those heritage scrapbooks are put together, and several of Sophreena's observations of tracing family history in the age of the internet made me smile, like this one: "Though in years to come Facebook is going to be a treasure trove of way too personal info for future genealogists. I hope I'm out of the business by then."

There is so much to like in this first book in the Family History cozy mystery series, and I'm really looking forward to the next book! ( )

This is the first book for this author and it is a great one. With Sophreena and Esme as the professional genealogists and the "gang" of friends who work on their own genealogy when they get together, you pick up a great deal about how genealogy works, how fun it can be, and how frustrating! Sophie and Esme were hired to do the genealogy for the towns local "big wig", Dorothy Pritchett Porter. The Prittchett family built the town of Morningside, NC and Dorothy wants a complete family history, including all the letters, diaries, and photographs that Dorothy has collected over the years.

Sophie and Esme are to the point where they are ready to start putting together scrapbooks on the history when Dorothy is killed, so Sophie gets on the case to try and figure out who killed Dorothy, and why.

There are a lot of red herrings, a few that drew my attention but I will admit to figuring out the who about half way through the book. My problem was the "why", and I didn't get that until the author wanted me too.

I hope she writes more books in this series, this one was such fun to read. ( )

Professional genealogists Esme and Sophreena get more than they bargain for when they sift through one family's secrets. Their contract includes a family tree and some scrapbooks, but when the family matriarch that hires them ends up murdered, they throw in a little investigative work for free. Of course, it helps that Esme has some extra special gifts that give them access to information not recorded in the family archives. As an archivist and librarian, I appreciated the attention to detail amidst the murder mystery. I look forward to seeing more from Esme and Soph. ( )