Genealogy Fiction
(mostly mysteries)

immigrant

The Blood of Caesar by Albert A. Bell, Jr (2008)
The complicated bloodline of Agrippina, the mother of Nero, serves as the starting point of this exciting historical mystery set in Ancient Rome, featuring Pliny the Younger in the second of the series.
The Lost Quilter by Jennifer Chiaverini (2009)
A continuation of The Runaway Quilt finds master quilter Sylvia Compson investigating her ancestry and discovering unexpected connections to a runaway slave and quilter who traveled the Underground Railroad to Elm Creek Farm before she was captured and returned to Virginia.
The Winshaw Legacy or What a Carve Up! By Jonathan Coe (1994)
During the summer of 1990, a young writer pieces together the true story of the Winshaw dynasty -- a family of greedy, power-hungry bankers, politicians, arms dealers, and more -- a story that begins to converge with the plot of a film created nearly thirty years earlier.
Person or Persons Unknown by Anthea Fraser (2005)
Biographer Rona Parish takes on a bizarre assignment when she's approached by a young woman, Zara Crane, who asks Rona to find out who her father was. Zara's mother was brutally murdered when Zara was a baby, but no one, including Zara's adoptive parents, knows her father's identity.
Murder Runs in the Family by Anne George (1997)
Inquisitive sisters-turned-amateur sleuths Mary Alice and Patricia Anne return as they probe the mysterious "suicide" of their luncheon guest, a nosy genealogist who may have uncovered a host of shameful secrets and scandals.
The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff (2008)
Returning in disgrace to her mother's home after an affair with her professor, temperamental Willie arrives at the same time the remains of a prehistoric creature are discovered in the town's lake, a finding that leads to painful revelations about Willie's family.
The Death of Cousin Rose by Jonathan Harrington (1996)
Irish-American Danny O'Flaherty goes to Ballycara, Ireland, to research his roots. When he arrives at the house of his cousin, Rose, Danny finds that she has been brutally murdered. Garda Kelly, a local cop, immediately accuses Danny of her murder. Danny has to reveal the killer in order to save himself.
Mrs Malory and a Death in the Family by Hazel Holt (2005)
When her irritating cousin Bernard comes to Taviscombe searching for information to complete his genealogical research, Sheila Malory is stunned when her pompous relative is found dead in his rented cottage and must expose a murderer who is closer than she thinks.
The Third Heiress by Brenda Joyce (1999)
When her mortally injured fiance whispers the name "Kate" on his deathbed, Jillian Gallagher decides to investigate and uncovers a mysterious woman who died a century earlier and may be the key to the accident, and much more.
Murder Once Removed by Kathleen Kunz (1993)
Terry Girard, an expert in genealogies and family histories, must prove that her own aunt, Cecile Girard, did not commit suicide, as was previously believed.
Famous D.A.R. Murder Mystery by Graham Landrum (1992)
When the search for one of their revolutionary forebears remains unsatisfied, the Old Orchard Fort chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution follows a trail to the Brown Spring Cemetery, where they find a very contemporary corpse. Other titles in the D.A.R. series include The Historical Society Murder Mystery and The Garden Club Mystery.
The Heir Hunter by Chris Larsgaard (2000)
Nick Merchant is an heir hunter -- a little-known species of private investigator who searches for a dead person's next of kin when no will exists, and collects a percentage of the estate. Gerald Jacobs is a reclusive millionaire, found dead in a creaky old house in upstate New York. His net worth: twenty-two million dollars. Nick and his beautiful partner, Alex Moreno, think they're about to score the payday of a lifetime. Unfortunately, they've got some pretty stiff competition. A rival firm is doing its best to beat them to the punch. And someone else -- someone who knows every dark secret in Gerald Jacobs's grave -- will stop at nothing to see that no one ever breaks this case.
Always Time to Die by Elizabeth Lowell (2005)
Hired by the eccentric aunt of New Mexico's multimillionaire governor Quintrell to research their family, genealogist Carolina May gets more than she had bargained for when she finds herself falling for the enigmatic Daniel Duran and stumbles into a dark and dangerous secret about the Quintrell family that threatens her life.
A Veiled Antiquity by Rett MacPherson (1998)
When small-town genealogist and amateur detective Torie O'Shea stumbles into a dead woman's kitchen, makes away with sought-after documents, and proceeds to irritate the sheriff, the local gossip columnist, and the nun at Santa Lucia Church, some people feel that she has gone too far and must be stopped. Other titles featuring O'Shea include A Comedy of Heirs and Family Skeletons.
The Songcatcher by Sharyn McCrumb (2001)
Folksinger Lark McCourry retraces the history of a family song, which she had heard from her North Carolina relatives as a child, back to eighteenth-century Scotland to young Malcolm MacQuarry.
Genealogy of Murder by Lee Martin (1996)
Fort Worth Detective Deb Ralston is called in when an extra corpse turns up among the other cadavers in a medical experiment, in a case that becomes complicated by a missing local genealogist who has any number of ex-wives and ex-fiancees with reason to kill him.
Shimura Trouble by Sujata Massey(2008)
During a family reunion on the island of Oahu, Japanese-American undercover spy Rei Shimura is roped into helping the Hawaiian branch of her family regain land stolen from them during World War II. But when fire sweeps the island and her young cousin is accused of arson, Rei, with the assistance of both her boyfriend and ex-lover, must discover the truth, which turns out to be linked to the Shimura family history . . .
In Babylon by Marcel Möring (2000)
Trapped in a deserted house during one of the worst blizzards in memory, Nathan Hollander and his niece, Nina, piece together a family mystery with the help of two seventeenth century ghosts.
Bloodline by Fiona Mountain (2006)
An anonymous note, the shooting death of one of her clients, and an elderly man investigating his granddaughter's boyfriend send ancestor detective Natasha Blake on a perilous quest in search of a the truth about a cold-blooded crime that has been hidden for generations.
Black Rose by Nora Roberts (2005)
Roz, a wealthy and independent woman who believes that love is behind her, is stunned when unexpected romance comes into her life, in the second volume in a new trilogy that began with Blue Dahlia about three women who encounter one another at major crossroads in their lives.
Unnatural Death (The Dawson Pedigree) by Dorothy L. Sayers (1927)
A young doctor's suspicions about Agatha Dawson's supposedly natural death lead Lord Peter Wimsey into an unusual investigation.
Death on the Family Tree by Patricia Houck Sprinkle (2006)
After the death of her elderly Aunt Lucy, Katharine Murray discovers a priceless Celtic necklace and a mysterious diary written in German among her aunt's miscellaneous possessions, and her search for the truth about the artifacts leads to the discovery of the fifty-year-old murder of Aunt Lucy's brother Carter, the theft of the objects, and the killing of the prime suspect. A Family Tree Mystery.
The Stolen Blue by Judith Van Gieson (1998)
Archivist Claire Reynier investigates the death of a local historian as she disposes of his book collection. Other titles in the Claire Reynier series include Land of Burning Heat and Confidence Woman.
The Blood Detective by Dan Waddell (2008)
Baffled by the killing of a man whose nude, mutilated body has turned up in a London graveyard, Detective Chief Inspector Grant Foster and his colleague, Detective Superintendent Heather Jenkins, call in genealogist Nigel Barnes to assist in the case, when the carved letters and numbers on the corpse turn out to refer to city archive files of birth, death, and marriage certificates. Followed by Blood Atonement (2009).
A Forever Passion by Angela Winters (2000)
Howard University student Sydney Tanner is determined to get her MBA degree and takes a job doing genealogical research for a prominent Baltimore family to raise money, work that will unveil some unpleasant secrets about the past and introduce her to a handsome Congressman.

 

Want More?Christine's Genealogy Book List
Genealogy mysteries, book reviews and links of interest.
Genealogy in Fiction
This list of books in which genealogy or genealogists play a part in the plot was compiled primarily by the members of the Librarians Serving Genealogists list.
Fiction for Genealogy Lovers
Book topics range from genealogical mysteries to more historical themes, with a touch of family history and genealogy. From About.com.

 

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updated : June 29, 2010