Dead in a Flash by Brynn Bonner

First Line: "Now you've gone and done it!" my business partner, Esme Sabatier, said, lifting a cucumber slice off one eye to glare at me.

Genealogists Sophreena McClure and Esme Sabatier have been hired to create scrapbook tributes for a former North Carolina senator's familiy heritage and his political career. The two learn that his baby brother died in a suspicious house fire, and the senator asks them to put a rumor to rest, once and for all: that the fire was actually cover for a kidnapping.

Sophreena and Esme set to work, but a present-day murder gives them new candidates for the crime-- and some of those suspects are in the senator's inner circle. Are these two intrepid genealogists going to be able to put that rumor to rest before a killer catches up with them?

This Family History series is one I've enjoyed from the very beginning (Paging the Dead). Sophreena and Esme are wonderful characters who really give a good idea of what genealogy is all about. In this fourth installment, they get to experience a bit of the high life by working for wealthy clients, but those "extra duties as assigned" dig up a lot of worms. If you don't think family history can contain deep, dark secrets, think again. All you have to do is watch an episode or two of Finding Your Roots on PBS (or read the books in this series) to learn differently.

The mystery is a good one. I did manage to deduce part of it, but the identity of the main villain eluded me. I like that when it happens. I also like how the past can still affect the future even though many decades-- or even centuries-- have passed.

Dead in a Flash has some life changes in store for the two main characters, and I hope to see how things turn out for them. There wasn't a fifth book in the series this year, so I don't know if it's going to continue or not. So many cozy series have been cancelled in the last year or so that it's difficult to keep track. At least if the series does not continue, Sophreena and Esme are left in a good place. I shall think of them as busy and happy and willing to share their lives with me should we meet again.

Dead in a Flash by Brynn Bonner

ISBN: 9781476776828

Pocket Books © 2016

Mass Market Paperback, 336 pages

Cozy Mystery, #4 Family History mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

Picture Them Dead by Brynn Bonner

First Line: Thunderstruck.

Professional genealogist Sophreena McClure is under no illusions: Detective Jennifer Jeffers does not like her. Not one little bit. So Soph is shocked beyond words when Jennie asks her for help in identifying the corpse her father dug up in his backyard. 

Word spreads about "the forgotten man" and the glass casket he's buried in, and locals begin leaving mementos for him. When the body of a young woman is found near the memorial, Sophreena and her partner Esme begin to think that this recent murder may very well help them crack the case of the forgotten man.

I have really been enjoying this Family History series by Brynn Bonner. She has a knack for combining characters, mystery, and genealogy into a recipe that I can really sink my teeth into. I like reading books set in the South, and this author is one of the best at depicting the flavor of Southern speech without making it too "cute" (and almost unintelligible).

Sophreena is the level-headed member of this team while Esme is more of the diva. Esme claims to hear voices from "beyond," but if she really does they certainly don't seem to help very much. Usually when Esme imparts one of her messages, it causes Sophreena to lose focus and mentally stub her toe. The fact that Esme is really rocking her inner diva throughout most of Picture Them Dead was a bit of a drag for me, but it's not a deal breaker. Everyone's got someone like Esme in the family. You just cope and adjust.

In each book Bonner shows a different way to learn more about someone's family history, although here we get an added extra about glass caskets as well-- which is probably more fascinating than it sounds. Sophreena gets to search through one of those attic treasure troves we all dream about and then dig through many a dusty land record in order to identify the forgotten man.

Although I found the historical mystery to be more interesting than the present-day crime, Picture Them Dead is another strong entry, and I'm glad that I'm now ready to read the recently released fourth book in the series, Dead in a Flash.  Keep them coming!  

Picture Them Dead by Brynn Bonner

ISBN: 9781476776811

Pocket Books © 2015

Mass Market Paperback, 336 pages

Cozy Mystery, #3 Family History mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen. 


 

Death in Reel Time by Brynn Bonner

First Line: I felt ridiculous.

Genealogists Sophreena McClure and Esme Sabatier are giving the gift of family history to the mother of a friend. Olivia Clement is hoping to learn more about her father, a man who disappeared before she was born. Before Sophreena and Esme have much of a chance to begin looking, Olivia's son-in-law is murdered, and police think that the killer is a young filmmaker who's creating a documentary of their small town.

The two intrepid genealogists are convinced that someone else wanted Olivia's son-in-law dead, and that the truth can be found buried deep in cartons of memorabilia and 1940s film canisters. Sophreena is going to have to put her researching skills into high gear.

I enjoyed Death in Reel Time even more than I did the first book, Paging the Dead. There's a real chemistry between Sophreena and Esme, and the humor in their conversations with each other often made me laugh out loud. Esme's psychic gift of being able to hear the dead speak to her is not used to excess, and the books are so strong that I feel Esme could lose that ability altogether and it really wouldn't be missed.

Sophreena and Esme aren't the only game in town, however, because they are surrounded by a strong group of friends that I would like to see take a larger role in future books. 

One of the main reasons why I enjoy this series so much is because family history actually plays an integral role. Those great-great-ever-so-greats prove time and again that history does repeat itself. That the murder of today could be rooted in the insult of decades past.  Sophreena's researching skills are first-rate and fascinating. It's rare to find a cozy series that has a "hook" that's every bit as strong as its characters, and Bonner's Family History series is one of them. 

In the first book, I learned about heritage scrapbooks. In Death in Reel Time I learned about video scrapbooks. I know I'll be enjoying the characters and the mystery in book number three, but I'm also dying to find out what I'll be learning about in the genealogy field. Bring it on!

Death in Reel Time by Brynn Bonner

ISBN: 9781451661873

Gallery Books © 2014

Paperback, 320 pages

Cozy Mystery, #2 Family History mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.


 

Paging the Dead by Brynn Bonner

First Line: Every family has secrets.

Genealogists Sophreena McClure and Esme Sabatier trace family histories and create heritage scrapbooks. Sophreena is first-rate at unearthing secrets, and if she ever has a problem, Esme might be able to help out. You see, Esme is a gifted medium.

Their latest huge project has been for Morningside, North Carolina's leading citizen, Dorothy Pritchett Porter. Dorothy is so thrilled with their work that she's given the go-ahead on the scrapbooks, which she wants to show off on Founders' Day. Unfortunately the demanding lady is murdered before she can show off her family history. Since Sophreena and Esme are two of the last people to have seen her alive, they're high on the suspect list, so they have to turn their investigative skills from the dead to the living in order to find the real killer.

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!

Paging the Dead by Brynn Bonner

ISBN:  9781451661866

Gallery Books © 2013

Paperback, 304 pages

Cozy Mystery, #1 Family History mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Book Outlet