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As a long-time fan of Patricia Sprinkle, I was thrilled to be able to read the first in her new Family Tree mystery series. Sprinkle has a voice of natural warmth tinged with a bit of good old-fashioned Southern charm that makes her books a pleasure to read. DEATH ON THE FAMILY TREE is no exception. Katharine Murray arises on her 46th birthday to the realization that nobody needs her. Her husband Tom spends his work weeks on the road and his leisure weekends playing golf, and their two children are grown and gone off to lead their lives, leaving Katharine at home to fill her days with the minutiae of a fairly mundane life. When her last surviving relative dies, Katharine inherits ten boxes of paraphernalia collected over years of summer travel. Though most of her Aunt Lucy's belongings are destined for the dumpster, Katharine finds two items that will change her life – a priceless Celtic necklace and a diary written in German – neither of which she's ever seen before. Katharine sets out on a quest to learn where the items came from, and discovers a branch of her family tree she never knew existed – namely Aunt Lucy's brother, Carter, murdered more than 50 years ago after a mysterious trip to Austria. When Aunt Lucy's artifacts are stolen, and the main suspect turns up dead, Katharine realizes she must solve a burglary and two unsolved homicides separated by half a century – before more than her family secrets end up dead and buried. Katharine embarks on the painstaking process of translating the diary, and in doing so uncovers the dark, long-buried secrets that led to Carter's murder, as well as the possibility that the wrong man was convicted of the crime. When she enlists the help of Hobart Hastings, an Emory University professor and her one-time boyfriend, Katharine's search for the truth becomes a bit more complicated than she bargained for. Even after Katharine's home is burglarized, 'Hasty' is more concerned with the safety of the necklace and diary than that of his old friend, although he does everything he can to worm his way back into her good graces. Katharine's worries are compounded when her home is invaded a second time, and her husband refuses to leave his work behind to come home to a wife who desperately needs him. Sprinkle's graceful humor and lyrical voice only serve to enhance a solidly-structured mystery. With several nice twists and an unexpected outcome, DEATH ON THE FAMILY TREE is a delightful beginning to a promising new series.
Reviewed by J. B. Thompson, May 2007
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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