Lineage Most Lethal

Written by S. C. Perkins

Narrated by Madeline Maby

The captivating second entry in the Ancestry Detective series, in which Texas genealogist Lucy Lancaster grapples with
a mystery rooted in World War II and espionage.

It’s the week before New Year’s Eve and genealogist Lucy Lancaster is ready to mix work and play at the beautiful Hotel Sutton,
enjoying herself while finalizing the presentation for her latest client, hotel heiress Pippa Sutton.

Freshly arrived at the hotel—and determined not to think about Special Agent Ben Turner, who went radio silent on her after
one date—Lucy is stopped in her tracks when a strange man comes staggering toward her. She barely has time to notice his weak,
sweaty appearance before he presses a classic Montblanc pen onto her hand, gasps, “Keep them safe,” and collapses at her feet, dead.

When Lucy shows the fountain pen to her grandfather, an avid collector and World War II veteran, she’s in for another shock.
Not only does Grandpa recognize the Montblanc, he also reveals a secret: he was an Allied spy during the war and the pen is both
a message regarding one of his wartime missions and the key to reading a microdot left by the dead man.

On the microdot is a series of ciphers, some decrypted to form names. Could they be the descendants of Grandpa’s fellow
spies? When two from the list end up murdered—including the chef at the Hotel Sutton—and Grandpa’s life is put in jeopardy,
Lucy’s sure she’s right. And with Lucy’s and Pippa’s names possibly on the list, too, she’s got to uncover the past to protect those in
the present.

With a secret Allied mission, old grievances, and traitors hiding behind every corner, Lucy must use her research skills to trace
the list’s World War II ancestors and connect the dots to find a killer in their midst—a killer who’s determined to make sure some
lineages end once and for all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9781980080640

S. C. Perkins

S.C. PERKINS is a fifth-generation Texan who grew up hearing fascinating stories of her ancestry and eating lots of great Tex-Mex. Her first book, Murder Once Removed, was the winner of the 2017 Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery competition, and an Agatha Award Nominee. 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.

Reviews for Lineage Most Lethal

[thornton37814 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I want to like this series, but implausible plots and errors make it difficult. Genealogist Lucy Lancaster's current client is her friend Pippa Sutton. Lucy goes to the family's hotel to interview relatives during the period between Christmas and New Year's. Soon after arriving, a man uttering a mysterious message and bearing a vintage World War II era Montblanc pen falls dead at Lucy's feet. The dog runs off with the pen. After the police leave, Lucy finds the pen, wipes off the dog slobber, and photographs it to show her grandfather who collects the pens. When he sees the image, he asks Lucy to bring it to him in person. Lucy learns her grandfather served as a spy during the war and received such a pen on a mission with a few others. The pen includes a microdot reader, but the microdot is on evidence in police custody, and he devises a clever way to get it. They find the man with the pen had decoded five of the eight names. They must find a means to keep the others on the list safe. I find it a little too coincidental that as many people connected with the mission ended up in the Austin area. The mystery's solution seems obvious from an early stage.Early in the book it mentions Lucy found Ben, the FBI agent introduced in the first installment, a photograph of his Revolutionary War ancestor. While not completely impossible, such a photograph is highly unlikely. The first photograph dates to 1826, but the first human photograph occurred in 1839. A young Revolutionary war soldier would have been around 80 at that time, and life expectancy in the mid-19th century was much shorter than today. Later in the book, it mentions that Ben looked like his ancestor, and in its context, it implies the man was not aged at the time it was taken. If the author used the term "portrait," one would assume a painted likeness. Instead, the author failed in historical accuracy. This error bothered me as I read the remainder of the book. In spite of its flaws, the mystery held my interest.

[ethel55_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lucy Lancaster is working on another fascinating genealogy for a local Austin heiress, Pippa Sutton. Their hotel will be the site of a large family gathering and festivities for the holidays, where Lucy will polish up her findings and treat everyone to the results. A stranger collapses near Hotel Sutton and Lucy inadvertently winds up with the deceased's vintage Montblanc pen. She is surprised when her grandfather, a WWII vet and vintage pen collector, shows up after seeing the pen on Facetime. I really liked how this story merged the historical mystery of espionage with the modern mystery facing Lucy. Her grandfather is a hoot, and her officemates always up for an adventure too. I also enjoyed the genealogy tips and Lucy's initial visit to the cemetery.

[cathyskye · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

S.C. Perkins' Ancestry Detective mystery series is turning out to be delightful. Lucy Lancaster is one bright woman who, after the events in the first book in the series (Murder Once Removed), took a CPR class, a self-defense class, and went to a counselor. So many amateur sleuths never seem to take these precautions, so I always appreciate it when I see it happen. Lucy also keeps going to the police with the information she uncovers even though she's not being taken seriously.Readers learn quite a bit about Lucy's grandfather in Lineage Most Lethal. It seems the old man has been keeping quite a few secrets under wraps. There are even codes to decipher which I always enjoy. Having helped my mother and grandmother with our family history, I was intrigued by Lucy's use of something called Soundex, a phonetic algorithm for indexing names by sound as pronounced in English. If my mother had known about Soundex, she might have been able to trace a very elusive family name. Who says you can't learn anything by reading mysteries?World War II, spies, secret missions, microdots, codes, and a lead character who makes me smile. I can't wait to see what Lucy Lancaster gets up to in her next adventure.(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley)

[kathl33n-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the second book in this series and it's another excellent cozy! The author does a great job of creating really likable characters and infuses them with unique identities, and there is a lot of great humor trickled throughout. Exactly the way I like it - the first page grabs you tight and the dead body shows up promptly! Just like in the first book though, I really wanted more genealogy research tidbits. My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy to read and provide my honest opinion.