The drought reveals a village. The village reveals a body. A genealogy cozy mystery where the past refuses to stay underwater.
Esker Falls vanished beneath a reservoir in 1914. Now an August drought has uncovered its streets, cellar holes, and stone bridge—and human remains that have been there far less than a century.
Investigator Rosa Quintero calls in genealogist Greta Hollenbeck with an unusual client: the unidentified man himself. Greta's job is to give him back his name. Condemnation maps, displaced families, DNA cousin matches, and an old phone book offer ways into a history the water has kept quiet.
Then the reservoir caretaker is found dead. He discovered the remains, and he may have recognized something the police did not. Suddenly Greta is following two deaths through a community where old loyalties run deep and the people who remember the drowned village may also remember who never left it.
For Greta, every name belongs to a life worth recording. For someone else, a name is the one thing that must stay buried. With Jonah's family roots tied to the lost valley, this case reaches closer to home than either expected.
Unidentified Male is Book 7 of The Kinfinder Genealogy Mysteries, a complete Hudson Valley cold-case whodunit with humane storytelling, dry wit, and a quietly deepening romance.
For readers who love:
• Drowned villages and atmospheric New York settings
• Unknown identities traced through DNA and old records
• Cold cases tangled with present-day murder
• Compassionate sleuthing and richly connected communities
• Clean cozy mysteries with a gentle romantic thread
