A birthday reunion should add branches to the family tree. In this cozy genealogy mystery, it leaves one newly found brother dead.
After twenty-two years writing obituaries, Greta Hollenbeck is ready to help people find beginnings. Back in the Hudson Valley town of Kettle Kill, she opens Kinfinder Research with a fountain pen, a retired racing greyhound, and a bank balance that could use a happier ending.
Finding Gus Ackerly's unknown half-siblings in time for his eightieth birthday sounds like the perfect first big assignment. Old city directories, census records, and a tantalizing DNA match lead Greta to the relatives his daughter hopes to gather around the cake. Then the morning after the party, newly found half-brother Lenny Plass is discovered at the foot of the boathouse stairs.
Now the guest list is a suspect list. In a town where respectable names carry weight, Greta must separate inherited stories from documented facts—and work out which family connection frightened someone enough to kill. Her formidable mother has opinions. Her old sweetheart is inconveniently close. And the records are telling a different story from the people who own them.
Whereabouts Unknown begins The Kinfinder Genealogy Mysteries with a complete murder puzzle, dry humor, and a heroine discovering that a second act can come with unfinished business.
For readers who love:
• Family secrets uncovered through DNA and paper trails
• A clever midlife sleuth starting over
• Hudson Valley river towns and a memorable local cast
• A gentle second-chance romance and a lovable greyhound
• Clean cozy mysteries with fair-play clues
