Are their any Torie O’Shea mystery fans out there? I have to tell you I’m a huge fan. I’ve gone through the entire Torie O’Shea genealogy series. I wish Rett MacPherson would write more!
If you never read them, the sleuth is a small town historian named Torie O’Shea. She runs the historic Gaheimer House and Kendall House. Torie’s always finding murder victims.
What’s interesting about these books is the murder is either related to a mystery from the past or the murder occurred in the past. Because Torie is a genealogist, she uses genealogy research to piece together family trees and clues to the mysteries.
I would guess that the author has spent time working on her family tree because the research paths are authentic. Torie almost always starts with the census and figures out who family members are then branches off into vital records, newspapers, and so forth. She never jumps right in the middle and finds the elusive clue. There is always a slow build.
The last book in the series is called Blood Ballad. The mysteries Torie in because it may prove her own research is wrong–a genealogist’s nightmare! Along the way, you learn the tale of the Morgan family, a popular musical group of the 1930s. One day a member of the family walks away and never returns. And, thus, the mystery begins.
If you enjoy genealogy, and I’m pretty you do if you’re reading my blog, and you like mysteries in the style of Agatha Christie, give the Torie O’Shea mysteries a chance. I would recommend reading them in order. It’s not necessary, but the underlying story of Torie’s family continues through each book. So if you start with #8 and you’ll learn things about the family that are unknown in #1.
You can learn more about the author and the series on GoodReads.com