Kristin's Bookshelf

The Family Tree Murders
by Laura Hern
⭐️⭐️⭐️

I wanted to love this one… I really did.

The title immediately pulled me in. My mom is a genealogist, so I’m pretty familiar with DNA databases and what’s public vs. private. I was ready for a twisty, genealogy-driven mystery.

What I enjoyed:

* Lainey’s meet-cute involving a coffee-soaked stranger and a squashed pretzel (still not sure I like the guy though, he was a bit of a jerk)
* That the female leads aren’t 20-somethings
* I truly didn’t know where this story was going and finished it quickly just so I could find out

Where it lost me a bit:

* A friend risking her law enforcement job on a hunch
* A total stranger asking an insurance investigator to dig into murders
* Lainey investing all that time … for free??

Still, I’m not out.

I’m curious about these characters, especially the group of women (widows? something more?). And I want to know where Lainey’s story goes from here. Her career, relationship, all of it.

I’ll be picking up book 2 before I make any final calls.

Have you read this one? Does the series get stronger after book one?