Letters From the Dead is the latest Jefferson Tayte book by Steve Robinson. Letters From the Dead is a stand alone story and what you're missing from previous books in this series is personal information about our "hero" Jefferson Tayte. This really seems like two stories in one, a story brought to life from long ago letters and events taking place today. Both stories are intriguing with some edge of your seat moments. I was given an early copy to review.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for an honest review. Letters from the Dead can easily be read as a stand alone. Jefferson Tayte has moved from Washington, DC to England where he and Jean have started a family.; Jefferson is working to establish his genealogy research business on the other side of the pond, but hasn't had any challenging cases in months when he i hired by Damian Sinclair to help establish the identity of his illegitimate ancestor. After traveling to Scotland, Jefferson finds out that Sinclair is hoping to uncover the location of a missing ruby in addition to his ancestor's parentage. Letters from 1820's India begin showing up and slowly revealing the events that lead to the ruby going missing. The book switches between the current day and the letters throughout the book until the final reveal. The mystery is well done with several twists and turns; in addition to the missing ruby, there are murders, family vendettas, and long buried family secrets. This story has a little less action than the previous title in the series, but was extremely entertaining and I couldn't put it down. I really appreciate the way the historical part of the story is revealed slowly throughout the book and not just an information dump. I can't wait for the next Jefferson Tayte story.

For a mild mannered genealogy guy, Jefferson seems to find himself in some dire situations.
He is hired to research an ancestor to a Scottish family that may or may not be in possession of a fantastic jewel.

The story is told in 2 sections, one from the time of the theft of the jewel via a series of letters and the other about what is going on now.

Betrayal, murder, massacres and creaking old mansions really set the scene.

This is a fun story, and once you get a hold of the different characters the story is interesting and tragic. The bad guy was not who I suspected by any stretch,

Probably the best Jefferson Tayte mystery so far!

Jefferson is now married, has a son, and is living in England. He is asked to help find out who the great-great-great-great grandfather is of his new client. Damian Sinclair has reached a dead end in his research because it seems that his three-great grandfather was illegitimate. After Jefferson agrees, he learns that there is also a precious jewel from India tied up in the mystery. It is unknown how much of the legend of the jewel is true and what is myth. As he searches for the name of the missing ancestor, other family members are slowly and systematically being killed.

If he learns the name - and then finds out what happened to the gem - will he also be killed?

I found this very hard to put down. The characters are, as always, well developed. I could imagine each one. Their personalities rang true. And in the story of India in the 1800's I found more believable characters. Like Jefferson, I couldn't help but wonder what their later lives were like. Then I remembered that they never existed and I could make their lives be anything I wanted them to be. These people will be in my memory for a long time.

I look forward to more of Jefferson Tayte's adventures and hope he has a bit more time to work on his own family tree!

4 stars

Jefferson Tayte receives an invitation to come to Scotland to investigate the ancestry of Damian Sinclair. He wants to learn who his four times great-grandfather was. When he gets to Scotland, Sinclair’s motives for the investigation become more clear. He also wants Tayte to find the whereabouts of a centuries-old ruby that has disappeared into history.

It all begins with a letter written in the 1820’s by Jane and sent to a member of her family. It tells of her journey to India with a young friend named Arabella. The letters are left for Tayte to find in the old manor house he is currently sharing with Sinclair. Sinclair’s brother Jamie, who was something of a wastrel, was killed a few weeks earlier than Tayte’s visit. Sinclair believes it was murder, but DI Ross thinks it to be a suicide.

Jamie borrowed a considerable sum of money from the family syndicate to travel to India to locate the ruby and never paid it back. One by one, the members of the syndicate are being murdered- Each time a murder occurs, another one of Jane’s letters turns up mysteriously. Each time, Tayte learns a little more of Jane and Arabella’s story. She tells of an ill-fated love affair in which Arabella was involved. It also speaks of the mysterious ruby. Is the ruby the reason people are being killed?

As Tayte pours through Jane’s letters and more people die, suspicion for the murders falls on everyone, including Sinclair and Murray, his trusted man-of-all trades and live-in companion. Tayte shares all of his research results with Sinclair. They ponder the puzzle together.

In a surprising and exciting conclusion, all is revealed.

This is a great book. It has drama, a huge puzzle, tension and the main characters are likeable and engaging. I liked Sinclair and Murray especially, never mind that they were suspects in the murders. I liked DI Ross as well. This book was both well written and plotted. There were a couple of weak points in the story, but they weren’t huge. I have read all of the Jefferson Tayte novels and all in all it is an excellent addition to the Jefferson Tayte series.

I want to thank NetGalley and Amazon Publishing USA and Thomas & Mercer for forwarding to me a copy of this great book for me to read, enjoy and review.