Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in return for an honest review. I wasn’t far into reading this book before I realized that this was a relaxing, cozy mystery, not a category that personally appeals to me. It is a story that will be enjoyed by many enthusiastic readers as proven from its highly positive reviews. It serves as a welcome distraction from the stressful, locked-down world in which we are living. Frequent references to Tex Mex food left me craving for some, but that must await a time when restaurants reopen.

The plot contained an intriguing puzzle, codes, romance, friendships, a WW2 spy circle, present-day murders and mystery, a deadly, desperate villain, and secrets revealed through family trees.

To have a genealogist as the protagonist in a mystery series is an original and welcome device. The complex, easy to read plot was well crafted and organized. I failed to develop a connection with the characters except for the delightful 92-year-old grandfather, George Lancaster, a former member of a WW2 spying ring consisting of eight British and American agents. I started to warm to the genealogist, Lucy, through her love and devotion to this intelligent and adorable old man.

Lucy, his granddaughter, was brave, resourceful but quite outspoken and reckless. She was regarded as inquisitive which went along with her assignment in building a family tree. She was given the task by Pippa Salton, a wealthy heiress to a chain of upscale hotels. She decided to include video presentations from close and distant relatives and present her findings at the hotel.

Once outside the meeting, Lucy was approached by a sickly, staggering stranger. The man pressed a Mont Blanc pen into her hand and uttered the words, “ Keep them safe.” He then collapsed and died. In the confusion, the pen was snatched by the family dog but later retrieved.

Knowing that her grandfather collects these expensive pens, she learns from him that this pen is a valuable collectors’ item issued to a group of spies during the war. It contains a concealed microdot reader. The dot is on a concert ticket from the dead man’s wallet. The grandfather manages to get the dot through sleight of hand and trickery from the police evidence bag. They discover a code pertaining to the members of the wartime spy ring. They believe some present-day descendants are being murdered in an act of revenge. “Keep them safe”, uttered by the man before death may refer to the descendants whose life is in danger. The police are skeptical of Lucy’s assumptions. Her grandfather is in hospital following an accident, and Lucy works with Pippa to complete cracking the code.

As they get close to a solution, both the lives of Lucy and Pippa are in mortal danger. I thought the conclusion was somewhat drawn out, but every mystery is resolved in a satisfying manner. Recommended for anyone who enjoys the study of genealogy and/or a cozy and complicated mystery.

This is my first foray into the Ancestry Detective series by S.C. Perkins, but it won't be my last. I'm huge history and mystery buff so this book matched me perfectly. The mystery centered around a very rich family, the Suttons, that Lucy Lancaster was doing genealogy work for. Lucy is staying at their hotel while she presents her findings to the rest of the extended family. While there, a man mysteriously dies and gives Lucy a Montblanc pen that leads her back to spies during World War II. I loved the mix of past and present mysteries as the story went along. The cast of characters were great including Lucy's grandpa and Pippa Sutton. I did think the ending dragged a bit and found the killer slightly obvious, but it did not detract from the overall story. I can't read to read Lucy's next adventure!

This is second book I have read in this series. Lucy Lancaster has prepared another genealogy for a client which turns up an ancestor who was a spy during World War II, As the bodies start piling up, Lucy's grandfather steps in to help identify a Monte Blanc pen which was dropped by the first murder victim. As Lucy tries to connect all the dots, her grandfather is injured in a car crash, and Lucy is almost killed when her brakes give out. As the killer is finally revealed, Lucy does connect all the dots with the help from her friends and her boyfriend.
I highly recommend this book. It is exciting and interesting. This mystery will keep you engaged. I found it hard to put down.

Ancestry Detective Lucy Lancaster is hired to provide a presentation of hotel heiress Pippa Sutton family. Pippa come from a long line of exceptional ancestors, but it's not until a man staggers and dies in front of Lucy that the plot thickens. Before he dies, the man gives Lucy a Monteblanc pen and gasps, "Keep them safe." then keels over and dies.. Lucy is stunned but knows her grandfather might know about the famous pen.

When she and her grandfather discover a microdot on the pen's surface, they find themselves transported back to a Allied spy ring from World War II. Could some of Pippa's relatives be descendants of Grandpa's spy friends and are their lives in jeopardy?

A delightfully intriguing mystery with some clever quirks and twists. Love this series.

This book was spectacular! It is my first exposure to the author, and I'm going to purchase the first in the series even though I know largely how it turned out. The characters are sharp and believable. The mystery was suspenseful and of great interest to me as the daughter of a WWII veteran. The idea of a genealogical 'detective' was such a hook for me, as I believe people really have connections through their ancestry and find great interest in knowing how they came to be who they are. I really just loved everything about this book and can't wait for more!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

S C Perkins
Lineage most lethal.
The first book ticked all my boxes Wow this 2nd book didn’t disappoint, had me glued unit the end.
Brilliant storyline with Spies in WW11 up to the present day.
Grandpa George who at 92 was brilliant in trying to help Lucy solve this intriguing mystery.
Loved the genealogy through out this series.
Many many thanks to St Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for my advance copy for my honest review.
Can’t wait for the next book to come out, definitely recommend .
Shame I couldn’t give it more ⭐️

Okay, this is not Tana French or Kate Atkinson, but you already knew that, right? When I saw this second in the series about a genealogical crime solver, I recalled reading the first in the series and enjoying it. So I read the second and I enjoyed it as well. The detective/genealogist is based in Austin, so there's plenty of local color, which I like. It seemed to me that there was very little actual genealogy in this story, but the mystery was engaging enough. I found the ending slightly less than ideal, there was a bit too much coincidence and a villain that was so evil it was almost cartoonish. But really, these are just quibbles and the story was a lot of fun, with quirky characters and occasional stops for Tex-Mex. I know I will be picking up the next in this series. (Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a digital review copy.)

This review is posted on Goodreads. This is the second Lucy Lancaster, genealogist mystery. Lucy's latest client, Pippa, is a wealthy young woman who is the head of an upscale hotel chain. While staying in the flagship hotel Lucy interviews Pippa's relatives and puts together a video presentation for the entire family for New Years. When an older man dies in front of the hotel, in Lucy's arms, she is pulled into a dangerous mystery involving spies from WWII and their descendants. Lucy's grandfather sheds light on much of the espionage as he was part of an operation that involved the dead man. The danger almost does in both Lucy and Pippa, but they are both brave and resourceful. The series has a good start with both this book and the first; which would appeal to genealogy and cozy mystery buffs.

352 pages

4 stars

I absolutely love the cover of this book!

I was despairing of the inanity of this story until I met ninety-two year-old Grandpa George Lancaster. He is priceless!

This is an involved story that mostly focuses on WWII spies and plots most foul and how one old “operation” carries into the present. It was very good and I appreciate the author's fine talent for crafting such a story. Ms. Perkins managed to bring to life the characters and infuse them with interesting personalities and backstories. It was very well written and I liked that is didn't contain as much of Lucy's two office mates as did the previous book. I tire of them easily. I look very much forward to reading the next in this series.

I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for forwarding to me a copy of this great book for me to read, enjoy and review.

I received an advance copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley. I was interested in Lucy Lancaster’s next genealogy outing after enjoying Murder Once Removed, the series debut.

This is a light and frothy cozy confection, just what’s needed to divert you from another day in the social-distancing real world. It has good Texas food and drink, some hints of romance and enough action for some thrills and chills. The genealogy deep-dive is enough to drive you to your computer to dig into your own family history.

I’ll look for the next volume in this series with interest.

I adored the first book in this series and was thrilled to get approval for this one! I'm happy to say it more than delivered. In fact I stayed up past my bedtime to finish it in one day! It was an absolute page turner. I was so happy to get to spend time with Lucy once again, and learn about the exciting project she's researching next. I love learning tidbits about genealogy and think it's a really interesting profession for a MC! I also love the Austin, Texas setting - and find myself craving tacos while reading!

It's the week of New Years, and Lucy is wrapping up a big genealogy project with a prominent Austin family. She's staying at a local hotel owned by the family. Out of nowhere, a man stumbles into the hotel lobby and collapses in Lucy's arms, but before he dies he gives Lucy a pen and tells her to "keep them safe." When Lucy investigates the pen closely, she recognizes it as a possibly rare and definitely expensive Mont Blanc. Her beloved grandfather is a collector, so she reaches out to him with details before handing it over to the police. But what Grandpa discovers leads him and Lucy on a wild ride into the past - WW2 to be exact - and all over Austin. More people wind up dead - can Lucy solve the mystery before she herself loses her life?

Grandpa was such a great character and I loved his story! It's clear Ms. Perkins did an incredible amount of research for this book and I'm very impressed with the intricate story and all the details she was able to spin into this page-turning tale. I love this series and already can't wait for the next installment!

Great mystery that will keep you interested until the last page. There were many twists and turns in this book, that will keep you guessing of what will happen next. I enjoyed Perkins writing style.

This is a great sequel and I’m so invested in this series. It was WWII espionage mixed with genealogy and family drama and TexMex. I highly recommend it.


I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not paid for this review.

Wow, Lineage Most Lethal is a gripping cozy mystery that will keep you guessing until the end.
My jaw dropped at the reveal, I was absolutely shocked, which shows how well this story is written.
Spies, family trees, secrets, lies and murder fill the pages of this book, and the characters are a colorful part of the story.
Lucy and her grandpa make a great team and I'm looking forward to reading more in this series.

client and her extended family as she delivers their genealogy and family history to kick off the new year. Spending the holiday at one of the family’s hotels, Lucy is met by a man who falls dead at her feet, but not before pressing an old Mont Blanc pen into her hand and giving her a message. In the flurry of activity as they try to revive the man the pen is lost when the family dog runs off with it. But Lucy gets it back later and decides to show it to her grand father before turning it into the police the next day.

Sharing the pen through FaceTime with her grand father leads to Lucy learning more about his time in service during World War II and unveils a modern day threat to the descendants of eight US and UK spies that helped to shape history. Lucy knows to follow the trail and takes the lead when Grandpa ends up in the hospital. But will Lucy be able to figure out who all of the targets are before a new chapter is written in history?

I love history and cozies, so reading this was a double header win for me! The amount of detail and the connection of events into the storyline is fabulous! This is one of the best cozies I have read in awhile. I’m hooked on this series!

Reading is always a pleasure, but in these difficult times it is an especially wonderful pastime because it can take us to another place, away from our worries and fears. This is an terrific story, combining present day murders and a connection to a secret World War II spying operation. Lucy Lancaster is doing a family history for a client when she comes upon the dying body of Hugo Markham. As Hugo is dying he gives her a Mount Blanc fountain pen, asking her to keep it safe. Lucy shows the pen to her grandfather, who is a Mount Blanc collector and he immediately recognizes it as one of eight given to him and the other members of a secret spy operation. When the descendant of another member of the group is murdered, Lucy and her grandfather team up to find out the connection and the culprit. I truly loved this book and highly recommend it.