E. L. Larkin

Once again, like the first three books in the series, there is a convoluted plot with a lot of characters to remember. But the characters are all interesting and, if you enjoyed the first three books, then you are used to it by now. The bad guy was obvious a little too early in the book but it didn't stop me from enjoying the other characters and waiting to see how the story played out. The regulars, Demary Jones, Martha, Anna, Joey and Sam are all back. New in this book are Treasury Agent Sean McBride and Seattle Police Detective Sergeant Tom Neuman, who was filling in while Sam was away at a workshop. If you actually came here for the genealogy, there are some interesting twists and turns in the plot and more than one puzzle about who's who but also a few questionable research methods (p. 63).

Ms. Jones is still a little flummoxed by computer hardware (p.65) but it doesn't matter since Martha is her resident computer whiz.

Now for the knit picking, it seemed unbelievably careless for readers to believe that a private investigator (well, ok, a genealogist) throws her old check books with unused deposit slips in the trash without at least ripping them up. Even in 1998 a genealogist should have been aware of identity theft.… (meer)

An enjoyable second installment of Demary Jones, trying to be a researcher and being a private investigator instead. The book starts out with a really intriguing situation when the head accountant for the Electric Toy Company wakes up to find a total stranger in her bedroom who acts as if he is supposed to be there. The whole book could have been based on her abduction but it wasn't. Soon the office manager of the same company is involved in a hit and run and the CEO of the Electric Toy Company, who has hired Demary in the past to do background checks on new employees, is found beaten to death. Demary doesn't believe in coincidence and starts investigating in spite of being warned off by Lieutenant Sam Morgan, Seattle police detective and Demary's on-again-off-again boyfriend. Again, the best character in the book is Joey, Demary's 13-year-old snitch.

Demary is supposed to be smart but on page 119 her knowledge of computers was laughable. And by 2001 we weren't really impressed that the computer in her office had a modem.

On page 247 I winced when she totally mangled Sherlock Holmes famous quote from [b:The Sign of Four|608474|The Sign of Four|Arthur Conan Doyle|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1299346921s/608474.jpg|2922650] "How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?"… (meer)

I have read all five books in this series and have gotten used to the formula. Once again, Demary Jones has a ditzy friend who should know better than anyone that Demary does genealogical research and is not a private detective. Nevertheless, she asks Demary to investigate a very cold case in which her grandmother was accused of murdering her husband and his supposed girl friend. This murder takes her to the run down family mansion and a little bit away from her on-again-off-again boyfriend Sam and her teen-aged side-kick, Joey, for much of the book. Too bad because they are my preferred characters. Genealogy is mentioned in the book but takes a backseat to the current disfunctional family when another murder occurs.

Observation: Demary Jones has a number of smart professional colleagues but a vast collection of ditzy unstable personal friends.

Note: This publisher has left more typos than the publisher of the previous books.… (meer)

Like the first two books in the series, I enjoyed the descriptions of people, places and things in Seattle. The author knows all the places to shop, things to do and especially where to eat. The plot gets a little complicated with a lot of people to remember -- but they are interesting people. My favorite being Joey, Demary Jone's teenage neighborhood snoop.

To pick my little knits, I would mention that on page 243 in Seattle, Washington, in 1998 a nurse in the hospital hangs a bottle on a patient's iv pole.


And I still want to know where Demary Jones got her degree in research. Yes, I know that there are all kinds of graduate programs in research methods in specific academic disciplines but she has a degree in research (page 20). I know a dozen people who would get one if only she will tell us where it is offered.… (meer)