Boodline by Fiona Mountain is another ingenious genealogical novel set in rural England prior to easy
computer access to historical records. There is a likable young professional genealogist, lots of slogging through records, interesting plot twists, in short, everything necessary to hold the interest of genealogists. It is available on our Member's Lending Shelf.

This is a combination of genealogical mystery, murder investigation and historical examination of the Nazis. ‘Bloodline’ by Fiona Mountain, the second Natasha Blake mystery, covers a lot of ground from its seemingly innocuous starting point when Natasha hands in her report to a client. But nothing is mentioned lightly in this book, everything has a meaning. Natasha is not sure why Charles Seagrove requested this particular family tree, but knows he is unrelated to any of the people featured.
The real reason for Seagrove’s interest in genealogy is at the heart of this storyline. There are many dead ends and I admit to losing track of who was who at one point but Mountain ties all the loose endings together so there is clarity at the end. At first, Natasha is simply conducting another genealogical research but everything changes when she receives an anonymous note, ‘Cinderella is in the bluebell woods at Poacher's Dell’. Once her client is murdered with his own shotgun, Natasha feels threatened as well as puzzled.
There are many storylines to be connected including Charles Seagrove’s grand-daughter Rosa and her father Richard, Second World War land girls, and two soldiers – one German, one English – who meet in the trenches during the Christmas truce of 1914. This is a lot to handle but Mountain manages the complicated history with ease and I enjoyed trying to work out the solution.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/ ( )

See my review of the same author's Pale As the Dead.
This book deals with some of the nastier uses to which genealogy has been put. I thought it was very good and hope that the recent appearance of a more "literary" novel by Ms. Mountain doesn't mean the end of the Natasha Blake series. ( )

I have read a couple of books by this author and I enjoyed because of the family research aspect. Being a researcher myself.
This is the second novel in the series, the first being PALE AS THE DEAD.
"Natasha Blake, receives an anonymous note whilst she is researching the family tree for Charles Seagrove. He has asked Natasha to search into the background of his grandaughters boyfriend.
Charles Seagrove is shot dead at his isolated farm in the Cotswolds, and Natasha is the one to find him.
Obviously the Seagrove family has secrets which connect back to WW2. ( )

I was drawn to this book because the mystery involved genealogy and looking back to World War II as it impacted rural Britain, and on both counts Bloodline delivered a fairly good storyline. But I wasn't as enamored of genealogy detective, Natasha Blake, as I expected to be. Part of that, or maybe most of it, had to do with the constant references to her health (sleeplessness, headaches, tiredness, etc.), which, combined with the constant reminders that she was adopted, was what seemed to pass for character development. Neither added much of anything to the story as far as I was concerned.
On a more technical note, I was surprised at the number of typos in the edition I read (Orion trade paperback 9780752841137), and the number of run-on sentences and fragments in Ms. Mountain's "beautifully written and atmospheric storytelling." I think standard grammar and punctuation would serve her readers better, but that's just my opinion.
An okay book, but nothing I'd go out of my way to recommend. ( )