Family Promises: Ellie McLellan Genealogy Mystery

Ellie McLellan Genealogy Mystery #3

by Beth Farrar

We’ve all jokingly muttered at one point in time, “I wish I had a rich relative somewhere…”. Be careful what you wish for! When genealogist Ellie McLellan’s best friend in the world, Cozy Corner Café bakery owner Maggie Williams, excitedly tells her she’s been named as a beneficiary in the will of a relative she’s never met, the pair agrees to attend the reading of the will together. Whoo-hoo—Road Trip! Only, this road opens a door into Maggie’s family history she never imagined existed, bringing people into her life that she has every reason to distrust and danger to everyone around her. Instead of riches, Maggie may have found ruin. With the Senior Genealogy Group eager to help, Ellie’s back in the fray, putting her genealogical skills to the test tracking down the mysteries of Maggie’s past before they consume her friend.

Genres: Mystery

203 pages, Hardcover

Published March 27, 2023

About the author

Beth Farrar has been writing stories since her parents handed her a library card with which she always took out the allowed five books per week. From that moment on, her imagination was sparked. Encouragement from English teachers set her on a serious path of learning the craft.

From TV scripts to full length movies (none of which came to screen but were for pleasure and practice), she developed her writing skills by exploring various mediums. Filling notebooks with ideas, sketching characters and locations, and inventing sticky situations for the heroes and heroines to survive, is Beth's happy place (besides walking in cemeteries, but that's another story).

For fifteen years Beth wrote a monthly column, Living Country, in her local English language newspaper, Main Street, sharing interesting observations of living and raising her three sons in the country with her husband.

Having always loved genealogy, Beth melded two of her passions together and created the Ellie McLellan Genealogy Mystery series.

Beth's three sons now live in Montreal but she and her husband still live in their log cabin on a lake north of Montreal. They love the quiet and the bird song (sometimes way too early in the morning!). They’re not particularly fond of power outages in the deep winter months, the shoveling, or the mosquitoes in summer. But the rest = priceless!

For tips and tricks on how to write your own personal history story, head over to Beth Farrar – Author on Facebook for more information.

And being a Canadian author, please forgive the extra "l"s and wayward "u"s you may find in my work. Please don't report them, it's just the way we spell words here in the great north, eh!

Reviews

[Roberta C Poulos · Rating 5 out of 5]

promises

Yet another wonderful adventure in the world of Ellie and her genealogy seniors. It’s so nice to read about the different things they share with each other and us. I enjoy reading these books by Beth Farrar.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maggie and Ellie

I think I liked this book more than the last one! The characters reveal more about themselves and I really like that this is a series of books.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this one also

The genealogical mystery surrounding Ellie's best friend Maggie is a heart warming tale. An adventure into the past life of her grandmother during WWII.
I'd enjoy visiting Canada and enjoyed the discrimination of the area.
Being a beginner genealogy buff I find the information to Ellie's senior group helpful.
On to the next persons trip down memory lane.

[Jacqueline freegard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really like a happy ending, these book are feel good. Just one thing, would you eat a pie that you found in a fridge, not knowing who put it there or when. There was no note to say who the benefactor was and Francoise was so unpleasant towards Maggie. I was surprised at Maggie and Ellie. Like all the characters in these stories.

[Dee Karnia]

Family Promises

Very warm read. I was glad when the cousin was out of the picture, but didn't like how it ended for him.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with other self-published books I've read this one was not well-edited. It also wasn't bound very well (paperback) and some pages started to pull loose while I was reading. All very annoying and detracted from what would have otherwise been a largely enjoyable interesting reading experience.

I sort of had the story figured out from the start and have actually run into a similar experience in helping adoptees find birth parents. DNA wasn't involved in this story though -- just old fashioned research.

[Jan Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book but felt like it was too similar to the previous 2 books. The last few chapters felt a little abrupt, as if there needed to be a quick ending. Having said that, though, it is a fun read with interesting storylines. I love a series and I love books with a couple stories going at the same time.

[H Keith Bowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am sharing with my genealogy group

This is the third book in the series.
And I have enjoyed each one of them and can't wait to finish the next 2.
I am planning on sharing this series of books with my genealogy group,
that I meet with every month.
I think they will get good ideas on finding family and enjoy the romance, happines,
and beautifully told stories.

[Beverly Bigmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great story

I really love the characters of Beth's books. All with their different personalities. This is another stunning story , yes it has a happy ending, which we all need these days. Roll on number four.

[Nikolina · Rating 5 out of 5]

this Series is Excellent

Each of these books have included great Family mysteries. I enjoy the ongoing stories of the relationships of the main characters. Beth does a great job of including actual ancestry research techniques through Ellie’s skills and the Seniors group

[Sharon Howell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Promises, promises

Maggie's turn this time to be the focus of the senior genealogy group. And, for Maggie, it turns out to be all good news. After all the problems in book two, book three leaves everyone happy by the end.

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant, this is book 3 of the series and I can’t wait for book 4, every one so far has been an excellent read ! I highly recommend this author!

[Jane Sloven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this sweet series. It’s filled with likable characters, engaging plots, and feels a bit old-fashioned in the best way possible.

[Tracy Rafferty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick and fun read

Nice, easy, friendly read. I love the approach to solve genealogical questions. The adventures of Ellie and her community are always such fun!

[Sandra Bassett · Rating 5 out of 5]

enjoyable read

Such a good little read, full of surprises, realistic and not overly sensational. I want to join the group lol

[Ajoyful1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has everything for genealogy nerds!

Genealogists, both professional and hobbyists will love this story! There’s history, mystery, hope, friendship, sadness, and even light romance. It can stand alone or flow with the series. It’s a clean, positive and delightful story that allows an escape from this ever more dystopian reality of a world. So glad I found Beth Farrar, Ellie, Maggie and the crew. I’ll wait a minute to read book 4 so I won’t run out of Beth Farrar books too soon. They are like these wonderful desserts she describes in her books- don’t want to eat them all ay one time, but savor them, knowing you can have one to look forward to.

[Carol Engler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 3 Good clean read

Maggie Williams is told she’s been named as a beneficiary in the will of her Grandmother. She was told she had pasted before she was even born.
At the will reading she mets what appear to be the only living relative who is very unhappy to see she.
The road trip also opens a door into Maggie’s family history she never imagined existed, bringing people into her life.
Ellie is back in the fray, putting her genealogical skills to the test tracking down the mysteries of Maggie’s past.

[Tami · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like a fool for not giving the first book a nice review. So much of the first book (as I was told by the author) was the introduction to the people in the series It felt like a romance, more than a genealogical mystery to me. This book, and Family Mistakes have made me embarrassed about my first review. I am truly enjoying this series and I highly recommend all of them.

[Lisa Shower · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my gosh!

I have read the first two books in this series, they were both enjoyable but this third is the best one yet! I devoured this one in just one sitting. Live, love, loved it!

[jayne hay · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Maggie inherited from a grandmother she never knew

When Maggie inherited a few things from a grandmother she never knew she eventually finds out why her mother made out that she had died and finds her grandfather still alive

[Sandy Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always good!

Thoroughly enjoyable story.....with some genealogy tips thrown in!
I do like that while - so far at least - each book can stand alone, they are best read in order as it feels like a continuation of the lives of the characters.

[Claire Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this

I love this, I've found something similar in my family but through a DNA test and trying to find out a paper trail, with no luck at the moment and most likely will never find any.

[Ari (Head in a Book) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately this book wasn't as enjoyable for me as the others were in the series.