Those in Peril (Suzie Fewings) by Fay Sampson

Suzie Fewings Genealogical Mystery #3

by Fay Sampson

A Suzie Fewings genealogical mystery - Nick Fewings, the husband of keen family history researcher Suzie, inherits a portrait of his great-grandfather, a famous lifeboatman in St Furseys. Nick and Suzie are keen to find out more, so they decide to take their two teenage children, Tom and Millie, on holiday there. The family stay with Nick’s brother Leon and his daughter Anna, and the teen girls’ imaginations are soon fired by tales of smugglers on the coast. They are delighted when Nick discovers that his ancestors once owned the Noah’s Ark Inn, an old smuggling haunt, but when he and the girls visit they are chased off by its seemingly unbalanced owner. Then one afternoon the girls go missing. Tom thinks they’ve gone to search for smugglers, but the others aren’t so sure. Could the girls have returned to the inn and run into trouble? Or does an offshore archaeological-survey vessel hold the answers? Either way, night is falling and the clock is ticking . . .

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

Paperback

First published September 1, 2010

About the author

Fay Sampson graduated in Mathematics, and trained as a teacher. Combining teaching with writing, Fay's children's books were frequently featured in 'Children's Books of the Year'. When she became a full-time writer, she turned to writing novels for adults, based on history and legend. She now lives with her husband in a Tudor cottage in mid-Devon.

Reviews

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe 3.5 stars. When Nick Fewings inherits a picture of an ancestor who was a lifeboatman, he also becomes infected by the genealogy bug, so the family plans a holiday at St. Fursey, where his ancestors lived, and where his brother Leon has recently moved. Amidst the family research, Nick's daughter, Millie, and her cousin, Anna, both fourteen, become obsessed with the idea of smugglers, both ancient and modern. And then they disappear. What could have happened to them? The police, the townfolk, and the Fewing family search, but only Millie's phone is found. The story becomes haunting, intense, and very hard to put down. Unlike the previous books in the series, this one is told from Nick's point of view. But like them, the mystery is only incidentally connected to the genealogical research. Recommended.

[Judith Rainbow · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a hobbiest genealogist, I love reading this type of book. It's great for getting ideas on searching for ancestors, whilst at the same time I get engrossed in mystery and adventure through the characters and story. I'm off to get the 4th book in the series I'm hooked 'Fay Sampson, it's all your fault'😄

[Tasula · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read about a third before I just couldn't go on. For me it was boring, just full of irrelevant details about family dynamics and their daily lives.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a genealogist and a lover of mystery fiction, I'm always happy to find a new book or better yet, a series, that combines the two, and so far I've always been fortunate to find good ones. Fay Sampson's Those in Peril is no exception. It's the third in a series featuring amateur genealogist Suzie Fewings (I wasted no time in acquiring access to the first two.)

Though I haven't yet read the first two books, I'm guessing that in Those in Peril, the focus has shifted a bit. The protagonist in this book is really Suzie's husband, Nick, and to some extent the rest of their family -- teens Tom and Millie, Nick's brother Theo, and Theo's daughter Anna. Nick and Theo's aunt has died at a ripe old age and after the funeral. they learn that she has bequeathed Nick a large photograph of his great-great-grandfather, a heroic lifeboatman from East Anglia. This sparks Nick's interest in his family history and the family decide to use part of the aunt's financial legacy on a trip to the East Coast town the family left before Nick and Theo's births. Theo, newly divorced, has coincidentally moved to the town, St. Fursey's, to paint, and daughter Anna is spending the week with him. As Suzie introduces her family to the pleasures of genealogical research, they learn that it's possible some of Nick's ancestors were involved in smuggling. Millie and Anna, both 14, are fascinated by this bit of information and also by tales of modern-day smugglers. It's all good fun until the girls don't return on time from an expedition in search of smuggling evidence. There's quite a bit of nail-biting excitement before the chilling climax.

I am eager to read more about the Fewings family and especially Suzie, who is not the main character here. Sampson also charmed me with her painterly descriptions of the East Anglian scenery and Nick's thoughtful ruminations on family, history and the intersection of the two. I'd definitely recommend this one.

[Grey853 · Rating 2 out of 5]

When Suzie's husband Nick inherits a family portrait, she decides to investigate his great grandfather. This sets off a chain of life-threatening events.

Personally, I thought the whole thing far fetched and totally unrealistic. Plus, the two teenage girls were beyond annoying. I thought at one point I was reading Nancy Drew.

The only reason I give it a two instead of a one is because I did like the descriptions of the seaside and town. The mystery itself was a letdown.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Family historian Suzie Fewings takes the back seat in this volume, as her husband, architect Nick, lets an unexpected legacy involve him in his family's background as fishermen, lifesavers and--just possibly--smugglers. The four Fewings visit Nick's brother at his seaside home, where fourteen year old Millie and her cousin Anna become convinced that there are real smugglers in the area. The others dismiss their notions, until the girls suddenly disappear...

[Trina Hollis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice easy to read mystery.