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Forgotten Roots
It is 1801 when two lives begin a journey that will intersect thirteen years later at the explosive conclusion of America’s war with Britain.
A young bride sets out from Scotland to a Canadian fur trading outpost only to find her life entwined with an intriguing Voyageur. A runaway thug from the streets of Baltimore finds himself in the Ohio Militia, bound for a final showdown with the British in Northern Canada.
The tragic conclusion two hundred years in the past becomes a mystery for present day cop Andrea Blake to solve. History and passion are intertwined in ForgottenRoots.
A young bride sets out from Scotland to a Canadian fur trading outpost only to find her life entwined with an intriguing Voyageur. A runaway thug from the streets of Baltimore finds himself in the Ohio Militia, bound for a final showdown with the British in Northern Canada.
The tragic conclusion two hundred years in the past becomes a mystery for present day cop Andrea Blake to solve. History and passion are intertwined in ForgottenRoots.
324 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
7 people are currently reading
347 people want to read
About the author
Richard Whitten Barnes
16 books24 followersRichard Whitten Barnes was born in Minnesota but grew up on the north side of Chicago. A music scholarship took him to Michigan State University, where he majored in chemistry. He is now retired from a long career in international chemical sales and marketing, which has taken him worldwide. Barnes is a U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division veteran and an avid sailor. He lives in Charlotte MC., but spends summers with his wife Marg and cat Maggie at their cottage on St. Joseph Island, Ontario.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 26, 2014
Forgotten Roots by Richard Whitten Barnes is a well-crafted murder mystery overlapping timeframes set in modern-day Ontario and the Great Lakes of the 1800’s. Andrea Blake of the Windsor Police Service finds her life cluttered by distraction, her hectic career and independent spirit continually interrupting her romance with entrepreneur Grant Stacey. Only a family mystery surrounding the disappearance of one of her ancestors around the War of 1812 places her on a compelling quest that Barnes develops into a fast-paced adventure narrative.
Andrea’s great-great grandmother Nettie Gibson arrives with her husband and child in Canada where she finds herself intrigued by Voyageur Martin Legere. The two are drawn to one another and soon find themselves in an illicit affair. Their comeuppance arrives in the form of a thief and murderer from Baltimore, Albert Parcher, who joins the Ohio Militia in an attempt to escape justice. The USS Caledonia arrives at Lake Huron where roaming Indians and British Army units are but part of the challenges facing the settlers along the rugged countryside. Andrea’s ancestral search soon becomes entangled with the real-time murder of Wanda Crowder, and it takes her from Blind River to St. Joseph Island in the quest for truth and justice.
The author provides us with an authentic overview of the Canadian landscape, his characters intriguing and the subplots convincing. For suspense fans, history buffs and general audiences, Forgotten Roots by Richard Whitten Barnes is one you won’t want to miss.
Andrea’s great-great grandmother Nettie Gibson arrives with her husband and child in Canada where she finds herself intrigued by Voyageur Martin Legere. The two are drawn to one another and soon find themselves in an illicit affair. Their comeuppance arrives in the form of a thief and murderer from Baltimore, Albert Parcher, who joins the Ohio Militia in an attempt to escape justice. The USS Caledonia arrives at Lake Huron where roaming Indians and British Army units are but part of the challenges facing the settlers along the rugged countryside. Andrea’s ancestral search soon becomes entangled with the real-time murder of Wanda Crowder, and it takes her from Blind River to St. Joseph Island in the quest for truth and justice.
The author provides us with an authentic overview of the Canadian landscape, his characters intriguing and the subplots convincing. For suspense fans, history buffs and general audiences, Forgotten Roots by Richard Whitten Barnes is one you won’t want to miss.
January 7, 2014
Many people these days search for their family genealogy, but how often do individuals discover their true “history”? Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could go back in time and “see” the happenings of our ancestors? Forgotten Roots had created that desire within me. Author Richard Whitten Barnes has created strong, interesting characters, and he weaves a story that keeps the reader guessing until the very end as to how these lives are connected. He writes both in the days of the early 1800s and in the present; he pulls those two eras together beautifully. When an author can use descriptive language to get his readers to places via visual imagery, he’s done his job. He was able to wrap my heart around that of the characters, especially one, but I won’t include a spoiler here. As a reader, I feel that I can describe both the world of the 1800’s story and the present-day mystery included in the book, thanks to the wonderful writing of Richard Barnes. Readers who enjoy historical fiction and/or a great mystery will find Forgotten Roots a book of choice for their reading repertoire.
February 24, 2014
Richard Barnes delivers again. Done in a 3 part narrative , the book twists through the north land of Ontario and Sault sainte Marie, bringing with it a delightfully spicy romance, heartbreak, anger, deviousness and a culmination of a woman's family history. Andy BLake is back in her second novel, with her Insecurities, her desire to see justice prevail and a romance of her own to nurture . This book is a must read for fans of romance, mystery and Family geaneology. I give it 5 stars. By the time to book was over, I wanted another chapter.
January 9, 2014
Forgotten Roots is really two stories in one. The author does a terrific job of entwining the lives of two women in a fast paced contemporary/historical you won't want to put down. Barnes captures the historical setting so well you will feel like you are right along side the characters; traveling from Scotland to Canada. You'll despise the antagonist and his modern detective, Andy Blake is someone you'll cheer for and remember long after the story ends.
March 10, 2014
THis was a Goodreads win. Just excellent. We did the Agawa Canyon tour last summer and a lot of the town names we visited. This would have taken lots of research which was done well as everything written is true to what was told on our trip. I like the changes in time between chapters and it was a very easy read - 1 day. I will be looking for more from this author.
January 6, 2014
Good historical novel with excellent and accurate detail that features a parallel contemporary story. I couldn't wait to get to the end to see how the two stories converge to solve a mystery. Very interesting and engaging read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 9, 2014
so good I shivered
added-it
March 18, 2022🎁 FREE on Amazon today (3/18/2022)! 🎁
April 2, 2022
First off, I should say this book is not for younger readers because of some explicit scenes. The author has blended the past and the present in a unique mystery. Beginning in the past with Andrea Blake's great, great-grandmother Nettie Gibson, the story takes readers to a beautiful place in Canada. The story also blends in the present with murder, mystery and a search for the truth. This is an engaging story that I will give four stars for older readers and three for those who don't like too much sex and topics similar.
May 20, 2022
A family tale!
I was expecting an Andy Blake story and got a surprise. This story had three different tales that were entwined. It was difficult to tell how they were part of each other, but the ending made sense. The writing was good but the story wasn't what I thought it would be. I plan on reading the next one to see what happens.
I was expecting an Andy Blake story and got a surprise. This story had three different tales that were entwined. It was difficult to tell how they were part of each other, but the ending made sense. The writing was good but the story wasn't what I thought it would be. I plan on reading the next one to see what happens.
July 7, 2014
Forgotten Roots - by Roger Whitten Barnes
I received this as a Goodreads, Firstreads book.
Forgotten Roots is a ‘sort of’ murder mystery told through different timelines set in both the modern-day Canadian Province of Ontario and the area of Ohio and Ontario of the early 1800’s. I liked the idea behind this story, but had issues following the three different story lines. For the first two thirds of the book, the story lines did not really mesh with each other and the time devoted to each was not evenly distributed. But for the last third of the story, they merged and flowed seamlessly with each other.
The book is basically about a woman finding out the history of her early colonial family when an old barn is demolished on her family property on St Joseph Island. That is one of the story lines. The other two are based two hundred years in the past and follow the lives of two people until they converge at one point on St Joseph Island.
I loved the descriptions of the Canadian wilderness and the historical backgrounds behind cities and settlements in Ohio – especially in the Cincinnati and Dayton areas. (I would never have thought that river piracy was a common crime along the Ohio River).
There are a few aspects of the modern story line that I would have liked to have seen developed more. And in the early part of the novel I had a hard time reading through some of the story lines. There was too much time devoted to certain stories and that gave me a disconnect to what was happening in the others.
Overall, this was still a good novel and an entertaining way of learning a little about the early history of Ohio and Ontario.
I received this as a Goodreads, Firstreads book.
Forgotten Roots is a ‘sort of’ murder mystery told through different timelines set in both the modern-day Canadian Province of Ontario and the area of Ohio and Ontario of the early 1800’s. I liked the idea behind this story, but had issues following the three different story lines. For the first two thirds of the book, the story lines did not really mesh with each other and the time devoted to each was not evenly distributed. But for the last third of the story, they merged and flowed seamlessly with each other.
The book is basically about a woman finding out the history of her early colonial family when an old barn is demolished on her family property on St Joseph Island. That is one of the story lines. The other two are based two hundred years in the past and follow the lives of two people until they converge at one point on St Joseph Island.
I loved the descriptions of the Canadian wilderness and the historical backgrounds behind cities and settlements in Ohio – especially in the Cincinnati and Dayton areas. (I would never have thought that river piracy was a common crime along the Ohio River).
There are a few aspects of the modern story line that I would have liked to have seen developed more. And in the early part of the novel I had a hard time reading through some of the story lines. There was too much time devoted to certain stories and that gave me a disconnect to what was happening in the others.
Overall, this was still a good novel and an entertaining way of learning a little about the early history of Ohio and Ontario.
January 11, 2014
Forgotten Roots – Richard Whitten Barnes
In Forgotten Roots, Richard Whitten Barnes drives genealogical wheels through the wilds of northern Canada to bring five generations of pioneers to the present day. Well at least the first and second to today, in a vivid, fast moving adventure. He brings a raw land’s vast emptiness, its people’s hardships yet essential guts to master them, right out into the open. Whilst a true adventure, sparklingly told in his typical style, it has a full measure of romance twisting through its pages.
It’s indeed instructive as well as exciting—another fine Whitten Barnes history lesson.
Kev Richardson
In Forgotten Roots, Richard Whitten Barnes drives genealogical wheels through the wilds of northern Canada to bring five generations of pioneers to the present day. Well at least the first and second to today, in a vivid, fast moving adventure. He brings a raw land’s vast emptiness, its people’s hardships yet essential guts to master them, right out into the open. Whilst a true adventure, sparklingly told in his typical style, it has a full measure of romance twisting through its pages.
It’s indeed instructive as well as exciting—another fine Whitten Barnes history lesson.
Kev Richardson
March 24, 2014
I loved the premise of the book but was disappointed in the delivery. It didn't flow as a narrative, it was really choppy with abrupt and perfunctory sentence structure and character development. I left feeling the potential of the storyline and characters had been missed, leaving me unsatisfied.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews