Sins of the Fathers

Family Tree #2

by Patricia Sprinkle

Katharine Murray is a typical Atlanta housewife, but she’s far from ordinary. She’s found a fascinating distraction from her empty nest in researching family history and genealogy. And it seems that she can put her genealogy-sleuth skills to work, helping her friend Dr. Flo Gadney, a retired professor, track down her own family tree.

Their search takes them to an old graveyard on an island off the coast of Georgia—just as greedy local patriarch Burch Bayard is about to start building sparkly new McMansions all over the island—including the gravesite—a property scheme that would literally bury any local history.

But as they hunt for clues to Flo's past, the two friends soon realize that the islanders are trying to keep Flo's connection to Bayard Island dead and buried along with her ancestors!

The mysterious murder of a combative local confirms their suspicions, forcing the women to embark on a dangerous chase to unravel the truth. Together, Katherine and Flo will dig up more than Georgia dirt, unearthing secrets to the island's history that could make the whole town crumble.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Cozy

366 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 25, 2007

About the author

Aka Patricia Houck Sprinkle.

When I met and married Bob, he looked over our budget and demanded, "Why don’t you write a mystery to pay for all the ones you buy?" I immediately knew I wanted to put a body in a building where I’d once worked. However, being over-endowed with the Protestant ethic, I wrote "important" things first and only wrote the mystery in my spare time, so my first mystery, Murder at Markham (reissued by Silver Dagger in 2001), took thirteen years to complete. It took even longer for me to learn that any writing which gives me pleasure is important, whether fiction or non-fiction.

Since 1988 I have written twenty mysteries, four novels, and five non-fiction books. I am grateful to my readers and editors for letting me do what I enjoy most in the world. Bob has concluded that writing is not a profession, it's an obsession--my favorite vacation is to go to a place where somebody else fixes my meals and where I can write more than I do at home, without interruptions. Thanks, if you are one of the readers who keeps my fingers on the keys. I enjoy spending time with you at conferences, book clubs, and signing events.

Reviews

[Infosifter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. Genealogy provides lots of material for mystery, intrigue, and conjecture, and this book was full of them all. There were also lots of interesting characters, and a basically likable cozy detective although she does have more money than sense which I can find annoying. I would've happily given this book for or maybe even five stars, but the ending was rushed and not entirely believable. A character goes on a violent rampage which isn't entirely explained by the circumstances. Their motive seems insufficient for this level of intensity, end it is carried out against what seems like the wrong target for addressing their grievance. So if you prefer a mystery that will have a totally satisfying conclusion this might not be your favorite, but if you enjoy the journey and the reading experience definitely give it a try. I will be continuing with this series.

[Brenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a read that I really enjoyed. Part genealogy, part mystery, Dr. Flo finds what she thinks is her great grandfather's grave. She soon gets to know the family that owns the land, and a few other characters. Patricia Sprinkle's writing of her characters as well as her description of the small town keeps the flow going well with a few surprises for the characters interwoven into the story. I found myself becoming fond of several of the characters. Those I did not like were characters that were not meant to be liked. Sprinkle's description of the land surrounding the grave made me appreciate the importance of what land meant to people in the 18oos and early 1900s. Her writing gave personality to the area.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this story; it was very interesting, but there was a major problem with, what I suspect, was OCR. This book was not proofread by a human; otherwise we would not read Dr. Flo also represented as Dr. Ro and Dr. Ho multiple times. Other errors, like pointing with a "linger" instead of "finger," distracted as well. The main character, Katherine, struggles to repair her life and home after two very destructive break-ins (in the previous book). Her fears are extremely well described and make the reader feel vulnerable.
The historical and genealogical matter were largely lost by the struggle over island land being left natural or developed into a mass of "stucco and Yankees." The other large issue was the Bayard denial of any black people in their family tree. The climax of the story seemed a bit jumbled and I'm not sure motive was provided, but the danger was very prevalent.

[Nancy McLaughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Screaming wake up

All anyone talked about was how much danger they were in & yet, were any of their decisions based on that . the answer is no & there lies the frustration of this book. Great premise, fascinating history yet... scratching my head at actions taken by supposedly smart women.

[Kathy KS · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the genealogical aspect of this book; I had most of the "mystery" of the family relationships figured out, but had to keep reading to see if I was right or not! There were times I was thinking, "but you need to checks these sources!," etc.

All in all, an enjoyable cozy. I did think the very end was weak compared to the rest of the book.

[Michael P. Wingert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review

I enjoyed the book mainly because I've been doing genealogy for 40 years.
I must say I was very surprised to see so many errors in spelling, wrong names for Dr Flo and poor sentence structure. Sorry. I'm a little OCD.
Wish you would have inserted a family tree at the end of the book.

[Tracey S Choat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than book 1

This is better than book one but there are many typos in the script that came very distracting. It's a little bit wordy and too descriptive in some areas. But a very good plot. I'll check out the next book in this series.

[Kari Gulbrandsen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could not deal with the relationship of the main character -- her husband was a controlling b*stard, and the old married boyfriend who kept coming around? Really?

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book, but she left a lot of loose ends. What happened to the Morrison graves? They weren't in the Bayard part of the cemetery. What happened to Agnes property? Did it belong to Flo or Dalt? Did Nell sell the business to Dalt and leave the island? And what about Miranda? With Burch gone who would Dalt leave the rest of the island to?

[Yalonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a gift from my beloved Aunt Wanda. She wanted to share this book that she loves so much. She ordered it when I first arrived home to bury my father, read it during the week I was home, inscribed it, and then told me to wait a bit before I started reading. Now that a few months have passed, I decided that the lovely weather of spring break in Germany (right before COVID-19 restrictions went into effect) was calling me to be on the balcony with a book. As soon as I read the jacket, I was hooked! The Southerner in me responded to the setting, the interaction of characters, the history, all of it. I could see myself in Katherine's shoes as we share many similiar personality traits. I loved this enough that I plan to go back and read book #1.

[Avid Series Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sins of the Fathers by Patricia Sprinkle is the second book of the Family Tree Mystery series set in the contemporary South. Katharine Murray is bored and depressed with the task of refurnishing her house after cruel vandals destroyed her possessions (details in book 1). As usual, her husband is away on business. She's happy to get away from the house for a few days to help a friend. Dr. Flo Gadney may have ancestors buried on an island off the coast of Georgia. She's been contacted for permission to move the graves, so a developer can build upscale vacation homes. Katharine and Dr. Flo immediately find that a hostile family dominates the island, determined to keep old secrets from being revealed. The nasty, closed-minded patriarch will stop at nothing to get his way. To discover what really happened a century ago on Bayard Island, Katharine and Dr. Flo must survive continued attacks to continue their research. The story is an entertaining combination of genealogy and mystery.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book #2 of a 3 book series called Family Tree Mysteries. I've read books #1 and #3 and have been looking for this book for a good while. I'm really into genealogy, love history, and mysteries are my favorite genre so- I highly recommend this series! Katherine Murray has a beautiful home but a rather empty life since her husband is always working in Washington DC and her grown children have left home. In this book she agrees to travel to an island off the Georgia coast to help an old friend search for some graves that may belong to her ancestors. The owner of the island wants to have the graves moved so that he can build up the island with posh vacation homes and the law says that he has to contact relatives for permission to move the graves. Once there Dr. Flo and Katherine run into hostility, to say the least. Dr. Flo is sure that the man buried in one of the graves is her grandfather but the owner of the island refuses to believe that anybody except a white person could have been buried on his island. Searching for the truth puts the women in grave danger from a sniper. The only woman living on the island who was cordial to them ends up shot to death. What the women discover is that secrets may be buried, even for more than a century, but eventually they surface. The title of the book is appropriate.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so much better than book one. The mystery was laid out better and the background stories weren't as distracting.

I still found that I wasn't crazy about the main character, Katharine. I really don't want to see every 10 pages thoughts about how she doesn't think her husband loves her. I far prefer Dr. Flo, Posey, and Hollis. In fact, I wouldn't mind Dr. Flo being the main character of this series.

And, this book was very much Dr. Flo's. She learns that a couple of plots in a cemetery on someone's land might belong to her family. The book is about uncovering who the names on the tombstone are and how several people don't want her to find out at all.

I thought this one was suspenseful and interesting. There was much more genealogy research in this book that the first one in the series. I liked that! I enjoyed the family history part but I also enjoyed trying to figure out the culprits. I'm really looking forward to book three in the series.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though she is supposed to be busy redecorating her house after it was trashed by burglars, Katharine jumps at the chance to accompany her friend Dr. Flo on a trip to see if a grave on a coastal island is that of her grandfather. The cemetery is scheduled to be moved, but permission of descendants is required. Thus starts a journey into the past as the two look for proof and more clues into Flo's family background.

Not a real spoiler but . . .

My only quibble is that when they search the 1880 census, they somehow don't notice the relationship column, which would have provided additional information earlier. I also would have liked a little more information on what happened next to some of the other characters.

Excellent addition to this genealogical mystery series. I just can't help wondering when Katharine will actually start researching her own family!

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure Katherine Murray, heroine of Patricia Sprinkle's Family Tree mystery series, will ever get around to researching her own family, since she keeps getting caught up in other people's searches. This time out, it's Dr. Flo Gadney, retired Spelman professor, who asks her help in finding out whether some graves on a Georgia sea island belong to her ancestors. An amazing find of the type every genealogist longs for leads to murder and tragedy. Well-drawn characters and a thrilling plot make this a worthy second entry in the series. I especially enjoyed the setting.

[Sandra Strange · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yay! A series of mystery that's clean, with good plots, enjoyable and affectionate satire of families and Southern aristocratic society, and with genealogy complications that teach Southern history and culture in a very enjoyable way. I really enjoyed these puzzles and the admirable and unwilling "sleuth."

[Babs · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this one Kathryn helps Dr Flo find out about her past and they run into some interesting characters yet. This was a fun read.

[MinneOma · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book that is a mystery and contains a splattering of genealogy sleuthing? It is a winning combination for me. I enjoy her books.

[Suzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second in a new mystery series. I liked this one better than the first. Looking forward to a new one when it's available.

[Liz Thomas]

I enjoy suspense and mysteries and her book gave me both of them.

[Teddi · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story and again more to it than your average "light" mystery.

[Vi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second in this series and it has a surprise ending. I enjoy the bits of history.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. I liked the first book I read by Patricia Sprinkle better.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good storyline, genealogy...not as safe a hobby as one would think!