Death Finds a Way: A Janie Riley Mystery

by Lorine McGinnis Schulze

Janie Riley is an avid genealogist with a habit of stumbling on to dead bodies. With her husband Steven, Janie heads to Salt Lake City Utah to track down her elusive fourth great-grandmother. But her search into the past leads her to more than she bargained for. Her discovery of a dark secret brings her closer to danger. Can she solve the mysteries of the past and the present, and untangle a web of lies before disaster strikes?

200 pages, Paperback

Published May 25, 2016

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewing a book written by someone you know can be a daunting task. I avoided reading this even though I owned it because I feared I might not like the book. Janie Riley, genealogist, travels to Salt Lake City where she meets Clarissa. Janie observes Clarissa's soon-to-be-ex-husband giving Clarissa a difficult time. Then she notices someone watching Clarissa. When Clarissa turns up dead, and her papers turn up missing, Janie feels the need to make sure the murderer does not get away. She begins investigating Clarissa's case with memories of stolen glances at her work as they researched side-by-side. Will she remember enough to help bring a murderer to justice?

I found the book a fun and surprisingly pleasurable read. The ancestral story resonates with the reader. The modern plot as the story unfolded seemed implausible, particularly in regards to the way the police handled the case. In fact questions regarding this remain with the reader after the mystery's solution. Most genealogists will enjoy this adventure, particularly if heading to Salt Lake City for a research trip.

[Marianne Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Sleuth Genealogist

The author is a Canadian genealogist and I am a fan of her blog, Olive Tree Genealogy. This novel, therefore, interested me. The opening chapter was set in 1878 and concerns an orphaned Irish sister and brother landing at Ellis Island, New York to begin new lives. The steamship experience and rigors of examination immigrants faced is vividly depicted. Janie Riley, a genealogist-sleuth, is the novel's protagonist and her endeavors to solve the mysterious death of a researcher she meets by chance while researching her own family mystery, drives the story line.

The book follows an intriguing plot of murder, deceit, forbidden love and contested inheritances and is populated by a coterie of scoundrels. I particularly enjoyed the author's description of the Family History Library and Temple Square in Salt Lake City as well as the detailed genealogical research pursuits of the main character. The tale unfolds back and forth from the 19th century to the modern time; a narrative technique the author manages well. The conclusion is logical and satisfying and this book, a good read.

Marianne Perry
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
www.marianneperry.ca

[Cecellia Rogers · Rating 1 out of 5]

Blech. It might have been a reasonable murder mystery if the author had just told the story without the repetitive, irritating second guessing. Too many instances of "coincidence" and "imagination." Too many descriptive passages of what people were wearing, when it didn't further the plot or develop a character. Too many red herrings that were just dropped without resolution. It's nice that she clearly described the myriad sources a genealogist uses to identify evidence of ancestry, but it was buried under way too much meaningless filler. And the ending!!!??? WTF?! After the entire story is laced with her husband's disbelief that there has been a crime, Janie denies her part in bringing a murderer to justice (and smiles behind his back). What kind of a relationship is that? Not believable and not a good example to set for girls and women. WHEN YOU'RE RIGHT, DON'T LET SOME MAN TELL YOU YOU'RE WRONG.

[Debbi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting to me as I worked in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City for 4 years. It was fun to visualize everything she was describing. That said, I felt it dragged a bit--but I enjoyed the genealogy aspects.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The past and present mingle into murder when Janie is on a research trip in Salt Lake City. She is OCD, which can be helpful with genealogical research, but can be annoying for others. This was a fast and entertaining read and gets the genealogical bug biting again.

[Lana · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a newbie genealogist, I liked this book with it's references to genealogy research. And, it had a pretty good mystery as well.

[Delores · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the concept. There seemed to be too much backstory for a first in a series, I found that distracting and confusing. I really liked the private detective.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Two of my favourite passions combined: mysteries and genealogy!I hope there are more to come in this series.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a genealogist and I really enjoyed this story!

[Rachel Coons · Rating 2 out of 5]

Doesn't read well. Too many descriptions repeated that serve no purpose.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the story, I have some reservations about this book. IMO there was way too much description of Janie's hair, Janie's makeup, Janie's hair (over and over again), and Janie's clothing. If something is going to be a clue, I can pick up on it the first time, I don't need it repeated.

So, genealogist Janie Riley is in Salt Lake City on a research trip, where she encounters an interesting cast of characters, from the paranoid man she calls "Birdman" to the elegant Clarissa, another genealogist. When Clarissa dies unexpectedly, Janie is suspicious, and begins attempting to reconstruct her research in hopes that it will lead to a suspect. While her (much younger) husband scoffs at her suspicions, Janie receives help from a private investigator, who was working for Clarissa's ex-husband.


It's never made clear (or possibly I missed it), but why was the PI following Clarissa? And, if he was working for her ex, why does he come around to Janie's side instead?

[Abbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. As an avid genealogist I related to Janie Riley, with her thirst for wanting to find out the truth and uncover anything mysterious. Meeting intriguing characters in the beginning resulted in me becoming hooked wanting to know there connection. The eclectic mix of characters was interesting. The plot twists only made me want to find out more, especially after a sudden mysterious death of one of the characters. I enjoyed how that there were twists that I did not see happening, it kept me intrigued. I enjoyed the time hops were we went back in time learning more about the mystery Janie was trying to uncover. I felt as though it gave us added details we would have never have otherwise found out.

The descriptions were so vivid, I could picture Salt Lake City in my mind, despite never ever visiting there. I also felt as though I could visualise everyone down to a tee. The author does portray a vivid picture.

My only criticisms is that I picked up the book wanting to know more about this elusive ancestor of Janie's. But I can't recall Janie finding out anything as she got caught up with events in Salt Lake City. In addition I found there were some things occurring in the book that were a little to far fetched for me, but I've pushed that aside as all writers use dramatic licence.

Overall I loved this book and I will be reading the next book in the series.

[Sherry Markowitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

best first?

[Joy · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you are into genealogy.. you might enjoy the book. I reads like an old gum shoe plot.

[John Laws]

A really good tale