Poisoned Pedigree

Alex and Briggie #4

by G.G. Vandagriff

Kerry McNee, a famous singer and songwriter, has enlisted the help of professional genealogist Alexandra Campbell and her sidekick, Briggie, to explore the star's pedigree. At the age of 37, Kerry wants to marry and have a family, but she is terrified by childhood memories that include whispers of a family curse and "bad blood." The investigation leads to a remote town in the Ozarks and a strange woman known as the Keeper, who seems to know secrets that no one else will share. But when the Keeper is suddenly murdered, Alex and Briggie are left to piece together the mystery from a 200-year-old scrapbook- a collection of writings that also includes cryptic references to the lynching of a Mormon missionary in the 1800s. Author G.G. Vandagraff combines mystery, suspense, and romance in this page-turning thriller!

Genres: Mystery, Lds Fiction, Lds, Fiction, Mystery Thriller

256 pages, Paperback

First published December 21, 2011

About the author

G.G. Vandagriff is the author of over thirty novels Amazon #1 Bestselling Author. The Last Waltz, the first novel in her 20th Century Historical Romance Series won the Whitney Award for Best Historical Novel in 2009. There are now two more books in that series—Exile and Defiance.
Thirteen of her novels are Regency romances, compared by critics to the witty novels of Georgette Heyer. She has also written a lively genealogical mystery series featuring Briggie and Alex, two whacky widows, as sleuths. Her most recent publications are Romantic Suspense. Her trilogy featuring Breaking News, Sleeping Secrets, and Balkan Echo tell the tale of high profile TV journalists--the Super Sleuths of WOOT TV station in Chicago.
GG graduated from Stanford and received her master’s degree from George Washington University. She worked as an associate editor at Stanford’s Hoover Institution, an assistant treasurer in the Harvard Treasurer’s office, a bond analyst at Fidelity Investments, and an international banker for Continental Illinois National Bank (later acquired by Bank of America).
She and her husband David are the parents of three children and seven grandchildren, her greatest joys in life. Her favorite novel? Jane Eyre. She also loves Florence, Sundance Resort, The Voice, hot chocolate, lilacs, and dachshunds.
Find out more about her books, download a free novella, and sign up for her newsletter at http://ggvandagriff.com. Also, be the first to know when Vandagriff’s next book is available by following her at http://bookbub.com/authors/G.G.Vandag... to receive new releases and discount alerts.

Reviews

[Tiffeny · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've just been reading through other people's comments and cannot imagine all the good rating's this book has gotten. I also can't imagine Deseret Book publishing this book. I think I'm going to submit a novel to them, because they will obviously print anything. This book was aweful. My husband can't believe I even finished it, but it was a quick read and I hate to leave things undone. A Geneological Mystery? Really? The mystery itself had a million holes, but that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was the main character's screwed up personal life. She just, in this book, remembered a stillborn child that she'd had 6 years ago and suppressed all this time? Give me a break! Maybe if I'd have read previous books by this author I would have enjoyed and "got" this one more, but I'm not about to try them and see.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a great mystery/romance! Alex has had alot of tragedy in her life from the start when young her parents kept secrets from her. Her father was killed over the secret, her mother was an alcoholic and abusive. They sent her away to protect her and she felt abandoned and could never really trust people that they cared about her or loved her. She married and her husband was killed in a airplane crash. She was so distrout over his death that she neglected herself and lost the baby she was carrying. She then met Briggie who helped her get out of her depression and into counseling,into a job and into the missionary discussions. she is learning to trust and love again with Charles who is great to look at and investigating the church she is insecure in his love and when taking a case to find out about someones ancestors she has to really learn to trust Charles. Trying to solve the mystery of the "bad blood" of Kerry turns out to be more dangerous than anyone thought. there is the lead poisoning, murders, and the drug lords too. It just keeps pulling more things into the mix.

[Teri · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this fourth installment of the Alex and Briggie Genealogy murder mysteries, we come across a purported curse in the McHenry ancestry in the deep Missouri Ozarks. We even hear of a Mormon Missionary lynching in the mid 1800's that centers around the mystery. Amidst drugs, kidnapping, murder and the townsfolk keeping a lid on things, it takes Alex and Briggie getting bonked and knocked around, to solve the centuries old mystery. When both Charles and Daniel vie for Alex's affection, it's a bit more than Alex can handle. When Alex and Briggie and the Keeper get roughed up to keep secrets buried, Alex is wondering if it's best to just drop the case and head back home. If you're like me and into Genealogy bigtime, this is the book for you. I will be awaiting the next adventure from our RootSearch, Inc sleuths.

[Suzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this story and the development of Alex and Charles' relationship and Daniel showing his true colors. It was neat to watch the history of the town be discovered (it made me want to check out tombstones in a cemetary) and also surprising to discover who played what roles (lots of twists). I had to go back and re-read this series to refresh my memory when I was done...Cankered Roots, Of Deadly Descent, Tangled Roots, and Poisoned Pedigree.

I had read Cankered Roots and Of Deadly Descent years ago and then last year I found Tangled Roots by this author. I found her personal story compelling and I was very glad to see her come out with this excellent read!

[Lisa (Bookworm Lisa) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love this series of books. Alex and Briggie are in the business of geneology. Sometimes they are hired by clients to uncover family history secrets. In this series of books they put themselves in dangerous situations and uncover the secrets that others are willing to kill to keep hidden. There is a bit of romance involved, which in my opinion, makes the books even better.

Great and clean read. I highly recommend it.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last in the series (I think). I enjoyd the entire series. It is easy reading and entertaining. In this book, again there is murder and secrets tied to the ancestory of Alex and Briggie's client. Again, there lives are in danger. Even though they are just genealogists,it seems they end up being detectives (discovering things that even the police did not know).

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written by my friend's mother, so it already had something good going for it! It's LDS fiction in the form of a genealogy mystery. It was a fun book to read and I liked it. It's the fourth book in a series; if I'd known that I probably would have read the first three books before this one. But it was good on its own too.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I just finished it last night and I think GG has done an excellant job of adding to the story of Alex and Briggie, Genealogists to the fore! Read all her books and enjoy!

[Janene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series she has done. It puts two of my loves together - mystery and genealogy.

[Kristine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful mystery that is a fast page turner. Anyone wanting a fun read will enjoy this, especially if you like genealogy.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the adventure of family history research! Sometimes I rolled my eyes at the "I love him" "I don't love him" portions of the story. Still it's a good clean read.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes it gets a little slow and confusing

[Denise]

This book you needed to be a detective. Adventure, Suspense, Romance, and Loyalty.

[Cammie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this at Deseret Book and really enjoyed it!

[Sandi Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly interesting story about uncovering dangerous family secrets while researching family history... but it goes over the top with tying so many things together that are too far fetched to begin with.

[Lorraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing the saga of Alex and Briggie. Now they are in England trying to connect to the heirs of her grandfather from the previous book. It’s a little corny but I continue to read her books as I have come to love Alex and Briggiie.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the mysteries. Alex is kind of complicated and hard to like at times

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good mystery. Felt a little preachy at times. Right up my alley so fun to read about family history research

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. This novel had promise but just lacks depth—is too surface-y.

[Amy Clements · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple fun story but very cheesy. It is written with the quality of a self published novel. Characters and plot aren't very deep but the story is still kinda fun.

[Marci · Rating 3 out of 5]

Because I am hooked on genealogy and murder mystery, I have committed myself to this series, but my recommendation overall is that it is trying to be too many things:

1. It consists of five separate genealogically-related murder mysteries that are standalones, connected by the owners of RootSearch, Inc., Alex Campbell and Briggie Poulson being the sleuths.

2. The entire series concerns the psychological and spiritual journey of Alex Campbell from severe problems to a state of healing through her conversion to the LDS (Mormon) Church and her reliance upon the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

3. The entire series concerns the romantic problems of Alex Campbell who starts the series with a boyfriend and (I am going to assume here; I haven't read the last book) ends the series by getting married. That sounds simple, but there are two boyfriends and overmuch angst for my taste.

This genealogical puzzle concerns another problem in a pedigree. I am beginning to wonder how many different problems there can be before the same-old same-old becomes boring. This time the solving of the puzzle made me laugh, because this is pre-Internet genealogy, and they always find cooperative county clerks, every repository seems to have an index, they always find every document they are looking for, and they use relatives and friends across the country who are always successful despite having little to no experience with genealogical research.

Despite all that, the intricate puzzle was again fun to solve, and their adventures became so over-the-top that the drama was turned into an element of comic relief from Alex's emotional tangles. I'll have to let you know if I ended up enjoying the series or being thoroughly exasperated by it at the end of the next novel! It does say "something" that I plan on reading that last book.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kerry McNee, a famous singer and songwriter, has enlisted the help of professional genealogist Alexandra Campbell and her sidekick, Briggie, to explore the star's pedigree. At the age of 37, Kerry wants to marry and have a family, but she is terrified by childhood memories that include whispers of a family curse and “bad blood.” The investigation leads to a remote town in the Ozarks and a strange woman known as the Keeper, who seems to know secrets that no one else will share. But when the Keeper is suddenly murdered, Alex and Briggie are left to piece together the mystery from a 200-year-old scrapbook — a collection of writings that also includes cryptic references to the lynching of a Mormon missionary in the 1800s. Author G. G. Vandagriff combines mystery, suspense, and romance in this page-turning thriller!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the the fourth book in the "Alex and Briggie" series. I am committed to finishing this series of novels, in part, because I like the characters that are ongoing in these stories.

The author manages to create an entertaining mystery around genealogy and at the same time, give family history devotees (like me, for instance) ideas about where to search for information on my ancestors. Every time I have read an installment of this series I have gained a new source for my own personal research. Thank you, G. G. Vandagriff for making genealogy so much fun!

(See Good Reads plot summation for this one)

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book off my Dad's bookshelves because the author is part of a display that BYU special collections had going when we were down there last.

The book was ok. The story line wasn't very believable and I didn't realize that there are other books before this that should probably be read first, because it keeps referencing them. I think most of the character development must have happened in the previous books. If you like murder mystery with a genealogical theme, this one might work for you. I am actually surprised my Dad owns this one, he is pretty critical of any book that is not scriptural, biographical or a non-fiction history.

[Lynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a bit ambivalent about my rating, it should probably be more like 2 1/2 stars. I did enjoy the book and it did hold my interest. I wanted to know the answers to all the questions that were raised about the McHenry tribe. However, I would describe the writing as sappy, corny, over done. I was going to say that it was written more on an 8th grade reading level but then I remembered that I've read some pretty great books that were written for a junior high audience so that wouldn't be fair. It's a simple, easy read and I got the book free so I can't really complain, but I would not recommend actually buying this book.

[Janyse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, who knew being a genealogist could be so dangerous? Though this is obviously the second or third book in a series (who knew?) I still found it interesting.

Two genealogists use a pedigree chart and their family history skills to solve murders. In the process they ruffle a lot of feathers and usually end up being chased and/or almost killed.

Not very realistic if you ask me (but what do I know??) but still a fun little light read. Hang with me, just a few more cheesy LDS novels to go for the summer.

[Marisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book up at the library because the books I expected to be on hold for me were still "in transit" that day, and I really needed something to read, and I had seen this one in a Deseret Book ad so I knew it was clean. I wasn't able to enjoy it that much though, because I haven't read whatever books come before it in the series. I felt lost and confused. Finished it anyway to find out how it ends.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

People's true colors come out in this mystery of "bad blood." It seems to be the metaphor for Kerry McKnee's family. Then, there's the relationship between Charles (who happens to be engaged to Alexandra) and Daniel. Alex and Briggie stir things up once again as they are hired by Kerry to solve her relationship to the McHenry's of Trotter's Bridge, Missouri. Actually, they solve more than one mystery when Miss Maddy (record keeper) is found murdered.

[Patricia]

It was really hard to read a book that kept referring to previously written books. Nowhere on it did it say it was part of a series, but I always felt like I was missing something explained it previous books. I found it more interesting when I finally realized that I had read the first book long ago. I think this is about #4, but they all take place within a year. It has a lot of violence -murders and such.

[EJ Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Geneologist Alex and her friend/business partner Briggie try to solve the mystery of a folk singer’s worry of bad family blood when murder starts happening. Involves people in southern Missouri whose forefathers had murdered Mormon missionaries. I picked this up to read on the airplane home and it entertained me.