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Karen Copperfield Genealogy Mystery Series #1
DNA Never Lies
You paid the price for wanting what you couldn't have. Now DNA tests threaten to expose what you spent a lifetime hiding...
As an ambitious young woman in the years following the Second World War, Barbara made some hard choices, decisions changing everything that came after. She had to fight for what she wanted; then the stakes got so much higher.
A continent away, and decades later, Barbara’s daughter hires genealogist Karen Copperfield to make sense of the family’s DNA tests. Nothing about the results ties in with what Barbara’s children believed, and the shock is tearing the family apart. Barbara seems to prefer death to revealing the truth, and Karen soon discovers there is more than one secret she intends to take to her grave.
But when threats start to come from both sides of the Atlantic, it soon becomes clear that Barbara is not the only person who wants the past to stay that way.
DNA Never Lies is the first in a series of novels featuring Karen Copperfield, investigative genealogist. Karen helps people make sense of sometimes dark family secrets revealed by DNA tests as they ‘what happens when nothing you believed is true?’
Escape into this emotionally gripping novel, packed with psychological suspense, for readers who love Kate Morton, Lucy Atkins and Barbara Vine.
As an ambitious young woman in the years following the Second World War, Barbara made some hard choices, decisions changing everything that came after. She had to fight for what she wanted; then the stakes got so much higher.
A continent away, and decades later, Barbara’s daughter hires genealogist Karen Copperfield to make sense of the family’s DNA tests. Nothing about the results ties in with what Barbara’s children believed, and the shock is tearing the family apart. Barbara seems to prefer death to revealing the truth, and Karen soon discovers there is more than one secret she intends to take to her grave.
But when threats start to come from both sides of the Atlantic, it soon becomes clear that Barbara is not the only person who wants the past to stay that way.
DNA Never Lies is the first in a series of novels featuring Karen Copperfield, investigative genealogist. Karen helps people make sense of sometimes dark family secrets revealed by DNA tests as they ‘what happens when nothing you believed is true?’
Escape into this emotionally gripping novel, packed with psychological suspense, for readers who love Kate Morton, Lucy Atkins and Barbara Vine.
325 pages, Paperback
Published July 28, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
March 4, 2023
I enjoyed this genetic genealogy mystery very much. It had even more twists and turns than I saw coming and I know this subject pretty well. I've actually run into most of the twists that might seem improbable to a non-genetic genealogist in helping adoptees and those with unexpected parental results on DNA tests. Story concerns a 90 year old mother with a lot of secrets in her past and her children in their 60s learning their family history is not what they had believed all those years. The book tells the story in sections in the present in England and the 1940s and 1950s in California and Canada. This is the first in a series of stories I look forward to reading in the future involving genetic genealogist Karen Copperfield.
October 24, 2022
It is a good story and representative of the many family surprises
uncovered in DNA tests done just for fun or curiosity.
uncovered in DNA tests done just for fun or curiosity.
September 1, 2022
This absorbing family drama had me hooked immediately until the last page, because nothing about the plot was expected or stereotypical. The story is told in a dual time frame of England 2018 and 1940s-'50s America. For young women growing up in a small American town and part of a strong church community, expectations after graduating high school focused largely on finding a husband and raising a family, like generations before them. So what does a girl do who wants to ignore tradition and become an artist in the 'big city'? This book reminds us how, during the post-war years, attitudes to a woman's career hopes, aspirations and sex life began to be challenged by individuals who hoped to break away from tradition. In this compelling story author Sue George highlights how those brave – sometimes foolhardy – women battled on with forging careers while facing huge obstacles such as unplanned pregnancies and 'mother and baby' institutions. Meanwhile, men carried on much as they had always done.
The plot got me thinking about assumptions we make about our parents and grandparents – how much do we really know about their lives and our genealogy? Only what they choose to tell us. But is that going to become a thing of the past when DNA databases can reveal so much? You think you know who you parents are – but what if you unexpectedly discover you're the 'cuckoo in the nest'? As an imaginative Christmas gift, DNA tests for relatives sound like fun, but what if they turn up long-hidden secrets? Author Sue George has crafted a compelling page turner – one which I found difficult to put down – and I recommend it highly, particularly to female readers of family drama and mysteries. I received a free advance copy of this book and am leaving this review voluntarily.
The plot got me thinking about assumptions we make about our parents and grandparents – how much do we really know about their lives and our genealogy? Only what they choose to tell us. But is that going to become a thing of the past when DNA databases can reveal so much? You think you know who you parents are – but what if you unexpectedly discover you're the 'cuckoo in the nest'? As an imaginative Christmas gift, DNA tests for relatives sound like fun, but what if they turn up long-hidden secrets? Author Sue George has crafted a compelling page turner – one which I found difficult to put down – and I recommend it highly, particularly to female readers of family drama and mysteries. I received a free advance copy of this book and am leaving this review voluntarily.
August 23, 2022
I received an advance copy for an honest review
I really liked this book. I’ve read various genealogy based mysteries before and I quite enjoy them.
This book concerns 2 marriages, one is Jean and Johnny. Jean was born and brought up during the Second World War in a small town in rural USA. In 1946 she leaves to go to college to art school in San Francisco where she finds her love for art and Johnny Costello.
They enjoy a wild and bohemian lifestyle but eventually marry and have a baby Gary, but unfortunately Jean has what we now know to be post natal depression caused by a hormonal imbalance, but which causes misery for Jean and worse is undiagnosed and untreated.
The 2nd marriage is of Barbara and Victor. Barbara is in Vancouver in Canada when she meets Victor. She is staying in a home for indigent unwed mothers, she is pregnant when she meets Victor but he is kind and they become friendly. Eventually when she is 8 months pregnant they marry. Victor is English and is in Canada as part of the coaching group for athletes attending the Olympic Games. When the games are over he and Barbara move back to England. They have 2 more children.
Many years later Barbara’s great grandson buys DNA tests for them as a fun Christmas present so they can find out their ancestry. In doing so he unwittingly exposes a long held family secret.
As part of the investigation into their family ties the family employ genealogist Karen Copperfield, who after investigation maps their family tree.
I enjoyed the book, it was interesting and sad reading about Jean and Johnny and Barbara and Victor and their long hidden story.
I really liked this book. I’ve read various genealogy based mysteries before and I quite enjoy them.
This book concerns 2 marriages, one is Jean and Johnny. Jean was born and brought up during the Second World War in a small town in rural USA. In 1946 she leaves to go to college to art school in San Francisco where she finds her love for art and Johnny Costello.
They enjoy a wild and bohemian lifestyle but eventually marry and have a baby Gary, but unfortunately Jean has what we now know to be post natal depression caused by a hormonal imbalance, but which causes misery for Jean and worse is undiagnosed and untreated.
The 2nd marriage is of Barbara and Victor. Barbara is in Vancouver in Canada when she meets Victor. She is staying in a home for indigent unwed mothers, she is pregnant when she meets Victor but he is kind and they become friendly. Eventually when she is 8 months pregnant they marry. Victor is English and is in Canada as part of the coaching group for athletes attending the Olympic Games. When the games are over he and Barbara move back to England. They have 2 more children.
Many years later Barbara’s great grandson buys DNA tests for them as a fun Christmas present so they can find out their ancestry. In doing so he unwittingly exposes a long held family secret.
As part of the investigation into their family ties the family employ genealogist Karen Copperfield, who after investigation maps their family tree.
I enjoyed the book, it was interesting and sad reading about Jean and Johnny and Barbara and Victor and their long hidden story.
August 13, 2022
Ninety year old Barbara isn’t happy when her grandson buys everyone DNA test kits for Christmas. Everyone is keen to do them, but Barbara is strangely quiet about it and some of the kits subsequently disappear. However, Barbara’s eldest daughter Lynn does her test and is stunned and upset to find out that the father she adored isn’t actually her biological father. Her mother Barbara refuses to discuss the matter. So Lynne hires a genealogist, Karen Copperfield, to get to the bottom of the mystery.
This novel is about what happens within a family when long buried secrets come to the surface and explores some of the consequences of our desire to find out where we’re from via DNA testing. The author cleverly doesn’t give too much away so while you can connect some of the dots, you don’t actually get to the bottom of the story until quite near the end.
DNA Never Lies is the first in a series with Karen Copperfield as the protagonist, although in this first novel Karen takes something of a backseat to the main story. The novel drops several hints about Karen, her past, her friends and extended family and there is clearly a lot to explore and find out in subsequent novels.
An interesting story and I look forward to reading the next instalment (due out in 2023 I believe) and seeing how Karen and her story develop.
This novel is about what happens within a family when long buried secrets come to the surface and explores some of the consequences of our desire to find out where we’re from via DNA testing. The author cleverly doesn’t give too much away so while you can connect some of the dots, you don’t actually get to the bottom of the story until quite near the end.
DNA Never Lies is the first in a series with Karen Copperfield as the protagonist, although in this first novel Karen takes something of a backseat to the main story. The novel drops several hints about Karen, her past, her friends and extended family and there is clearly a lot to explore and find out in subsequent novels.
An interesting story and I look forward to reading the next instalment (due out in 2023 I believe) and seeing how Karen and her story develop.
August 13, 2022
I don't often give a book 5 stars. This was a goody! Twisty Mystery with History.
Thanks to Book Sirens for a chance to read this intriguing book, it was thoroughly enjoyable, well written and clearly well researched. The lead character Karen is now self employed doing genealogical research after being shafted in two previous careers, as an academic and an investigative journalist. She is determined to get to the bottom of a family mystery that comes her way. We are constantly on edge lest 'gangsters' or other baddies lead her into danger which happened when she was a journalist. This tension builds as we follow the back stories of the family. Places are real and clearly depicted. I highlighted several passages with pithy writing. 'Everyone lied. She lied, he lied, I lie and you lie. We lie. We all lie. For the whole of our lives sometimes, and that is just the fact of the matter.' WELL WORTH READING!
Thanks to Book Sirens for a chance to read this intriguing book, it was thoroughly enjoyable, well written and clearly well researched. The lead character Karen is now self employed doing genealogical research after being shafted in two previous careers, as an academic and an investigative journalist. She is determined to get to the bottom of a family mystery that comes her way. We are constantly on edge lest 'gangsters' or other baddies lead her into danger which happened when she was a journalist. This tension builds as we follow the back stories of the family. Places are real and clearly depicted. I highlighted several passages with pithy writing. 'Everyone lied. She lied, he lied, I lie and you lie. We lie. We all lie. For the whole of our lives sometimes, and that is just the fact of the matter.' WELL WORTH READING!
September 20, 2022
DNA Never Lies is not only extremely informative but it's also mysterious. It tells us the story of a family that decides to have their DNA testing done, just for the fun of it. What follows is a series of events, some told in the present time, and some in the past where the story truly begins. It reminds us of how life used to be when women didn't have the liberties they have now and what happens to families when the truths are revealed under a certain amount of pressure. I loved this book, I couldn't put it down. Even though my tablet wasn't working properly, I chose to get the kindle app on my phone, just to finish it. And I'm so happy I did. I highly recommend it. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
December 17, 2022
To trace the origins of a family is something that really appeals to me, therefore, DNA Never Lies, called for my attention from the title. I read this book in one day, there are many characters but when you get them straight in your head everything flows. Loved the way the situations are dealt with and the ending! This story kept me wondering what secrets my family holds being from Japanese and Spanish heritage. Looking forward to reading the following book by this author.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
March 16, 2023
When teenage Danny decides to give DNA tests to several members of his family, he has no idea what long-held secrets will be revealed. But Barbara, his almost ninety-year-old great-grandmother his adamantly opposed and refuses to take her test. When her daughter Lynne's results don't seem to make sense, Lynne hires genealogist Karen Copperfield to help her learn more. And that is just the beginning of this convoluted mystery that jumps back and forth through time.
October 23, 2022
This promises to be a fabulous series. I can’t wait for the next book. I’m a great fan of genealogical mystery novels but especially ones which make use of the most recent DNA connections and have an interesting character as the genealogy investigator. I love the time slips between modern day and the past as each family connection is revealed.
February 10, 2023
I had pondered about reading this book for a while. I read part one and two, but part three did not seem to connect to me with the previous parts until a few chapters in. It was only then that I realised that Barbara and Jean were the same person. I was surprised that the bigamy issue was not addressed further though. A lovely ending with new found relations getting together with original family.
August 19, 2023
The Lies We Weave
I think it's a good thing that we have DNA now! We don't always know who we are related to but good things can come out of it. I don't think it was wrong of the grandkids to give the kits but the adults had a choice to use them, and Barber a aka Jean should have opened up about her past life at that time! Good book and well written.
I think it's a good thing that we have DNA now! We don't always know who we are related to but good things can come out of it. I don't think it was wrong of the grandkids to give the kits but the adults had a choice to use them, and Barber a aka Jean should have opened up about her past life at that time! Good book and well written.
October 21, 2022
Wow Wow Wow
I felt the excitement I feel when tracking down a relationship in my family history. If this tangled web came up in my tree, the answers could only be solved generically. Love the multi stories that join to make one big family.
I felt the excitement I feel when tracking down a relationship in my family history. If this tangled web came up in my tree, the answers could only be solved generically. Love the multi stories that join to make one big family.
November 3, 2022
Generally quite good, but reading on a Kindle meant that the family trees included weren't legible. An awful lot of names to try to remember.
I didn't really like the main character, and I guessed who her daughter's father was before she figured it out.
I will give this author another go.
I didn't really like the main character, and I guessed who her daughter's father was before she figured it out.
I will give this author another go.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 6, 2023
not sure about this one
Interesting story, however, Karen’s complicated life gets mixed in with her clients story. The whole story is miserable and a bit of a guide to using the internet.
Interesting story, however, Karen’s complicated life gets mixed in with her clients story. The whole story is miserable and a bit of a guide to using the internet.
March 11, 2026
Barbara has a lot of secrets. Her children take DNA tests and the results are puzzling. They hire Karen Copperfield (whose own life has its own secrets) to find out the truth because 90+ year old Barbara won't tell them.
March 27, 2026
I did the audiobook and the readers were ok. It needed other voices though. would have been nice with a male voice in there
wow what a story. It was good and the characters were well developed. If you have never taken a DNA test then this might inspire you to do it or never do it!
wow what a story. It was good and the characters were well developed. If you have never taken a DNA test then this might inspire you to do it or never do it!
August 14, 2022
great read
Quite complicated but kept me gripped, a really intriguing mystery. I hope there is more of these books. I like genealogical mysteries and this didn’t disappoint
Quite complicated but kept me gripped, a really intriguing mystery. I hope there is more of these books. I like genealogical mysteries and this didn’t disappoint
September 12, 2022
Good book
I was unsure at first, this book seemed quite unusual. But after awhile it reached out and grabbed me. Fascinating storyline with multiple connections.
I was unsure at first, this book seemed quite unusual. But after awhile it reached out and grabbed me. Fascinating storyline with multiple connections.
October 7, 2022
A fascinating story full of twists and turns, this kept me turning the pages until the end.
October 21, 2022
Strong, likable protagonist; intriguing family histories; vivid characters; an unfolding mystery. All made for a cracking read.
December 15, 2022
As a family history buff this book was right up my street ! I really enjoyed it and thought it well written ! Looking forward to more by this author!
December 28, 2022
Fabulous
As someone who is interested in family history and having recently done a DNA test I found this book rather interesting, the twists and turns are great
As someone who is interested in family history and having recently done a DNA test I found this book rather interesting, the twists and turns are great
January 14, 2023
Really enjoyed it - it does not go where you think it will and that keeps you guessing.
February 22, 2023
Good book
Very interesting subject and very well written. Great characters and well developed. Will definitely read the next book, anxiously awaiting its release.
Very interesting subject and very well written. Great characters and well developed. Will definitely read the next book, anxiously awaiting its release.
May 1, 2023
great read
I loved this book, complicated but very interesting especially seeing the family tree’s and how it all fell into place.
I loved this book, complicated but very interesting especially seeing the family tree’s and how it all fell into place.
December 6, 2023
DNA
Could not stop reading. Some parts I got confused but in the end it was very good. Let's see what happens next!
Could not stop reading. Some parts I got confused but in the end it was very good. Let's see what happens next!
February 17, 2024
captivating
Good story line. Just enough genealogical twist to keep my interest. Want to read more of your books. Keep writing!
Good story line. Just enough genealogical twist to keep my interest. Want to read more of your books. Keep writing!
April 29, 2024
Great read
Loved the storyline , a really good read that kept me wanting to read more ,couldn't put it down ,loved it
Loved the storyline , a really good read that kept me wanting to read more ,couldn't put it down ,loved it
June 24, 2024
my newest favourite author!
Very absorbing storyline and likeable characters. An engaging book from start to finish.
I’m very much looking forward to the next book.
Very absorbing storyline and likeable characters. An engaging book from start to finish.
I’m very much looking forward to the next book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews