Katherine, living on her own during the week because her husband works away with two children who have flown the nest, spends her time with Aunt Lucy. When Aunt Lucy passes away Katherine inherits 10 boxes of her belongings, mainly collected from her lifetime of travels, and a lovely desk. As Katherine looks through the boxes selecting what she will pass onto other people, she comes across a necklace and a journal written in german.

Katherine decides to find out more about the journal, she goes to the local archives and is soon absorbed into the world of research. Along the way she meets up with an old boyfriend who is now a history professor who expresses a real interest in the necklace and diary, perhaps too interested…. Coupled with the murder of a young lad who has a suspect background and the murder of Dutch an old family friend, plus her house burgled not once but twice Katherine has to solve her genealogical mystery.

A great read, accurately researched by the author and I hope there will be more by this author in this genealogical theme.