Julie Cosgrove. Fallen Leaf. Dallas: Write Integrity P, 2019. E-book. A Relatively Seeking Mystery.
The Fallen Leaf in the title of this mystery is a leaf in the family tree. This is apparently second in the Relatively Seeking series of genealogical mysteries. By genealogical mysteries, I do not mean discovering the name of your great-great-great uncle’s second wife. I mean an actual mystery like Sherlock’s or Miss Marple’s that began because of some genealogical research.
In this case, Jessica Warren, a Texas divorcee who was adopted as a baby, decides to do one of those online DNA tests. She is surprised to find out from the DNA test that she is about fifty percent American Indian. She has blonde hair so she never imagined that, but she admits she does tan easily.
Her adopted mother shares a letter that she received from Jessica’s birth mother when she was adopted that tells her the name of her birth mother and gives some clues about her birth father. Jessica never had an actual birth certificate, simply an adoption certificate with her birth date on it. The adoption records are closed.
She learns that her birth father is an inmate in a prison near Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she was born. Her two girlfriends, Bailey and Shannon, accompany her to Tulsa to meet, if possible, her birth parents. Bailey’s boyfriend is a police detective who has a friend in Tulsa who is a district attorney. That D.A. helps grease the wheel so Jessica is able to meet her birth father during visitation time at the prison. There is a very good discussion on what to expect should anyone ever have occasion to visit a prison.
She also visits her birth mother. It is an emotional reunion, but her mother and her husband tell her in no uncertain terms that they do not want to see her again.
Her Cherokee birth father was sentenced when he was just eighteen and has spent about thirty years in prison. He had eloped with her birth mother but started running drugs for a gang on the side to earn a little more money. He was found guilty of carrying drugs with intent to sell and of homicide. A guard at what is now an Indian casino site was stabbed to death during the drug transfer. After he was sentenced to forty-five years, his wife divorced him. A few years later married the man who had been her husband’s best friend.
Jessica is convinced her birth father is innocent. But, as they say, everyone in prison “didn’t do it.” The D.A. friend looks into the trial record and sees some discrepancies. The question is whether someone framed her Cherokee father, and if he remains silent because his life would be in danger if he tells what really happened and who was really involved.
This is a suspense story with an different twist because of the genealogy factor. Like most good mysteries nothing is really as it seems. Jessica soon gets in over her head. Because the D.A. has obvious political connections, it is not clear whether she can really trust him—especially after driver of the car he sent to pick her up after a meeting attempts to kidnap her.
This is a fast-moving tale with a number of twists and surprises—and some divine ingenuity. Since I have been reviewing new books regularly now, I have read many books that are a part of a series. While most of them are OK, I cannot say I feel impelled to read the other books in the series, except, of course, for the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books. This one may be a little different. The characters of the three friends are drawn well enough that the reader cares. I confess to some curiosity to see what other adventures they may have. If the romance angle does not get too sappy, I might be inclined to pick up another in this series.
Disclosure of Material: We received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through the BookCrash book review program, which requires an honest, though not necessarily positive, review.