Hiding the Past

Hiding the Past is the first book in the Morton Farrier genealogical crime series by Nathan Goodwin.  I  became aware of the series after reading the author's short story "The Asylum."  This book is the first time that I have seen the genealogical mystery sub-genre and I love it.  

The story opens with Morton Farrier finding out that his client Peter Coldrick has died. Morton arouses the suspicion of the police as he was paid 50,000 GBP to get information about Coldrick's father and then received the same day a letter from Coldrick asking him to stop the research and keep the money. As a forensic geneologist, Morton feels  a responsibility to finish his research into the Coldrick family even though he only met with Coldrick once, for 6 hours the day before his death. Curiosity  compels him forward when he becomes stumped in his research into the family. Along the way Morton has to deal with quirky characters who work at various records centers where he does his work. He also runs into problems from locals who want the Coldrick family mystery to remain a mystery. A secondary plot addresses Morton's own family mystery-his adoption.

If you have ever done any genealogical research and experienced the thrill when new information is discovered, you will love this book. Every red herring and twist came from Morton's ongoing research. It was clever of the author to create this sub-genre. I cannot wait to read the rest of the books in this series. There are 7 subsequent novels, the last one published in 2018. 

5 out of 5 stars.