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A Book Review SIte from Jan McClintock
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Archive for genealogy

book pages photo

Never Give Up (on a book order)

By Jan
 on September 11, 2018

book pages photoThis story is about a book called “George Genealogy” by Keith H. George. It was self-published in 1991 and there aren’t many copies around. In fact, about a decade ago, I asked my brother, who lived in Connecticut, to visit the State Library in Hartford on my behalf because one of the copies is in their stacks. He photocopied a few relevant pages for me and I was happy with that.

I’ve wanted a copy of the entire book and was unable to find one for sale, until a search on ABEBooks finally yielded a reprint . . . in India. Go figure. In any case, I ordered the book through ABE and paid $23—what a steal! That was in February 2018.

Family history is a great hobby that can quickly become addicting. But it’s not free. Between memberships to historical societies, genealogy software and apps, web site subscriptions, shelves of books, and travel, I’ve spent a lot of money over the last 25 years. However, these genealogy books takes many years to research and compile, and I was glad to spend so little for such a tome.

About two weeks ago, in August 2018, I received a package in the mail from India. I’d long ago forgotten about this order and would have brushed it off as a lost cause. But there it was, all 800 reprinted pages with a nice cover. Thank you to Gyan Books Pvt. Ltd. in Delhi for following through.

Just goes to show, never give up.

In categories Non-fiction Tagged with genealogy
In the Blood cover

Review: In the Blood (Jefferson Tayte Mystery)

By Jan
 on July 31, 2014

In the Blood (Jefferson Tayte Genealogical Mystery) by Steve Robinson

In the Blood cover

Thomas & Mercer (March 2014)
ASIN: B00G3NAPLC

This first book in the series caught my eye because it includes genealogy, a hobby I have enjoyed for over 25 years. I also love a good mystery, and the setting in lovely Cornwall clinched it. Overall, I liked this book and may continue the series.

The star of the book is Jefferson Tayte, an American professional genealogist, sent to England to finish a family tree for a wealthy client. He has one week in Cornwall to discover why a Loyalist family who left Boston at the start of the American Revolution doesn’t appear in any records in England.

The story is extremely interesting and the pace was very consistent. The references to genealogical research were fascinating and very realistic. Descriptions of the characters and of Cornwall were wonderfully tangible. I could “see” each person in my mind’s eye and gradually understood their purposes and motives.

Although most of the story occurs in the present day, Mr. Robinson used both the late 18th century and contemporary time frames to unravel this tale, and that worked very well here. The fate of the historical characters was unraveled slowly and deliciously. I admit to a few tears toward the end.

Cornwall is one of my favorite places, and I was very taken with the author’s use of the geography and landmarks to further the plot, especially using those great descriptions I mentioned earlier.

There were a few incongruities that threw me off the story for a bit. Jefferson’s capability to surf the internet from anywhere and everywhere was a little questionable, especially when he spent an entire night in a car in the middle of nowhere! (wink, wink) A few parts of the story were not explained; I do wish the author had tied up those small loose ends.

Before I knew anything about the author, I could tell he must be British. There are British spellings (like colour) and the protagonist uses a few phrases that would be very uncharacteristic for an American. Since Mr. Robinson is writing about Cornwall and most of the characters are Brits, that’s fine. After all, there are plenty of American authors writing books set in the U.K (hello, Regency romances!). However, I wonder whether the following books in the series will continue the anomalies and perhaps be more irritating.

The ebook included very few errors and was formatted nicely. No profanity or sexual content, minimal violence.

Recommended for genealogists, mystery lovers, and historical novel readers.

In categories Book Review, Modern Fiction Tagged with genealogy