Book Review: Forensic Genealogist Mystery, The Spyglass File

A lot of people seem to be looking for biological ancestors these days, and I’m not just talking about Facebook DNA groups or people connecting through Ancestry.com or FTDNA. Fictional genealogists have embraced autosomal DNA to help unravel deep family secrets with analysis that rivals the “little grey cells” of Hercule Poirot.

Mysteries appeal to all kinds of readers with dozens of sub-genres offering further categories as cozies, hard-boiled detective stories, police procedurals, courtroom drama, amateur sleuths, and now genealogical mysteries featuring DNA as a problem-solving tool.

The Spyglass File, book 4 in the Forensic Genealogist Series by Nathan Dylan Goodwin, continues the story of genealogist Morton Farrier, a man with a questions about his own past who spends his working days solving other people’s family history mysteries.

As Morton works to identify his own biological father, he’s presented with a case that bears a remarkable similarity to his own — unexpected adoption. The client has learned her birth parents’ names but wants to know more, and Morton is soon fighting his own emotions as he uncovers long-dead secrets and the mysterious wartime Spyglass File.

Goodwin has a gift for developing like able characters who come to life on the page (or Kindle screen) with convincing dialogue and intriguing real-life subplots. Morton’s struggle with finding his own biological family informs his work as a genealogist, pushing him forward to accept emotionally difficult cases as well as pulling him back at times.

A native of Hastings and an accomplished genealogist, photographer, and author, Nathan Dylan Goodwin continues to deliver well-written, authentic mysteries in the Forensic Genealogist Series.

The Spyglass File is a thoughtful novel that raises questions about life’s difficult questions. Readers will learn even more if they take a few minutes to read the author’s poignant endnote “Historical Information.”

Books in The Forensic Genealogist Series featuring genealogy-sleuth Morton Farrier include (in order): Hiding the Past, The Lost Ancestor, The America Ground, The Spyglass File, and the Christmas novella The Orange Lilies.

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