Murder Runs in the Family

Anne George

9/16/2007

Mary Alice "Sister"'s daughter gets married. One of the groom's relatives is a geneologist. After talking with Meg Bryan, Sister and Patricia Anne "Mouse" agree to have lunch with her to learn more about her work. While lunching, a local Birmingham judge approaches them. Meg goes off with the judge. They don't see her again until her body is identified on the courtyard grounds. She apparently commited suicide by jumping from the 9th (or 10th) floor of the court building.

But Patricia Anne follows up on the geneology because Fred, her husband, has expressed an interest. She runs into one of her former students at the research library. Castine Murphyis now a geneologist and works for the company that occasionally hired Meg Bryan part time when the older woman visited Birmingham. Castine keeps apprised of the investigation, especially after the owner of the company is hospitalized after a near fatal collapse. Although Fred told her to "stay out of it", after the judge is shot, Patricia Anne finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation.

The Southern Sister mystery series is definitely in the cozy genre. The two 60-something sisters in Birmingham, Alabama, are fun characters with a good sense of family. They find themselves in the middle of mysteries by nosiness and curiousity rather than any sense of detection. They're fun.

Murder Runs in the Family has its twists, but is predictable. It follows through believably and Patricia Anne's first person narrative gives the comfortable sense of fun despite this being a murder mystery. It's escape literature that's good for that sunny afternoon at the beach.

You can find more about this book at .

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