Wendy Percival

This is the first of the Esme Quentin mysteries. Typically, I read it second but I don't think it matters. They are each excellent stand-alone stories which just happen to have the same main character in common.

Blood-Tied

Amazon.com Blood-Tied

My review -

This is the first of Wendy Percival’s Esme Quentin genealogical tales. I read the second one recently which stands alone very well but I thought it would make sense to read the first now. It’s a mystery, has touches of thriller but mainly it explores what it is to be ‘family’. Esme’s sister Liz is in hospital, in a coma. It could be because of an accident but it’s possibly as a result of an attack as she was seen arguing with someone shortly beforehand. Her niece, Gemma, is not particularly pleased when Esme starts to investigate.

I enjoyed the characters in this story and began to care about them. Without giving the story away, I especially like Polly, the elderly lady who seemed careless of her own assets and happy to see them disposed of at a snip of a price. Esme wants to help her but finds out far more about her own and Polly’s families as she does so. It’s a great story, well researched and it never dragged for a moment.