Steve Robinson

The latest Jefferson Tayte mystery. They're always worth the wait!

Letters from the Dead

Amazon.com link

My review -

In another genealogical puzzle, Jefferson Tayte journeys to a crumbling mansion in Scotland. The owner is keen to trace his great (times four) grandfather and suspects there’s illegitimacy in the line. There’s also the mystery of a disappearing ruby, as big as a fist, which was seen by some ancestors along the way. Tayte is concerned this may turn into a treasure hunt, and when members of the family are murdered, he fears he’s right.

Much of the story is featured in letters home from India in the early 1800s and the subcontinent back then is atmospherically depicted. The author highlights the poverty of some, contrasting it with the immense wealth of the maharajas and the British East India Company. These parts are especially exciting. The end of the Scottish adventure is a white-knuckle ride and, as always, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Steve Robinson carefully strands his stories together and they are a joy to unpick.

Steve Robinson

The latest Jefferson Tayte story and this time it's personal!

Dying Games

Amazon.com link

My review - 

Jefferson Tayte is summoned home to DC because the FBI want his help. Someone well up in genealogy and its research methods is killing people in a manner to echo the death of one of their ancestors. Tayte is involved because they are all related to past clients of his. The killer is leaving clues – it’s a sick game and if Tayte doesn’t play it, they die. If he’s clever, he might get there before the deadline and save the victim.

Because of the structure of the story – the fact that there are several families and puzzles to sort out from Tayte’s old files, the story builds in excitement. Will he solve it? Imagine failing to solve a puzzle in time to save a person’s life. You’d feel terrible about yourself. At least he’s happy that Jean is safe in England. Tayte has more than a suspicion he knows who’s behind it but the FBI think differently. This story touches on JT’s personal life and previous contacts more than any other and I found it exciting and terrifying in equal measure. It’s a dead sure winner and I enjoyed it immensely.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book.

Steve Robinson

This is the 5th Jefferson Tayte novel in which he searches out his own history. The best yet! I also believe you could read it on its own.

Kindred

Amazon.com

My review - 

I’m a great fan of the genealogical super-sleuth, Jefferson Tayte and this fifth book in the series is going to have readers on the edge of their seats. JT has been able to solve many a difficult and even dangerous case but the mystery of his own origins has always eluded him. All he knew was that his mother gave him away for his own good. His late friend and mentor, Marcus Brown, left some clues which have led JT and his friend Jean to Germany. His digging around stirs up a hornets’ nest of Neo-Nazis who want their secrets to remain buried. It becomes obvious that there’s a distinct possibility that Tayte will not like the answers, even if he manages to find them.

We switch smoothly back and forth between present day and wartime Germany, and try, with JT and Jean, to piece together the jigsaw of clues they obtain from various sources, including an old man who suffers from a bad heart. It’s touch and go – and the outcome is not what I imagined! This is not going to let fans of Jefferson Tayte down and I think it could stand alone as a novel for those who haven’t read the earlier books. There’s a good outcome and I finished it with a smile. It’s great having ends tied up but knowing there’s more to come. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Steve Robinson

A new story from Steve featuring his genealogist Jefferson Tayte.  These just keep getting better!

The Last Queen of England

Amazon.com   The Last Queen of England

My review -

American genealogist and man of mystery Jefferson Tayte has a rather different and much more personal assignment in this latest book.  Steve Robinson has previously given us a past and a present narrative, woven together with great skill, but this time the action all takes place in present day London.  His friend Marcus Brown has been tracing the families of five people hanged in the reign of Queen Anne and JT and a history professor friend of Marcus Brown’s become embroiled in the spin-off, potentially fatally.  It’s wonderful to get closer to the true feelings of our ‘loner’ hero and to feel his passion for his subject and for his friend Marcus. We also feel him grappling with his own insecurities, his shyness, his social ineptitude, as he warms to a new friend.

Steve Robinson takes a slightly different tack with this new book in that he takes the reader through a historical puzzle which is intriguing and complex.  His story telling abilities are as sharp as ever and JT doesn’t work this job alone.  We are introduced to an intelligent and feisty companion for this story.  We are in the realms of major conspiracy theory here – and I do love a conspiracy theory.  It’s not the sort of puzzle with a pat answer and we have loose threads left at the end which hint of further intrigue to come.  I, for one, can’t wait!

Steve Robinson

Steve Robinson writes genealogical mysteries.  His protagonist, Jefferson Tayte,  is American but the stories follow his attempts to trace clients' families in Britain.

In The Blood

Link to Amazon.com  In the Blood


My review -

I  loved the idea of this book from the product description and found it a very gripping read. The movement from past to present was smooth (it isn't always) and the characters were realistically drawn. I found that I cared about them - always a good sign in a novel. Good and bad characters were not obvious from the beginning and the book is a real page-turner.
Several times I thought I had worked out what was going on but each time I was wrong! It was a particularly well-wrought story and I hope the writer has more to come.


To The Grave

My review -

Fans of Steve Robinson's loner of a genealogist, Jefferson Tayte, are going to be thrilled to bits with this second novel of which I had a preview copy. JT is researching on behalf of an American lady who has just found that she was adopted. His short stay in England on her behalf dredges up a family mystery which has had profound echoes down the years. A close-knit family is torn apart by misunderstandings and by the behaviour of a member whose reason for her misguided actions was to keep them together. What he uncovers puts his own life in danger.

This is a tense thriller which takes us back to 1944/5 so that at times, we know what Tayte is still to discover. Steve Robinson doesn't just tell the reader the story, he drops us into the scene so that we can smell the zest from the Christmas orange, feel the chill from the crystalline frost. The characters are real, believable and not all by any means likeable! Mena, our `lost' girl, has a harridan of a mother and a weak father but you can join with her in her young and growing affections. I like to think of the contrast between the modern story and that of the past as counterpoint. It's like one melody moving against another and each highlights something from the other.

I felt that the story was strong and the family interactions very credible. I was working towards the conclusion which the author gave us but only at the very end. This is a great read and very well worth the 5 stars I give it. I will happily read more from Steve Robinson. He is a talented writer.