There are lots of fun "genealogy" based works of fiction out there, but my favorite is Rett MacPherson's series of "Torie O'Shea Mysteries." Torie O'Shea is a genealogist in a small predominantly German town in Missouri. She works at the local Historical Museum, and her genealogical activities usually have her on the hunt to solve various mysteries that crop up.
I enjoy the mild humor and the down to earth characters. In each book we find Torie, her husband and children, her wheelchair bound mother and the local sheriff, who is married to Torie's mom. There is also a great "supporting cast" of local friends and neighbors that carry over from book to book. As a heroine, Torie is likable, plucky and irreverent.
The picture that MacPherson paints of a small Missouri town of German heritage is very familiar to me. Although "New Kassel" is fictional, it could easily be based any of the typical little German towns that line the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.
The list of Torie O'Shea Mysteries is getting longer:
1997 Family Skeletons
1998 A Veiled Antiquity
1999 A Comedy of Heirs
2000 A Misty Mourning
2002 Killing Cousins
2003 Blood Relations
2004 In Sheep's Clothing
2005 Thicker Than Water
2006 Dead Man Running
2007 Died in the Wool
I started with Family Skeletons, and have worked my way down the list. I just checked out Dead Man Running from my local library, and am looking forward to starting it. They are definitely light reading -- but I enjoy the genealogical references, and watching Torie use her research skills and resources to solve each mystery.
If you have any favorite genealogy-related fiction books, please leave your recommendations in the "Comments" section below.
Enjoy the books!
