Two more Lady Petra Inquires books to come!

It's the week before New Year's Eve and genealogist Lucy Lancaster is ready to mix work and play at the beautiful Hotel Sutton, enjoying herself while finalizing the presentation for her latest client, hotel heiress Pippa Sutton.

Freshly arrived at the hotel—and determined not to think about Special Agent Ben Turner, who went radio silent on her after one date—Lucy is stopped in her tracks when a strange man comes staggering toward her. She barely has time to notice his weak, sweaty appearance before he presses a classic Montblanc pen onto her hand, gasps, “Keep them safe,” and collapses at her feet, dead.

When Lucy shows the fountain pen to her grandfather, an avid collector and World War II veteran, she’s in for another shock. Not only does Grandpa recognize the Montblanc, he also reveals a secret: he was an Allied spy during the war and the pen is both a message regarding one of his wartime missions and the key to reading a microdot left by the dead man.

On the microdot is a series of ciphers, some decrypted to form names. Could they be the descendants of Grandpa’s fellow spies? When two from the list end up murdered—including the chef at the Hotel Sutton—and Grandpa’s life is put in jeopardy, Lucy’s sure she’s right. And with Lucy’s and Pippa’s names possibly on the list, too, she’s got to uncover the past to protect those in the present.

With a secret Allied mission, old grievances, and traitors hiding behind every corner, Lucy must use her research skills to trace the list’s World War II ancestors and connect the dots to find a killer in their midst—a killer who’s determined to make sure some lineages end once and for all.

Praise for Lineage Most Lethal

"In Perkins’s appealing sequel to 2019’s Murder Once Removed, hotel owner Pippa Sutton hires Austin, Tex., genealogist Lucy Lancaster to trace her family tree and produce a video featuring oral histories from her relatives. Already smarting from a lack of communication by her FBI boyfriend, Lucy encounters hostility from Pippa’s glamorous and erratic mother, Roselyn, as well as drunken behavior from Pippa’s cousin Dave, who previously was accused of theft and suspended from dealing in antiques. When a stranger stumbles up to Lucy, gives her a fountain pen, mutters an enigmatic message, and dies, she’s mystified, but her grandfather, George Lancaster, sees something more in the episode. He reveals a tale of WWII derring-do that involves a cipher based on John Buchan’s The Thirty-Nine Steps. Then the hotel’s chef is murdered and attempts are made on the lives of George and Lucy, leading Lucy to realize that the past is far from buried. Perkins neatly intertwines history, mystery, espionage, and revenge. Cozy fans will be well satisfied."--Publishers Weekly

Lucy is just about to tuck into a plate of tacos at her favorite Austin joint, Big Flaco's, when she gets an unexpected visit from her former--and least-favorite--co-worker. Camilla Braithwaite hasn't gotten much friendlier since the last time Lucy saw her, but that doesn't stop her from asking a favor. In her hand is a newspaper feature on an ancestor, a civil war corporal--and a liar, according to the article. Charles Braithwaite is depicted as a phony and a deserter, and Camilla wants Lucy's help clearing his name. 

Lucy would prefer to spend her free time with her new beau, special agent Ben Turner, but takes the case, making no promises that Camilla will like the outcome of her investigation. Camilla leads Lucy to the Texas History Museum, where their first clue is a triptych painting, passed down in the Braithwaite family for generations, one panel of which has disappeared. But before Lucy can get much further, a member of the Braithwaite family is murdered in his own bed, and another panel of the painting found missing. 

There are no shortage of suspects among the Braithwaite clan--including Camilla herself. This case will take Lucy to Houston and back again as she works to find the truth, and catch an elusive killer.