Signed With Her Mark

An X on an old deed. A murder in an autumn orchard. A genealogy cozy mystery about the family history someone wants erased.

In 1831, Dinah Sands bought an acre of her own in New York's Hudson Valley and signed the deed with her mark. Generations later, her descendant Dr. Naomi Bell hires genealogist Greta Hollenbeck to recover the life behind that signature—and establish what a memorial should say.

At Vantine Hill Orchard, harvest is underway and owner Clay Vantine seems eager to honor Dinah's connection to the land. But deeds, church records, and a Civil War pension file lead Greta toward a history that is less settled than the current owners believe. An old transfer raises troubling questions about how the acre changed hands.

Then Clay is found dead in the cider barn. Plans to remember one woman have collided with present-day ambitions for the orchard, and someone has decided that a document is worth killing over. To help the police find the truth, Greta must trace what happened to Dinah's land without losing sight of the woman who made it her home.

With autumn warmth, an unwelcome visit from Greta's ex-husband, and a family reckoning of her own, Signed With Her Mark brings a complete, thoughtful whodunit to Book 5 of The Kinfinder Genealogy Mysteries.

For readers who love:

•   African American family history treated with care

•   Ancestral land, disputed deeds, and archival discoveries

•   Apple-harvest atmosphere in a Hudson Valley town

•   A compassionate midlife sleuth and a warm recurring cast

•   Clean cozy mysteries where the past matters to the present