Genetic Genealogy Fiction

Aloha from my Hawaii cruise. Apologies to all of you for not getting any blogging or work done while at sea. My brain kept telling me I was on vacation!

One thing I like to do when cruising is to read fiction by the pool or at night. My new favorite mystery author is Nathan Dylan Goodwin who has a series about a forensic genealogist as well as a wonderful new series about a fictional genetic genealogy company called Venator.

I read the second Venator book first, The Sawtooth Slayer, which Nathan was kind enough to send me for a review. It stood up well, even though out of sequence. I then lent it to a friend who is neither a genealogist nor a DNA tester to see if it was an enjoyable read for her and others like her. She really liked it! She told me that now she is interested in doing her family history and maybe even a DNA test! So by all means give this to any friend who is interested in understanding what we do.

Next I had to get the first book, which I really liked also. The characters were particularly engaging. Then of course I started working my way through his other series, which is more genealogy based but still quite enjoyable.

Kitty drinking coffee at Kona Joe’s on the big Island near Kona

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6 thoughts on “Genetic Genealogy Fiction

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  1. Aloha…
    Hawaiians have a big kahuna [kə-hoo͞′ ] in their midst.
    The indigenous people of Hawaii are descendants of Polynesians who migrated to Hawaii in two waves: the first from the Marquesas Islands, probably about ad 400; the second from Tahiti in the 9th or 10th century.
    The spirit of aloha – being in the presence of and sharing the essence of life – teaches us lessons of peace, kindness, compassion and responsibility to future generations.
    Mahalo for sharing your wisdom and expertise.
    Enjoy a well deserved vacation!
    A fan in chilly Toronto, Canada

  2. Genealogy in crime fiction has been an interesting sub-genre for a long time, but the coming of genetic genealogy has really moved it along. Thank you for sharing with us an author who is up to all of the challenges that come from this. (Interestingly, I have found that some more conventional authors who find the scientific stuff hard to do have felt they had to at least bring in the conventional stuff, with a land tenure puzzle or a will or just an old timer neighbour to the crime scene raising the possible issue of kin involvement.)

  3. God Jul!
    I am planning in treating myself to several paperback copies of Nathan Dylan Goodwin’s books this Christmas time. (I am old enough to want a book in my hands and like to highlight pertinent sections with a yellow marker!) Which series would you recommend as a start …The Forensic Genealogist or the Venator Cold Case series? Am I correct in understanding that the Venator series might have more info regarding genetic genealogy? And as an avid reader of series, I always start with the first book. Is there any connection between the two series?
    “Cousin” Barbara in Buffalo

  4. Hi cousin Barbara,
    Both series are great. No connection between the two that I recall. The Venator cold case series is all about genetic genealogy being used to solve crimes and is set in Salt Lake City. The Forensic genealogist series is also great and includes DNA testing for genealogy in the later books as I recall.

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