The Morton Farrier Forensic Genealogist series written by Nathan Dylan Goodwin manages to combine three things I love: reading, mysteries, and family history.

Morton Farrier is a professional genealogist who takes on cases for people wanting to uncover the truth about some aspect of their families. As the series progresses, secrets from Morton’s own family are also revealed and explored. If you’re going to read any of the Morton series, I do recommend doing so in order so as not to spoil some of the plots.

The Deserter’s Tale marks ten years since the beginning of the series and is a compact story with plenty happening. Morton travels to RootsTech to give two presentations. While he’s there, he hopes to get the police to re-open a case involving one of his family members, and he traces the movements of his wife’s great-grandfather who disappeared following World War One. This is a case of truth being stranger than fiction, so to speak.

As always, Nathan Dylan Goodwin does a great job of creating a plot that keeps you hooked, wanting answers and more of Morton’s adventures. In the process he demonstrates important elements of research, such as having a good research question, using primary and secondary sources, and finding evidence. Some tempting clues are laid for development in future stories, along with a cliffhanger of sorts. Hopefully the next Morton story is not too far off!