And not asking for a rush on a swab from someone who admitted they were at the scene of the crime while it was all poppin off AND interacted with the corpse? This helps with empathy, as you follow their journeys, hoping they’re not guilty / going to be a victim, because you care for them. She decides to submit a DNA sample to online database Globalry, in the hopes that she might finally be able to track him down and reconcile.

In Gytha Lodge's gripping novel, A Killer in the Family, we are drawn into a tangled web of secrets and lies that threatens to tear a family apart. I’ve enjoyed all three of the books from this series that I’ve read so far and personally I found this to be the best one. Aisling Cooley is desperate to find her father, who disappeared years before, and she decides to send a DNA sample to an ancestry site, hoping that her father had done the same. Having spent most of my summers in and around the New Forest, a lot of the places were familiar, which really helped to bring the story to life as I could visualise everything clearly. Watching From the Dark, her second novel, is released in February 2020, with her third book lined up for spring of 2021.

At its core, A Killer in the Family is a story about family dynamics and the secrets that can fester within them. Each stand alone film in this new true crime series investigates three shocking murders, where the victim and perpetrator are family, telling stories of ordinary relationships that take extraordinary and ultimately tragic turns. Thanks NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Random House for this ARC that will be released August 8, 2023!

I loved the connection of the DNA samples link with global ancestry, very clever and interesting to think this could be used to help solve cases that could potentially otherwise remain a mystery. Lodge kept me guessing, and second-guessing myself, at the edge of my seat, until the exciting final scenes. I am such a fan of Gytha Lodge's DCI Jonah Sheens series, I feel like I have watched him grow up and mature, both in his career and his personal life, and feel invested in him making good choices! Aisling's DNA is a match for a recent crime scene - the latest in a string of murders by a dangerous serial killer, known as 'the bonfire killer'.The author plays a very careful game, dropping in some historical context which serves to both enlighten and confuse, making sure that we don't get the big reveal on the killer until the right time. So… if you’re looking for a fantastic group of flawed but lovable detectives, and a compelling read that makes you think, look no further! Gytha Lodge brings Jonah Sheens and his team back again with their newest adventure in “A Killer in the Family”. Realizing that his sons will not allow him, he sends them away to get water for the couple, and then shoots all four of them. I thought it was captivating too and did that from the start and stayed that way throughout the entire novel.

How dark they might be don't learn straight away, but it does leave big question marks dangling over the pair of them when it becomes clear that it is a make relative of Aisling who has been committing the murders. The author did a great job sparking discussion about that issue, but all in all, I don't think I'll be reading another Jonah Sheens mystery. She has signed with Penguin Random House worldwide for the first three books in her crime series featuring DCI Jonah Sheens.However, if you are a fan of the series and police procedural mysteries, then you will definitely like this book! Aisling Cooley would have never dreamed that submitting a DNA sample to try to find her father would turn into a nightmare. Her deep love for her sons was evident in everything she did, even though she had not been honest with them about her early life.