Alex and Briggie Series by G.G. Vandagriff

Genealogy sleuths Alexandra Campbell and Brighamina Poulson make their first appearance as Alex reunites with her parents for the first time in eighteen years. The result is murder! In order to solve the crime, she and Briggie have to uncover the secrets in Alex's own family tree, discovering in the process why she was sent away to Paris at age eighteen. Her searches yield facts that explain the strange isolation of her adolescence... moreGenealogy sleuths Alexandra Campbell and Brighamina Poulson make their first appearance as Alex reunites with her parents for the first time in eighteen years. The result is murder! In order to solve the crime, she and Briggie have to uncover the secrets in Alex's own family tree, discovering in the process why she was sent away to Paris at age eighteen. Her searches yield facts that explain the strange isolation of her adolescence. A recent convert to the LDS Church, she is still grieving over the death of her husband but is powerfully attracted to Daniel Grinnell, a psychotherapist who knows just a little too much about her for comfort. less

Join Alex and Briggie on a trip to France and then to Oxford in this stand-alone sequel to Cankered Roots. On the trail of Alex's newfound cousins who are heirs under an old will, the pair scarcely arrive in Oxford before one of Alex's cousins is killed. Was it murder? Did it have anything to do with their search? If so, who even knew they were coming? While trying to answer these questions, they uncover among Alex's relatives a number of secrets someone would kill for... moreJoin Alex and Briggie on a trip to France and then to Oxford in this stand-alone sequel to Cankered Roots. On the trail of Alex's newfound cousins who are heirs under an old will, the pair scarcely arrive in Oxford before one of Alex's cousins is killed. Was it murder? Did it have anything to do with their search? If so, who even knew they were coming? While trying to answer these questions, they uncover among Alex's relatives a number of secrets someone would kill for. In the midst of her sleuthing, Alex attracts the attention of Charles Lamb, an impossibly handsome bachelor who is used to having women fall at his feet. less

Who’s Telling the Truth? Holly Weston, a teenager locked down in drug rehab, claims she’s never used drugs, but that her incarceration is all a plot by her parents. Why? To establish her mental incompetency so she won’t discover that they’ve embezzled the fortune she is about to inherit. Her grandmother, a slightly dotty widow claims that her father was murdered when she was nineteen, after which she dyed her hair platinum, went to Hollywood, and met Clark Gable (and her husband)... moreWho’s Telling the Truth? Holly Weston, a teenager locked down in drug rehab, claims she’s never used drugs, but that her incarceration is all a plot by her parents. Why? To establish her mental incompetency so she won’t discover that they’ve embezzled the fortune she is about to inherit. Her grandmother, a slightly dotty widow claims that her father was murdered when she was nineteen, after which she dyed her hair platinum, went to Hollywood, and met Clark Gable (and her husband). Holly’s mother, a rigid, disapproving figure, tells Alex and Briggie both her her mother and daughter are lying, forbidding them to dig any further among the family’s roots.What in the world are Alex and Briggie up to now? Holly’s counselor has hired them to do a genogram or psychological pedigree, to find where the family secrets are hiding. She is convinced Holly’s mother is frightened for Holly. Why does Mrs. Weston refuse to acknowledge her grandfather’s murder? What is she so afraid of the RootSearch, Inc. team discovering about her family?What does the family history have to do another murder, Holly’s disappearance, and the strange trio of middle-aged men who are following Briggie and Alex and her mother? Alex accepted this case in order to be back with her mother for a while, now that she has emerged from her rehabilitation. A fifteen year estrangement has rendered them strangers, and she feels it her duty to try to mend the rift. Her mother proves to be “pluck to the backbone” as Alex’s British suitor, Charles, says. The four of them soon become mired in Holly’s unexpectedly tangled roots, with surprising off-shoots surfacing all over the country. Encountering both danger and new friends, they also take responsibility for a slew of eccentric pets. Amidst the action, Alex’s love life takes a turn that both baffles and scares her.Join our genealogical sleuths as they strive, as always, to find out the real truth that is at the “root” of this family’s dysfunction and fear, enabling it to take the first steps to healing.Book 3 in the Alex & Briggie Mystery series less