"Cinderella is in the bluebell woods at Poacher's Dell...." The anonymous note means nothing to ancestor detective Natasha Blake. Then one of her clients, an enigmatic old man who had commissioned a family tree of his granddaughter's boyfriend, is shot dead at his isolated farm in the Cotswolds, just as shocking facts about the past are brought to light. Is there a link? Seemingly unconnected yet haunting stories begin to emerge, like slowly developing photographs: two young soldiers---one German, one British---playing football; two young women---inseparable friends until a fatal mistake tears them apart; and the eerie echo of a child in an English country house. It is these individual lives that becomes the clues in Natasha's investigation, ghostly fingerprints that she must use to solve a cold-blooded, blue-blooded crime, hidden for generations in the bluebell woods at Poacher's Dell. Natasha Blake is a 29-year-old genealogist based in the Cotswolds. Right there you have a loaded-with-history setting and a career with tremendous potential for an amateur sleuth. In this second in the series, an elderly and very wealthy amateur genealogist gives Blake the assignment of tracing a family tree back to 1750--but no further. The assignment makes Blake uneasy about the genealogist's motives, since the family tree he wants traced belongs to his granddaughter's fiance. Matters are further complicated when Blake discovers a murderess hanging in the family tree. Then, when she keeps an appointment with the old man, she finds him murdered in his garden. Blake's investigation ultimately uncovers a long-hidden crime and raises the ghosts of her own past, mysterious to her since she is (fittingly) an orphan. A mystery as involving for its genealogical background as for its plot and characters. Connie Fletcher Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved "Cinderella is in the bluebell woods at Poacher's Dell...." The anonymous note means nothing to ancestor detective Natasha Blake. Then one of her clients, an enigmatic old man who had commissioned a family tree of his granddaughter's boyfriend, is shot dead at his isolated farm in the Cotswolds, just as shocking facts about the past are brought to light. Is there a link? Seemingly unconnected yet haunting stories begin to emerge, like slowly developing photographs: two young soldiers---one German, one British---playing football; two young women---inseparable friends until a fatal mistake tears them apart; and the eerie echo of a child in an English country house. It is these individual lives that becomes the clues in Natasha's investigation, ghostly fingerprints that she must use to solve a cold-blooded, blue-blooded crime, hidden for generations in the bluebell woods at Poacher's Dell. Praise for Pale as the Dead "An original story delightfully told. Natasha Blake's genealogical detective work...is well worth the journey."- Anne Perry, author of Thou Shalt Not Kill "An evocative Cotswold setting, a compelling contemporary story, and a very human and appealing heroine with a fascinating profession."- Deborah Crombie, author of Dreaming of the Bones "Natasha is a mystery...readers will be eager to meet her again."- Booklist "Exhilirating opening debut of a fascinating 'detective'...this is a unique tale starring a delightful individual who makes a fine sleuth whether it is the past or present."- Midwest Book Review "Unique twist to the conventional mystery...nonstop suspense will leave readers eager for future installments in this enthralling new series."- Romantic Times BOOKclub Magazine "Intriguing...The plot is fantastic and gripping. It is well worth the journey back in time."- Rendezvous Review