SueLynn Sandifer

In Washington state wine country, Red Mountain is a refuge for searchers and wanderers, artists and lovers, farmers and chefs — people looking for a place to belong. Despite the stunning landscape, the world-class wines, and their best efforts, the eccentric inhabitants often attract trouble. Brooks Baker, the man with the most broken of pasts, craves stability, but he’s forced into making a tough decision when the woman he loves considers a move to Florida.

Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge - until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents - but they quickly realize the dark truth.

Part forensic scientist, part master sleuth, Megan Smolenyak has solved some of America's oldest and most fascinating genealogical mysteries. You've read the headlines; now get the inside story as the "Indiana Jones of genealogy" reveals how she cracked her news-making cases and became the face of this increasingly popular field. Whether she's scouring websites to uncover the surprising connections between famous figures or using DNA tests to locate family members of fallen soldiers, Smolenyak's historical sleuthing is as provocative, richly layered, and exciting as America itself.