To the Grave

Jefferson Tayte Genealogical Mystery, Book 2

By: Steve Robinson

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

A curiously dated child’s suitcase arrives, unannounced and unexplained, in a modern-day Washington suburb. A week later, American genealogist Jefferson Tayte is sitting in an English hotel room, staring at the wrong end of a loaded gun.

In his latest journey into the past, Tayte lands in wartime Leicestershire, England. The genealogist had hoped simply to reunite his client with the birth mother she had never met, having no idea she had been adopted. Instead, he uncovers the tale of a young girl and an American serviceman from the US 82nd Airborne, and a stolen wartime love affair that went tragically wrong.

With To the Grave, Steve Robinson confirms his status as a master of the taut and delicately constructed historical thriller.

This is the second audiobook in the Jefferson Tayte mystery series, which begins with In the Blood but can be enjoyed as a stand-alone story.

©2014 Steve Robinson (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Mystery at it finest

I give it ***** stars the story was very romantic and sad at the same time

Heart breaking love story

what a beautiful love story. it was hard to put it down without wondering what's gonna happen next .

Captivating

Would you consider the audio edition of To the Grave to be better than the print version?

I only listened to the audio edition, so don't know if the print edition is better or not.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The plot kept me going because I wanted to know what happened to Danny and Mena. They were so in love but seemingly never found each other as World War II wound down. The mystery of this story was intriguing to the end.

Which character – as performed by Simon Vance – was your favorite?

Simon Vance does a remarkable job on the characters. Whether English, American, male or female, the narration is believable and I forgot that the characters were all voiced by the same person.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Some secrets need to be told.

Any additional comments?

I have worked on my own genealogy for years. The combination of genealogy research and the historical setting of the characters made this become one of my absolute favorites. I was crying at the end of the story, so heartbroken for the lives that had been ruined, and all over a misunderstanding. If I had any "secrets" I would certainly be telling them in the here and now, before it was too late.

sad but true

The reality of social morals, standing and expectations of war weary England are on full display in this compelling, page turner. The second on the series does not disappoint, although, I did shed a tear.

Great Story Until the Shooting Starts

I waivered between 3 and 4 stars for this book. I finally decided to go with 4 stars based on the strengths of Mina's WWII story.

The book, which alternates between 1944 and present day, is intriguing. The genealogical aspects of the search for Mina are the fascinating and move the story forward. The characters in the 1944 story are well rounded and bring the story to life. I cared about Mina and what happened to her. And when the past and the present merge, the story is first rate. The author should have stopped with Mina's story and edited out the thriller aspects-it would have been a better book.

The present day characters, including the main character (Jefferson Tayte, an American genealogist) are flat and typecast. So is the killer. No secret there, we meet the killer very early on. The bad guy(s) are transparent and the reason for a string of assassinations is over the top. It might have been more interesting if there was more variety in the way people died. The problem started for me when the bodies started mounting. The lackluster response of law enforcement was puzzling.

Tayte repeatedly mentions he is searching for his birth parents and that he has a weight problem. But that's all we know. Why is his weight an issue? How heavy is he? Does he have health issues. Or is it just an impression the author has of Americans? Doesn't Tayte have any relatives who know he was adopted? Were his birth parents British? It seems that is why he is so interested in British genealogy. But how does he know this?

A few of the details in the American scenes didn't work. When present-day Tayte has coffee with his American client, she serves the coffee from a percolator. I don't know if you can even buy percolators any more. And Tayte wears tan linen suits. And he seems to have a steady supply on hand. This is a minor problem, though. I'm sure British readers feel the same about details that American authors put in books set in the U.K.

The narrator, Simon Vance, is one of my favorites and he does a good job with Tayte's American English accent and pronunciation. There are instances, however, where Tatye uses a British pronunciation when he just wouldn't have.

Note: This is the second in a series of three books. I have not listened to the first because it was lower rated. I am just finishing the third and will not be recommending it. Too many bodies and another mean assassin. I will write a review soon.

Simon Vance's voice kept me interested.

Simon Vance's voice keeps you interested as much as possible but the story did jump out at me.

poignant

I try to avoid sad sad stories. This had some of the tragedy reminiscent of Dr Zhivago. All the mystery is there but beware. Excellent story and narration. I think I've found a new favorite author.

Good thriller and interesting light on history.

Great opening... Enjoyed the reading performance and full characters... It did get terribly sad...especially knowing history is peppered with these cruel moments that led to dark lives for so many girls.

Really well written book and series

I'm an audiobook addict and really enjoy getting pulled into a series. This one is well above average and not your usual formulaic boring series. Great characters and intriguing plots as well as solid narration. Looking forward to the next one, which I have already purchased.

A new genre for me...

This book is a departure from the typical type of book I like to read. I really enjoyed Jefferson Tate's character and the whole genealogy theme. I got hooked after reading the first in this series "Into The Blood" and quickly downloaded and listened to "To The Grave". I am now on the third in the series "The Last Queen". I'm sure I will make my way through the rest of the series if they continue to be such page turners.... although, I am listening on Audible. :)