Those in Peril Book

A Suzie Fewings genealogical mystery - Nick Fewings, the husband of keen family history researcher Suzie, inherits a portrait of his great-grandfather, a famous lifeboatman in St Furseys. Nick and Suzie are keen to find out more, so they decide to take their two teenage children, Tom and Millie, on holiday there. The family stay with Nick’s brother Leon and his daughter Anna, and the teen girls’ imaginations are soon fired by tales of smugglers on the coast. They are delighted when Nick discovers that his ancestors once owned the Noah’s Ark Inn, an old smuggling haunt, but when he and the girls visit they are chased off by its seemingly unbalanced owner.  Then one afternoon the girls go missing. Tom thinks they’ve gone to search for smugglers, but the others aren’t so sure. Could the girls have returned to the inn and run into trouble? Or does an offshore archaeological-survey vessel hold the answers? Either way, night is falling and the clock is ticking . . .

Publishers Weekly

When Nick Fewings inherits a portrait of his great-grandfather Solomon Margerson in British author Sampson’s engaging third genealogical mystery (after February 2010’s A Malignant House), his wife, Suzie, unearths information on Margerson and sparks the family’s interest in vacationing in St. Furseys, the seaside village where Margerson had lived, and learning more about his past. Odd activity in the waters beyond the harbor persuades Millie, the Fewings’ 14-year-old daughter, and Anna, her cousin, that drug trafficking or other smuggling is occurring, despite her parents’ and brother’s skepticism. However, when Millie and Anna fail to return home, the Fewings are forced to consider that Millie may have been right as they search frantically for the girls and uncover more than they bargained for. The loyal teamwork of the extended Fewings family, brisk pace, tense climax, and distinctive characters combine into an entertaining read for those looking for a mystery in the Mary Stewart tradition. (Oct.)