Praise for The Spyglass File
‘If you like a good mystery, and the detective work of genealogy, this is another mystery novel from Nathan which will have you whizzing through the pages with time slipping by unnoticed’
Your Family History
‘The first page was so overwhelming that I had to stop for breath…Well, the rest of the book certainly lived up to that impressive start, with twists and turns that kept me guessing right to the end… As the story neared its conclusion I found myself conflicted, for much as I wanted to know how Morton's assignment panned out, I was enjoying it so much that I really didn’t want this book to end!’
Lost Cousins
‘Author Nathan Dylan Goodwin has given students of the Second World War, and avid family historians another great genealogical read’
Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter
‘Nathan Dylan Goodwin’s latest Morton Farrier genealogical mystery deserves its five-star reviews on Amazon. A gripping story that will have you sneaking away to read just one more chapter!’
Historian
‘Like his previous books, also set in England, this one keeps you intrigued right up to the very end… His style of weaving the past and present together is outstanding’
Bay Area Genealogical Society
‘A really good read and a mystery which holds you to the end’
The Wakefield Kidsman
‘The historical detail is superb. The author’s tale winds its 1940s path through the Battle of Britain, the Coventry Blitz, pregnancies and half-siblings aided by 2016 laptops, smart phones and autosomal DNA tests. The characters are so well developed that as one progresses through the book they feel like your friends. Author Goodwin expertly leaves readers cliff-hanging at the close of most chapters as the tale skillfully transitions the 75-year chasm. This book is very well written’
The Livermore Roots Tracer
‘It is another page turner… This book is multi-layered with two timeframes and plots, one reflecting the other. There is the 1940s mystery and Morton Farrier, the researcher of 2016 trying to solve it. Even with this depth the book flows smoothly, creating a need to know what happens next. It is simply fascinating’
Genealogical Society of the Northern Territory
About the Author
Nathan Dylan Goodwin was born and raised in Hastings, East Sussex. Schooled in the town, he then completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Radio, Film and Television, followed by a Master of Arts Degree in Creative Writing at Canterbury Christ Church University. A member of the Society of Authors, he has completed a number of successful local history books about Hastings, as well as other works of fiction in this series; other interests include reading, photography, running, skiing, travelling and of course, genealogy. He is a member of the Guild of One-Name Studies and the Society of Genealogists, as well as being a member of the Sussex Family History Group, the Norfolk Family History Society, the Kent Family History Society and the Hastings and Rother Family History Society. He lives in Kent with his husband and young son.
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
nonfiction:
Hastings at War 1939-1945
Hastings Wartime Memories and Photographs
Hastings & St Leonards Through Time
Around Battle Through Time
fiction:
(The Forensic Genealogist series)
Hiding the Past
The Lost Ancestor
The Orange Lilies – A Morton Farrier novella
The America Ground
The Spyglass File
The Missing Man – A Morton Farrier novella
The Suffragette’s Secret – A Morton Farrier short story
The Wicked Trade
The Spyglass File
by
Nathan Dylan Goodwin
Copyright © Nathan Dylan Goodwin 2016
Nathan Dylan Goodwin has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
This story is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Where the names of real people have been used, they appear only as the author imagined them to be.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the author. This story is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the author’s prior consent in any form of binding, cover or other format, including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
Cover design: Patrick Dengate
www.patrickdengate.com
For Pauline
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Epilogue
Historical Information
Acknowledgments
The Missing Man - Prologue
The Missing Man - Chapter One
Further Information
Prologue
12th July 1943, Capel-le-Ferne, Kent
Elsie Finch stood on the narrow path that rose to five hundred feet above the dramatic white cliffs, the wind coursing through her blonde unkempt hair. She cut a striking figure as she glanced down over the cliff edge. Flaps of her ripped blue dress danced gaily in the breeze and slow streams of bright red blood flowed down from the abundance of scratches on her exposed arms and legs.
She edged forward, to the spot of flattened grass that, just seconds before, had been where her mother-in-law had stood. Elsie leaned over as far as she dared, and peered below. She gasped and stepped back in horror; the body had fallen to a ledge part way down and was now motionless, lying broken and entwined in
