A gentle and well written mystery, entertaining and engaging.
It was the first I read in this series even if I already read other by Nicholas Rhea and always appreciated them.
This one was no exception and I look forward to reading other in this series.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Agora Books and Netgalley for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book, all opinions are mine.

3.5 Stars
Hardworking Detective Superintendent Mark Pemberton has been instructed to take it easy, and is therefore assigned a supposedly laid-back assignment - to guard the American Vice-President Caleb Hartley on a visit to the U.K.
The Vice President believes he has British ancestors and wants to track down his family history.
Pemberton is one step ahead of him, and decides to delve into his ancestry prior to his arrival. What he discovers threatens to shake the family history to the core: the unsolved murder of Private James Hartley in 1916. At the time, there hadn’t been a detailed murder investigation, and initial suspicions had put the death down to a suicide. But the detective soon realises that this was not a suicide dressed up to look like a murder, but that beyond all doubt, it was murder.
This is the first Pemberton novel I’ve read & it won’t be the last. I enjoy the author's other series & I enjoyed this book too. The characters could have had more depth & a well written all be it complicated story did hold my interest from start to finish. The book was first written in the early 1990's & if it were set today the case would have been solved very quickly with the use of the internet. The author's books are more in the genre of cosy mysteries rather than edge of your seat thrillers
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This is the first in the series with DS Mark Pemberton and it is a good old fashioned mystery story. Roll on book 2

Great read. The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.

First published in 1994 (from the author of the Constable/Heartbeat series), this is a solid detection novel featuring the amiable DS Mark Pemberton. Pemberton is tasked a security role - for the US Vice President on a forthcoming trip to the UK. Whilst researching the background of the Vice President, Pemberton stumbles upon a cold case dating back to 1916 - the more he delves the more the mystery deepens and the more determined he becomes to solve the crime. An entertaining and engrossing read.

Detective Superintendent Mark Pemberton is a workaholic. Ever since the death of his wife, he has taken solace in his police work and hasn’t taken a break in six months. Concerned for his well-being, his superiors assign him with a case that, on the surface, seems a bit more laid back – providing security for the US Vice-President Hartley on his visit to the UK. Hartley is going to Yorkshire to do some research into his family history so, before his arrival, Pemberton engages in some sleuthing of his own. Unearthing the death of Private James Hartley in 1916, found with a bullet in his brain, Pemberton is determined to solve this long-forgotten mystery. What repercussions will this have for Vice-President Hartley?

It is rare to read a police procedural where the crime being investigated is a cold case dating back such a long time and it was this that first drew me to the book. It is worth mentioning that, although this is its first outing as an ebook, Family Ties was originally published in 1994 and the research methods used by the police are very much of the time. If this plot was being written now, it probably could have been solved in a few pages with the use of the internet! Being a genealogist, I actually found the reliance on church and newspaper records and other forms of primary evidence quite fascinating.

Mark is definitely an old-school detective who, once he gets his teeth stuck into something, does not give up. Working through the notes of the officer on the original case, he manages to find a few holes in the investigation and uses the resources available to him to solve an age-old crime. Although this is not a book full of twists and turns, there was a clever twist at the end which changed the crime completely. Several clues had been given throughout the book but I was genuinely surprised when it happened!

Family Ties is a cosy mystery that would make a great quick read for anyone not wanting anything too heavy. I will definitely be seeking out other books in the Mark Pemberton series.

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from Netgalley.com and the publisher. Thanks to both for the opportunity to read and review. Receiving an ARC has not influenced my opinions.

Mr. Rhea's story of a hard working detective hits all of the right notes that a reader looks for in a mystery. An entertaining read of a series that I look forward to reading more of.

4 out of 5 stars. Recommended reading.