The Kinship Series

Set in Ohio during the 1920s, The Kinship Series of mystery novels by Jess Montgomery features a tough women sleuth Lily Ross, who swears to avenge the death of her husband, a well-respected sheriff. Approached at the funeral by a stranger, Marvena Whitcomb, a coal miner’s widow, Lily soon learns that Daniel was not the husband she thought she knew. Inspired by the true story of Ohio’s first female sheriff, The Widows is a powerful debut in this series about two women’s search for justice as they take on the corruption at the heart of their small town community.

“Women’s and workers’ rights, Prohibition, and a murder mystery come together beautifully…The book is impossible to put down or forget.”—Mystery Scene