Review: A Forgotten Murder

A Forgotten Murder by Jude Deveraux

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


How did I miss this series? Dropping into the third book in this series is no problem. This book can probably be read as a standalone. There were enough references to the previous history between characters in this book to help fill in the blanks to new readers. Now that I have read this book, I must go back and read the first two books. I really enjoyed this "Mrs. Fletcher" - esque book. As a child, I loved "Murder, She Wrote". It was one of the most wholesome TV shows that just brings a good feeling for me. Ms. Deveraux brings all this nostalgia back to me with this series.

Sara Medlar is the "Ms. Fletcher" character. This sweet woman seems to find herself in a spot of trouble more oft than not. I can't say for sure if she is the real sleuth in this series, because as far as I could tell, it seems Jack did much of the work. Working on a cold case by accident is all fun and games until people start getting hurt and dying. The suspense of this story as well as a view of each person's perspective of the past is enlightening and fun. I thoroughly enjoyed how some people have changed from their youth and others have either stayed the same or devolved. Some of the big reveals were painful whilst others felt like sweet vengeance.

At the heart of this story is about a young man whom people idolized as a god yet he was merely a mortal male. The "forgotten" part of this murder highlights the disparity between social economical divides. It also shows that some secrets left forgotten may still be unearthed at the worst of times. The whodunnit scene was cleverly written and brought a little bit of an Agatha Christi feel to it. This murder mystery is recommended to readers who want enjoy a book filled with suspects and plausible motives to kill.

*provided by NetGalley