I love a good mystery, one I can lose myself in as I puzzle along with the main character. I found exactly this in Murder, Forgotten by Deb Richardson-Moore. I really liked this one — recommended!
Julianna Burke, bestselling mystery novelist, has a secret that those closest to her are hiding from the world. Julianna is losing her memory, and with it her powerful gift for storytelling that propelled her to fame.
A further devastating blow comes when Connor, Julianna’s beloved husband, is murdered. Even this is not something Julianna’s mind can hold on to, and every day her assistant has to break the heart-wrenching news all over again.
Julianna is desperate to know what happened to her husband. As she battles her failing mind to investigate, a detail of the murder surfaces that makes Julianna question everything she’s ever known. Somehow she must fight to find the truth, even though her grip on reality is fading . . .
Deb Richardson-Moore was a reporter for The Greenville (SC) News for 27 years before earning a Master of Divinity degree and becoming pastor of the Triune Mercy Center, a non-denominational mission church with outreach to Greenville’s homeless population.
Her first book, The Weight of Mercy, chronicled her first three turbulent years among her homeless congregants.
When her publisher (Lion Hudson LLC in England) asked for a second book, Deb pivoted to fiction and wrote a murder mystery that has a homeless encampment as a backdrop. The Cantaloupe Thief is a puzzling whodunit that explores what happens when an entire group of people is unseen, unheard, unrecognized.
Deb is a graduate of Wake Forest University and Erskine Theological Seminary. She and her husband, Vince, have three grown children, and live in Greenville, SC.
My Impressions:
Murder, Forgotten is a complex murder mystery featuring a best-selling murder mystery author. The premise is great — can or would a mystery author murder someone and get away with it? Or even remember it — Juliana is suffering from some form of dementia. Most of the story is told from the author’s daughter’s POV and has all the second-guessing and mixed feelings you would expect. I had my suspicions from the start, but this book has so many twists and unexpected turns that they often got thrown out the window. The cast of characters are well-developed, you just don’t know whom to trust! 😉 Besides the puzzling mystery, Murder, Forgotten has a wonderful setting — actually two wonderful settings. The rugged coast of Scotland has a short-lived presence, but it made me want to jump on a plane! The warmer beach house setting makes up the bulk of the book and is a powerful presence as it represents the family dynamics.
Murder, Forgotten was all I could hope for in a murder mystery. It’s a great choice for a long weekend read.
Recommended.
Audience: Adults.
(Thanks to NetGalley for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.)
Nice review, this sounds good.