A Forgotten Murder
Kindle Edition, 1st edition, 352 pages
Expected publication: March 10th 2020 by MIRA
Goodreads synopsis:
An English manor home, an unsolved mystery, too many suspects to count… It’s the perfect holiday for romance novelist Sara Medlar.
After solving two murder cases in their hometown of Lachlan, Florida, Sara Medlar, her niece Kate and their friend Jack need a change of scenery. Sara arranges for them to visit an old friend of hers in England. Upon arrival at Oxley Manor, a centuries-old estate that has been converted to a luxury hotel, Kate and Jack quickly realize that Sara is up to something. They learn that Sara has also invited a number of others to join them at Oxley.
When everyone assembles, Sara lets them know why they are there. Decades earlier, two people ran off together from Oxley and haven’t been heard from since—and Sara wants to solve the case. As the people who were there the night the two went missing, the guests find themselves cast in a live mystery-theater event.
In reenacting the events of that night, it becomes clear that everyone has something to hide and no one is safe, especially when the discovery of a body makes it clear that at least one of the people who disappeared was murdered.
Sara, Jack and Kate are once again at the heart of a mysterious case that only they are able to solve. But someone is willing to continue to kill to keep the truth about Oxley Manor buried, and none of the guests are safe.
***
4 Stars
This is the third book in the Medlar Mystery series by Jude Deveraux.
To me this sort of spans the distance between what a cozy mystery is and a plain ole mystery. I am leaning toward just a mystery category. Sara is heralded as the lead but I felt like that position went more to Kate and Jack. I actually found them the most engaging in this particular story.
The story begins with a young woman falling into a hole and finding the remains of someone she knew while going to school. She takes the watch off the person which is inscribed with his name. Years later, Sara, Kate and Jack come to this estate very close to where this dead body is located. Sara, a fiction writer, has been enamored by the mysteries surrounding Oxley Manor and has gathered a whole slew of suspects to the manor in order to ferret out the killer.
This story felt like it was a little bit on the longish side and scenes could have been edited out in my opinion but the mystery does keep you totally engaged in wanting to know the why of it all.
Great story. I haven’t read much in the Deveraux line and to be honest, I didn’t realize she wrote under the mystery/cozy mystery umbrella. I remember my mother reading Deveraux romances when I was younger. And I assume the author is branching out into a new genre. I think she captured the feel of a cozy mystery very well and hope to see more in this line of books.
If you love a good mystery book, you have to check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.
I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.
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