A Forgotten Murder – Unforgettable forgotten murder

As a reader, nothing builds more anticipation in me than the upcoming release of a book by a favourite author. Knowing that Jude Deveraux had a new book coming for the last few months was, for me, quite a buildup. After all, her last book, Met Her Match, had released on 17 September, 2019, almost exactly six months to the day of her most recent release, A Forgotten Murder.

A long wait when you love an author’s books.

However, we were lucky when it comes to the Medlar Mysteries, since we only had to wait a year between the second and third books of the series. A Justified Murder also came out last year, on 9 March.

I seriously couldn’t wait to see what was going on with Sara, Kate, and Jack, and see what they will be investigating this time.

I was not disappointed.

The trio travels to England

After spending the first two books in the town of Lachlan, Florida, the trio, this time, investigated in England, at Oxley Manor. On Sara’s whim, the three flew across the Pond to find out what happened one night in the 1990s, when two people mysteriously disappeared from Oxley Manor. A body found by a then teenager, who still lives on the premises of the estate, shows that one of the two missing people was murdered.

In the meantime, they met with all the surviving members of the group who was assembled on this fateful night, and reenacted the events of that moment. They quickly found out that everyone had something to hide from that night.

Unforgettable action

The murder might have been forgotten, but the book will be, for me, unforgettable. Jude Deveraux might be known for her romance novels, but some of my favourites had a mystery to solve on top of the romance, per say. For instance, The Mulberry Tree, Sweet Liar, or Scarlet Nights, to name only a few.

The Medlar books are different, in a sense that they are pure mysteries. Is there romance? There could be, but it is not what will drag the readers into the books. Although… there is a definite chemistry between Jack and Kate, and Sara did have an affair with a man in the second book. But except for those snippets, romance is definitely not the main course of any of the books.

Yes, the action of Forgotten does have romance involved, but romances of the past more than present-time romance, even though we can see that Kate does not like the interest that Jack seems to have for some of the ladies of Oxley.

There is also a scene which will be difficult on some readers. I admit that I was taken aback by it, but it had a vital importance to the plot and Deveraux did not extend herself on it more than was necessary for the action. A good thing, because it was a hard one.

However, her ever present brand of humour was there in the action, with some views into a writer’s life that those who have followed her for a long time know were things that she did live. And the scene when Sara meets Byon had me laughing so hard that I woke my sleeping cat.

A very, very good book, a bit like a giant game of Clue, that makes us await the fourth book with impatience. But it might take some time, because all that we know, as of today, is the title. As Jude wrote on Facebook:

A Forgotten Murder just came out. Writing that was a roller coaster ride. Lots of people, all of them with backstories and lots of lies and evasions. Keeping it all
together wasn’t easy. But so far people like it. Great!

Once I finish Part Three of Cattleman’s Daughters (the name will probably be changed) I will start on my fourth murder mystery. It’s called A Relative Murder and there is a huge clue about it in Forgotten. I was struggling for a plot to it when I thought about combining another book with it. Well, duh. I had a concept and a plot and it took me a year to think of putting them together. Oh. Yeah. Sure. Of course.

Do I have an idea what it might be? I have a couple of them, yes. No, I won’t tell. I will let you all read the book and come up with your own guesses. The only thing I would like to see in the fourth book, apart from another great mystery and investigation, would be a scene with Jack in a kilt. It has been hinted a few times too much for me not to want one!

Memorable, spoiler free quotes

My Goodreads review

A Forgotten Murder by Jude Deveraux

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


We’ve been waiting for some time for a new Jude Deveraux book and this third Medlar mystery did not disappoint.

Humour, wisdom, and a mystery that kept me glued to the pages of the book.

Looking forward to the next one!



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