Friday, November 1, 2024

A Willing Murder by Jude Deveraux [Review]

A Willing Murder (Medlar Mystery #1) by Jude Deveraux
Format: ebook
Source: purchased
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: May 19, 2024

Medlar Mystery
1. A Willing Murder - Paperback | Kindle
2. A Justified Murder
3. A Forgotten Murder
4. A Relative Murder
5. An Unfinished Murder

Jude Deveraux
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):
A story of old secrets, deadly grudges and an improbable group of friends who are determined to uncover the truth regardless of the consequences…

Sara Medlar is a household name in romance, with millions of books sold. But lately, retirement has been boring her and she’s found herself back in her hometown of Lachlan, Florida, remodeling the grand old mansion she admired as a child. It’s much too big for her alone, but she’d die before letting anyone in town know that.

Then Sara’s niece, Kate, is offered a job in Lachlan—a start in what could be a very successful career in real estate. She accepts immediately, but with so little saved up, she’ll have to approach her estranged yet incredibly famous aunt for a place to stay while she gets herself settled. When she arrives at Sara’s home, she finds she’s not the only long-term houseguest. Jackson Wyatt already has his own room, and though it’s impossible to deny his good looks and charm—he’s clearly got her aunt wrapped around his finger—she’s also never met anyone who irritates her quite like Jack does.

However, when two skeletons are accidentally uncovered in the quiet town, this unlikely trio is suddenly thrust together by a common goal: solve a mystery everyone else seems eager to keep under wraps. United by a sense of justice and the desire to right old wrongs, Sara, Kate and Jack will have to dig into Lachlan’s murky past to unravel the small town’s dark secrets and work to bring the awful truth to light.
Thoughts on A Willing Murder: A little murder, some complicated family dynamics (on more than one level), and found family are where this book begins. Sort. of. I mean, technically it starts with murder, but the other things are all important.

Let's start with Sara. She's at the center of the trio. Kate's her niece and Jack's the closest she has to a son (or grandson) and it's through Sara that they come together. That said, Kate is VERY leery of Jack when they first meet. She's sure he's trying to scam her aunt out of her money or house or whatever. Which couldn't be more wrong. Jack's living at Sara's at Sara's request and he has no designs on either her house or her money. Which Kate starts to realize after spending some time with him. That doesn't mean things are easy between the two of them, though. The two poke and prod at one another something fierce, but tolerate one another for Sara's sake.

On Jack's end, he's...I'm going to say he's adrift. With a broken leg and a whole lot of guilt over the recent death of his half-brother, he's stuck in his head more than he should be. When the bodies are found, it throws another layer of grit on him that he has a hard time shaking off. Fortunately for him, Sara and Kate are both there to pull him out of himself when things are at their worst.

Murder, old grudges, some creative sleuthing, a little danger, and a trio that might just have come together when they needed each other most. GOOD TIMES!

No comments:

Post a Comment