*This is a sponsored review. All opinions are 100% mine.
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| Mira Books; 336; $26.99; Amazon |
A Willing Murder is the first book in a brand-new mystery series. It centers around Kate Medlar, a young realtor who packs her bags and moves to Lachlan, Florida to be closer to her estranged Aunt Sara, who happens to be a bestselling author.Kate had everything planned out: she has a new job at a local real estate business and Aunt Sara has a room already set up for her. However, there is one thing Kate didn't have planned - meeting Jackson "Jack" Wyatt.
Jack is almost like a grandson to Sara, who was good friends with his late grandfather and she's a partner in his construction business. When a freak accident injured Jack and killed his half-brother, he moved in with Sara while he healed his wounds.
After two female skeletons are found buried under a tree on one of Jack's properties, his past comes back to haunt him. He knows who the victims are, a mother and daughter who have been missing for twenty years. Jack has a heartfelt connection to the daughter and he makes it his personal mission to find the murder, with a little help from Kate and Sara.
Jude Deveraux's novels have always been a part of my life as far back as I can remember. My mom's a fan of her writings and she had many of her older books on a bookshelf in the living room of my childhood home. Being a book lover that I am, I eventually started reading Jude Deveraux's books when I was a teenager. Over the years, I have continued to read a few the author's newer books, which you can find a few of my reviews right here on this blog.
A Willing Murder is a completely different kind of novel for the author. Actually, it's an entirely different genre. Instead of being a romance story, this is a murder whodunit tale with a V.C. Andrews twist tossed into it. The three main characters (Jack, Sara, and Kate) are all well-written and most importantly - they're are likeable! (That's always a plus for me!). The 20-year-old murder mystery plot is really intriguing, especially with the flashback scenes. There were a few predictable moments, but there are also plenty of twists and turns that made up for them. However, I did figure out who the (Spoiler Alert!) murderers were around the halfway mark.
br /> Overall, A Willing Murder is a smartly written mystery novel. Yes, it's a little predictable, but I would have been disappointed if things that happened didn't happen at the end. The second book in the series, A Justified Murder, will be published in February, and I'm already eager to read it!
About the Author
Jude Deveraux is the author of forty-three New York Times bestsellers, including Sweet Liar, the Nantucket series, and A Knight in Shining Armor. She was honored with a RT Book Reviews Pioneer Award in 2013 for her distinguished career. To date, there are more than sixty million copies of her books in print worldwide.
