Book Review: A Willing Murder by Jude Deveraux

A Willing Murder
by Jude Deveraux

I’ll have to admit, I’ve never read any of Jude Deveraux’s 70+ romance or romantic-suspense novels, though her name is one of the first to come up when thinking about contemporary best-selling romance authors. However, when the May theme for the library’s Just Desserts mystery book group came up — to read the first or second volume in ANY new mystery/thriller/suspense series that had just recently started, I stumbled across A Willing Murder — the first in the new Medlar Mysteries series by Deveraux, which came out in 2018. [A second entry (A Justified Murder) in the series is already out in 2019, and a third is scheduled for 2020.]

This novel (and the series in general) features a trio of central characters. Sara Medlar is a best-selling romance novelist (a thinly-veiled version of Deveraux herself) — a silver-haired senior who stays fit by boxing — who lives in the small community of Lachlan, Florida, not far from Miami. Living with her in her large, mansion-like home, are Jack Wyatt, son of a local trouble-maker, who’s establishing himself as a success on his own terms, and Kate Medlar, Sara’s niece, who’s only just moved to Lachlan and is staying with the aunt she’s never met before, while she takes a new job with a local real estate firm. When the toppling of a large poinciana tree (in the backyard of a property that Jack had recently bought) reveals a pair of bodies buried under the tree many years ago, and Jack’s late father is implicated in murder, which the local cops don’t feel is worth digging into, this trio decides to investigate, in order to clear Jack’s father’s name.

As they look into the deaths from more than a dozen years earlier, they uncover old rivalries, hidden shames, and secrets that other folks would like to keep out of sight. The witty banter among this trio of amateur sleuths is amusing, the story is fast-paced, and Deveraux has great skill at creating interesting settings. Does it matter that the mystery itself is fairly light-weight and easy for the reader to figure out before the conclusion of the book? Not really, as this one is more about establishing these new characters and letting them start to interact. And Deveraux’s career as a romance novelist certainly shows through, as the beginnings of a romantic entanglement between Kate and Jack are firmly planted in this entry. I enjoyed this amiable introduction to the Medlar Mysteries, and look forward to future volumes…though I hope that the mysteries themselves turn out to be a bit more robust in upcoming stories.

[ official A Willing Murder page on the official Jude Deveraux web site ]

Check out other “new series” recommended by the members of Just Desserts at our May 2019 “Series Share” meeting

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

Don't miss the June 2019 Just Desserts mystery book discussion group's meeting -- tonight! -- where the group will be discussing several volumes of Donna Andrews amateur detective series featuring Meg Langslow. Guests are always welcome. Just Desserts meets in the 4th floor auditorium of the downtown Bennett Martin Public Library on the last Thursday of each month, 6:30-7:45. Attendees are encouraged to bring a dessert to share with fellow mystery fans. Coffee and juice are provided.

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