Review: Memories and Murder by Lynn Cahoon

Genre:
Cozy Mystery

Format:
E-ARC

Publisher:
Lyrical Underground

Release Date:
November 12, 2019








Synopsis from Goodreads:

It’s October in South Cove, California, and the locals in the quaint resort seem to be happily pairing off in the lull before the holidays. Everyone, that is, except for Jill Gardner’s elderly aunt, who just dumped her besotted fiancé—and she won’t say why.

When Jill hosts a talk at Coffee, Books, and More on the topic of elder abuse, all that’s really on her mind is lunch. But the topic hits close to home when she discovers Aunt Jackie has been getting mysterious calls. Jill’s certain the caller is a con artist, of course, but her feisty aunt claims to understand this, though she’s still shaken—and Harrold’s still heartbroken. Who’s behind the scam and why was her aunt targeted? When a volunteer from the Senior Project is found murdered, Jill’s detective boyfriend is on the case—and it soon becomes clear no one is safe when a caller from beyond becomes a killer in their midst.

My Review

Jill Gardner is stunned when she learns her Aunt Jackie broke up with her fiance. He’s so devoted to her. It makes no sense, but Aunt Jackie isn’t talking. In fact, she’s acting quite strange. Jill is afraid her aunt might be ill.

Jill hosts a seminar about elder abuse at her bookshop. She’s really not all that interested in the topic until her she finds out her aunt has been getting mysterious calls which led to her break up. Her aunt is usually quite tough, but these calls have really broken her spirit.

As Jill looks into the calls, she learns her aunt is probably the victim of a scam. Then, a member of the Senior Project is murdered and Jill’s detective boyfriend is investigating. He warns her to stay away from this case, but Jill can’t help herself. Especially if her aunt is involved.

I always love my visits to South Cove, California. Jill is one of my favorite amateur sleuths. She and her boyfriend are the perfect detective team.

This book hooked me right from the start. The secondary characters are well-developed with Aunt Jackie being one of my favorites. These characters all feel like old friends.

This is the 10th book in the series. I was surprised to see I missed one in this series so I will have to correct that. The mystery is contained in each book so it’s probably not a necessity to read them in order but I think it’s more fun if you do so you can see Jill and Greg’s relationship grow.

Although I could see where the mystery was leading, I was totally shocked to see who was the mastermind behind the murder and scams. There, of course, are some red herrings tossed in but the author did a great job of keeping me guessing.

This is my favorite book in the series, so far. I’m definitely ready for the next one.

For reading challenges:
Cruisin’ thru the Cozies Reading Challenge 2020
Literary Escapes Reading Challenge 2020 (California)
Cloak & Dagger Reading Challenge 2020

FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.