Tag Archives: Jude Deveraux

A Forgotten Murder by Jude Deveraux – a Review

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A Forgotten Murder by Jude Deveraux – a Review

 

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Description:
An English manor home, an unsolved mystery, too many suspects to count… It’s the perfect holiday for romance novelist Sara Medlar.

After solving two murder cases in their hometown of Lachlan, Florida, Sara Medlar, her niece Kate and their friend Jack need a change of scenery. Sara arranges for them to visit an old friend of hers in England. Upon arrival at Oxley Manor, a centuries-old estate that has been converted to a luxury hotel, Kate and Jack quickly realize that Sara is up to something. They learn that Sara has also invited a number of others to join them at Oxley.

When everyone assembles, Sara lets them know why they are there. Decades earlier, two people ran off together from Oxley and haven’t been heard from since—and Sara wants to solve the case. As the people who were there the night the two went missing, the guests find themselves cast in a live mystery-theater event.

In reenacting the events of that night, it becomes clear that everyone has something to hide and no one is safe, especially when the discovery of a body makes it clear that at least one of the people who disappeared was murdered.

Sara, Jack and Kate are once again at the heart of a mysterious case that only they are able to solve. But someone is willing to continue to kill to keep the truth about Oxley Manor buried, and none of the guests are safe.

 

Review:

A Forgotten Murder by Jude Deveraux is the 3rd book in her Medlar Mystery series.  I have not read the first two books in this series, but I had no problem starting with this book.  It was easy to get to know our heroine, Sara Medlar, a famous romance novelist, who loves to solve mysteries. I also enjoyed getting to know her cohorts in her crime solving (they solved two murders in the previous books); her niece Kate and their friend, Jack.

Sara arranges to visit an old friend in England, Bella, at her renovated hotel, Oxley Manor.   A few years ago, Sara paid for much of the renovation of Oxley Manor, to help out Bella.   Upon arrival, both Kate and Jack, who were planning a trip to Scotland, while Sara stayed at Oxley; but they quickly discover that Sara is up to her old tricks.  Seems there was an unsolved mystery 20 years before, when two people went missing, never to be seen again.   Sara takes it upon herself to invite all the living participants at the time of the incident to Oxley.  Kate and Jack decide they will put their trip on hold, and stay to help Sara, since they worry about her putting herself in danger.

When the group from the past arrives to Oxley Manor, Sara, Kate and Jack meet up with them to try and get information from that day when two people disappeared.  Sara is determined to solve the case, and as things get a bit too close for comfort, someone else is murdered; with everyone beginning to fear for their own lives. Sara will then have them reenact that night, with her putting all the clues she has together, for each to play their part, and see if they can tell who the guilty one is.  There are a few surprises twists, as well as other guests who arrive. 

What follows is an exciting, intriguing mystery that also has a few surprise twists as we come closer to the end.  Just when we discovered our surprise murderer, there is another surprise that threw us for a loop.  To tell too much more would be spoilers.  A Forgotten Murder was a fun well written mystery, which Jude Deveraux kept us on the edge of our seat.  If you enjoy old fashion murder mysteries, then you should be reading A Forgotten Murder.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

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Met Her Match by Jude Deveraux – Review & Giveaway

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Met Her Match by Jude Deveraux – Review & Giveaway

 

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Description:
In small towns, no one lets the facts get in the way of juicy gossip…

Terri Rayburn is a girl with a reputation. She doesn’t deserve it, but having grown up on the outskirts of Summer Hill, Virginia, she knows how small towns work. The only way to deal with vicious gossip is to ignore it. So she keeps to herself as she runs the summer resort on Lake Kissel.

When she returns home from a short trip to find a handsome stranger living in her house, she smells a rat. Someone is trying to fix her up, and she has to admit that Nate Taggert is just her type. However, Nate is engaged to the daughter of the mayor and strictly off-limits.

Nate and Terri form an unlikely friendship while he throws himself into life at the lake. As Nate starts to hear rumors about Terri he’s confused. Knowing how smart, beautiful and strong she is, he’s determined to discover the source of the gossip. Terri doesn’t want to revisit the past, but Nate won’t stop until he discovers the truth—even if the truth might be more than either of them can handle.

 


Review:

Met Her Match by Jude Deveraux is the 2nd book in her Summer Hill series. Terri Rayburn, our heroine, has lived all her life in the small town of Summer Hill, Virginia, and has learned to put up with the terrible false gossip about her reputation during her younger years.  Terri’s mother left town suddenly when she was a young girl, with the townsfolk’s calling her mother a tramp, and unfortunately the sins of the mother was passed over to Terri.  She erroneously was blamed for hurting some high school boys, even if it was self defense against their attack, and when she dumped her popular boyfriend, the town blamed her.  

A grown-up Terri doesn’t let it bother her, as she is respected for the work, she does to run the Lake Kissel summer resort.  When Terri gets back from a vacation, she finds a man living in her house.  Nate Taggert, our hero,  is planning to move to Summer Hill with his fiancée, but for now his uncle told him to stay at the house on the lake, which has multiple rooms; after a few days, he meets Terri.  After a rough start, a friendship begins between Terri and Nate, with both of them helping each other fix all the things happening around the resort, as well as the cabins and land surrounding the lake.  Terri begins to feel an attraction to the handsome hunky Nate, but knows he is off limits, especially with his fiancée being the Mayor’s daughter.  Nate is very comfortable around Terri, and also begins to feel the attraction to her, but is determined to stay with his fiancée and not let the lust he feels get in the way.  In no time, I loved Terri and Nate together and rooted hard for them, knowing that they were had great chemistry, and so perfect for each other.

What follows is a wonderful slow built romance between a couple we loved, and rooted hard for them to recognize that they were destined to be together.  Near the last quarter of the book, a mystery about Terri’s mother takes center stage, and the truth will be revealed. Gossip can be very hurtful, especially for the innocent and this story leads to that when people realize that what they thought they knew was not what really happened, and Terri was maligned for no reason.  Met Her Match was very well written by Jude Deveraux, and the story line was very well done, with a sweet fun romance and a great couple.  I suggest you read Met Her Match.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

Jude Deveraux’s  publisher is  offering a paper copy of Met Her Match to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.

1. If you have not previously registered, please register using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

NOTE: If you are having difficulty commenting after logging in, please refresh the page at the top of your computer

2. If you are using a social log-in such as Twitter or Facebook, please post your email address with your comment.

3. LIKE JUDE DEVERAUX on  Facebook

4. LIKE us on FACEBOOK and then click GET NOTIFICATION under ‘liked’ for an additional entry.

5. LIKE us on Twitter for an additional entry.

6. Giveaway is open USA only

9. Giveaway runs from September  20-26, 2019

 

 

 

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The Girl From Summer Hill by Jude Deveraux – a Review

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The Girl From Summer Hill by Jude Deveraux – a Review

 

The Girl From Summer HillAmazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo /. BAM / The Book Depository

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Description:
Sparks fly as fiery Casey Reddick and brooding Hollywood actor Tate Landers clash in the Virginia summer heat. A chef who puts her career first and her love life second, Casey doesn’t see what every girl in town is swooning over. She made up her mind the moment she met Tate—he’s gorgeous, but stuck-up, nothing like his ex-brother-in-law, Devlin who’s playing the Wickham to Tate’s Darcy in local production of Pride & Prejudice. Casey makes the perfect Elizabeth Bennett—how could she be star-struck when she’s heard Devlin’s damning stories about Tate? As they rehearse together, however, Casey finds herself attracted to Tate—he’s much more down-to-earth than she expected and any physical contact between the two of them literally gives her a tingling, electric shock. As opening night draws near, Casey has some difficult decisions to make. Whom should she believe? The seemingly sincere, slighted Devlin or Tate, whose rough, arrogant exterior may only be skin deep. She’s come to love that jolt she gets when they touch—but will she get burned?

 

 

Review:

The Girl from Summer Hill by Jude Deveraux is the first book in her new Summer Hill series. This was a sweet romance story, but different in that it also was sort of a modern day version of Pride and Prejudice.  Casey Reddick, who is our heroine, has just moved into a house for the summer, and to her shock, she sees a naked man while sipping tea . Tate Landers, is our hero, who is a famous actor in town to help a friend perform the role of Darcy, in the town’s theatre.  When Tate spots Casey watching him dry off outside, he gets angry thinking she is a reporter trying to take pictures.  Needless to say, this was a bad start, and Casey,even if he is a gorgeous movie star, thought he was downright rude.

Casey is a chef, and will be providing the food to the actors in the play.  Tate tries to make amends with his anger when they first met, but Casey has no interest in him.  This is helped by the false information she gets from another member of the theater crew, who just happens to be Tate’s ex brother in law.

In the fashion of Pride & Prejudice, Casey believes what she is told by Devlin, who is truly the villain in this story.  When they need someone to help perform some roles, Casey steps into the part of Lizzy, and her anger at the man playing Darcy, makes her so believable, she is offered the part in the play.

This was a slow build romance that was beautifully done.  Tate does his best to win her over, as he begins to have feelings for Casey, but her believing what she was told about Tate keeps her at a distance. It will take a family member to show her how wrong she is.  In time, Casey opens her eyes to see the real Tate, and how much he truly does care for her. Devereaux does a wonderful job building up this relationship, as well as creating some great secondary characters.  I suspect we will revisit some of those characters in future book of Summer Hill.

What follows is a wonderful fun sweet & hot romance between Casey and Tate.  The story is similar to Pride and Prejudice, with some suspense, and a villain who fooled many.  But the key to this was the great characters besides Casey and Tate; we enjoyed Jack, Gizzy, Olivia, and many of the others who made this an enjoyable and charming read.   If you loved Pride and Prejudice, then you will love Jude Deveraux’s modern day take on that story.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

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