Book Review: Forget About Murder

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Forget About Murder     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Elizabeth Daniels Squire
Class/Genre:   Mystery
Series: Peaches Dann
Berkley, Feb 2000, $5.99, 288 pp.

She might not have a memory for faces or names, but when it comes to identifying a murderer, no one beats Peaches Dann. When she learns that her beloved spouse Ted suffers form high blood pressure, Peaches retires from the sleuthing game so he does not receive any additional stress. She satisfies her puzzle solving need by accepting a reporter’s job on the weekly that services Monroe County, North Carolina. Unfortunately, Peaches’ reputation for solving crimes precedes her so that when a homicide occurs, everyone assumes she will be a major part of the investigation.

Ted, seeing how miserable and ornery Peaches is behaving, encourages her to start making inquiries. She wants involvement in this case because the police feel her childhood friend killed Isiah Hubbel, a Viet Nam vet suffering from post traumatic shock syndrome. Peaches’ investigation takes her into the nearby mountains where the dysfunctional Hubbel clan resides, united against any outsider snooping into their affairs.

FORGET ABOUT MURDER is a humorous cozy starring an interesting amateur sleuth who employs mnemonic devices to help her overcome her faulty memory cells and thus allows her to retain information. The fifty-seven year old courageous Peaches proves that life is for more than just the young to enjoy as she lives her own to its fullest. Elizabeth Daniels Squire has written a delightful mystery series starring a memorable heroine who readers will not forget.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner