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    A Willing Murder
    A Willing Murder
    A Willing Murder
    Audiobook10 hours

    A Willing Murder

    Written by Jude Deveraux

    Narrated by Susan Bennett

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    New York Times bestselling romance author Jude Deveraux makes her debut in the world of mystery with a story of old secrets, deadly grudges and an improbable group of friends who are determined to uncover the truth regardless of the consequences …

    Sara Medlar is a household name in romance, with millions of books sold. But lately, retirement has been boring her and she’s found herself back in her hometown of Lachlan, Florida, remodeling the grand old mansion she’d admired as a child. It’s much too big for her alone, but she’d die before letting anyone in town know that.

    Then Sara’s niece Kate is offered a job in Lachlan—a start in what could be a very successful career in real estate. She accepts immediately, but with so little saved up, she’ll have to approach her estranged yet incredibly famous aunt for a place to stay while she gets herself settled. But when she arrives at Sara’s home, she finds she’s not the only long-term houseguest. Jackson Wyatt already has his own room, and though it’s impossible to deny his good looks and charm—he’s clearly got her aunt wrapped around his finger—she’s also never met anyone who irritates her quite like Jack does.

    However, when two skeletons are accidentally uncovered in the quiet town, this unlikely trio is suddenly thrust together by a common goal: to solve a mystery everyone else seems eager to keep under wraps. United by a sense of justice and the desire to right old wrongs, Sara, Kate and Jack will have to dig into Lachlan’s murky past to unravel the small town’s dark secrets and work to bring the awful truth to light.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateSep 18, 2018
    ISBN9781980008026
    A Willing Murder
    Author

    Jude Deveraux

    Jude Deveraux is the author of forty-three New York Times bestsellers, including For All Time, Moonlight in the Morning, and A Knight in Shining Armor. She was honored with a Romantic Times Pioneer Award in 2013 for her distinguished career. To date, there are more than sixty million copies of her books in print worldwide.

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    Reviews for A Willing Murder

    4/5

    98 ratings8 reviews

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    • 5/5
      My first time lister to the author and i like the story
    • 2/5
      An easy read but with too many characters and dialogue that tries too hard to be cute and clever. A very non-offensive murder mystery with small town pettiness, secrets, & grudges and an unbelievable plot device.
    • 4/5
      Not a bad first book from Deveraux in this genre. While it wasn't on the edge of your seat type of suspense, there were some twists and turns and the characters were enjoyable.
    • 4/5
      A Willing Murder by Jude Devereaux is a 2018 MIRA publication. An impressive beginning for this new mystery series! Kate wants to learn more about her deceased father, a man she never had a chance to know. To that end, she hunts down her father’s sister, Sara. To her surprise, Sara is a famous romance author, now retired. After Kate manages to find a job in her Aunt Sara’s hometown, Sara invites her to stay with her at the old mansion she is re-modeling. However, Kate is not Sara’s only guest. Jackson Wyatt, is also living on the estate, while recovering from a devastating car accident. Unfortunately, Kate and Jackson seem to rub one another the wrong way. However, the trio becomes focused on the unsettling discovery of a pair of skeletons found buried beneath a rotting tree. As it turns out, Jack had a bittersweet relationship with one of the victims, which prompts Sara and Kate to help Jack find closure by discovering what really happened to them. However, there are forces at work preventing them from unearthing anymore small- town secrets.Addressing the elephant in the room first: Yes, this is the Jude Devereaux, who has written 31 New York Times bestsellers as a historical and contemporary romance author. To my knowledge, this is her first attempt at writing a pure mystery. In my opinion, Devereaux has done an admirable job with laying the groundwork for what could be the start of a long running mystery series. Things did get off to a shaky start with too many convenient developments taking place, and I wasn’t quite sure what to make of Jack and Kate’s banter, in the beginning. What has apparently supposed to pass for humor fell flat, but after the story progressed and I became better acquainted with the characters, the more I appreciated the dialogue. I did enjoy the quirkiness of the story, the eccentricity of the characters, and of course I just love small town secrets and drama. Another thing I enjoyed about this story was the cold case element, which is one of my favorite mystery tropes. One thing I think is worth mentioning, however, is that while not marketed as such, specifically, this book could also fit into the cozy mystery category- (and some readers have already caught on to that). The violence, language, and sexual chemistry are very mild and of course, Sara, Kate and Jack are amateur sleuths, so technically, this one might also appeal to those who enjoy the reading cozies. However, fans of pure, standard mysteries may be the targeted demographic. The emotional issues at play, such as Kate’s relationship with her mother, the questions she has about her father, and Jack’s torment over his tragic car accident, didn’t weigh the story down, or take center stage. However, I did wish for a little more information about Kate’s father. Overall, I enjoyed this story. It’s an easy, light, mystery with likeable characters, mixed with humor and a few mild sarcastic jabs, here and there. I am looking forward to seeing how the relationship between Sara, Kate, and Jack develops and what this unique trio will get up to next!
    • 1/5
      I'd not heard of this author and thought it sounded fun: a group of friends. but this is not a mystery....it is a romance novel. Ugh. Could not finish it.
    • 4/5
      Kate Medlar is a real estate agent who learns that her aunt is famous author Sara Medlar. Wishing to get away from her three domineering uncles and her dependent mother, she accepts a job in Lachlan, Florida where her Aunt Sara has retired. Her mother does all she can to prejudice Kate against her aunt, but Kate is eager to see for herself. She also hopes to find out about the father her mother never talks about from his sister Sara. When Kate arrives, she finds a pleasant and welcoming aunt who has a house guest. Jackson Wyatt is the contractor who remodeled Sara's home and is a sort of adopted grandson, the grandson of Sara's first love. Jack is in a cast from a recent accident that killed his younger brother and left him with a broken leg. Unknown to the town's residents, Sara is Jack's silent partner in his remodeling business. The two of them take Kate to a recent purchase of Jack's to get her opinion as a realtor. It is an important house in Jack's memory since it was the home of his childhood crush Cheryl Morris. His eleven-year-old heart was broken when the sixteen-year-old and her mother disappeared on her birthday.They arrive to find that weather has taken down a tree near the house and tangled in its roots are the skeletons of Cheryl and her mother Verna. Since the police aren't interested in the old crime, believing that Jack's biological father was likely the killer, Sara, Kate and Jack put on their detective clothes and decide to solve the case themselves. Unfortunately, someone doesn't want the case solved and soon there more deaths surrounding their investigation. I enjoyed this story even though I had a pretty good idea of who the murder was rather early in the book. I liked the relationship between Sara and Kate. I also loved the relationship between Jack and Kate. Their bickering was amusing. I can't quite decide if there is a romance in their future or not and am eager to read more in the series to find out.
    • 3/5
      I figured this out early on, including the connection between Cheryl and her father and the boyfriend. It wasn't disguised too carefully, and was easy to deduce. There was a red herring or two thrown in to make you question your theory, but it was still evident.
      Usually, I really enjoy Jude Deveraux's witty and funny prose, but in this book, it didn't hold the same pleasure. I was actually a little disappointed.
      Hopefully, the next book in the series of these amateur sleuths will be more enjoyable for me.

      #AWillingMurder #JudeDeveraux
    • 4/5
      A Willing Murder by Jude DeverauxA murder mystery story. First in a series.A fun read. Quirky character interaction. I actually loved how Sara, Jack and Kate bounce off each other. The three of them sitting on a couch together as they talk to suspects clearly shows how comfortable they are in each other’s space, yet they all find it necessary to go off to their own section of the house and do their own thinking. Intriguing personalities. I’d like to read the next and see how they solve the next mystery. I received an early copy of this book from the publisher.