Never Forgotten (A Mary O'Reilly mystery)

Author: Terri Reid

Type: Kindle ebook

Genre: supernatural/mystery

Series: Mary O'Reilly paranormal mystery

Series Order:
1. Loose Ends (2010)
2. Good Tidings (2010)
3. Not Forgotten (2011)

First Line: "The snow fell softly on the rooftops in the city of Freeport."

Synopsis: Mary O'Reilly and Police Chief Bradley Alden are settling into their new relationship when Mary is approached by the ghost of a battered woman who asks for Mary's help. Mary also learns of a curse that has plagued her small town for years. This curse has killed 12 police, fire fighters and paramedics. Now that Bradley has come down with similar symptoms Mary rushes to find out the cause of the curse. Throughout her investigations Mary also has the added stress of keeping a huge secret from Bradley.

My Thoughts: As I've mentioned in previous posts I really enjoy this series. The first two books were filled with excitement and 'edge of your seat' action. Unfortunately this book wasn't quite as good as the first two. Mary and Bradley's relationship was stagnant in this book but thankfully Rosie and Stanley's characters were much more involved and added to the plot.

I think that there wasn't much movement in Mary and Bradley's relationship because the books take place one right after the other. The second book happened over Christmas and this book picks up immediately afterwards. Personally, I prefer it if the stories are spread out a bit more. I think it helps to make things seem more believable (how much action can believably happen to one person in a matter of a month, I ask you!?!).

One of the storylines that made me excited to pick up this book was to see how Jeannine's character is finally revealed. Unfortunately, while Jeannine was involved in this book the suspense surrounding her wasn't dealt with. It's now feeling like it's being dragged out a little too much.

I also found this book a lot darker and certainly gorier than the previous books. The description of the corpse in the basement was gruesome and a little too 'out there' for me. I read that little tidbit twice because I thought I misunderstood who he was, but no. I believe I even uttered an 'ew' out loud when the corpse was described.

There might not have been as much action 'edge of your seat' scenes but there definitely a lot of storylines in this book. At times, it felt like too much was going on. Too many plots in one book sometimes will feel like you never really delve into any one storyline well. That's how it felt to me with this book. The overall theme of the book was domestic abuse and it pervaded the book in several of the plots.

One of my favourite parts of the book was the introduction of Mary's new ghost sidekick, Mike. He brings a refreshing and slight frat boy feel and energy to the book and I can't wait to see the banter and humour he'll bring to future books.

While this wasn't my favourite book in this series I'm definitely not writing off this series as a whole. This was still a good read, just not as great as the first two in the series. With a little closure with Jeannine, some more (non-corny) romance with Mary and Bradley, and the addition of Mike I'm sure the next book will pick up some of that earlier energy.

My Rating: 3/5 stars