Dying to Remember

Jennifer Marsh #4

by Judy Fitzwater

Dying to Remember is the fourth in the acclaimed Jennifer Marsh Mystery Series.Twelve years ago Jimmy Mitchell disappeared the night of Jennifer Marsh’s prom, and now her good friend Leigh Ann is desperate for Jennifer to accompany her to their high school reunion. Nothing could make her go back to confront Sheena Cassidy, the backbiting, mean-spirited, boyfriend stealing junior squad cheerleader that made her life a living hell—nothing except a note from Sheena’s now husband Danny Buckner, Jennifer’s first love and prom date, who is pleading for her help with something that happened on that horrendous prom night. But when she gets to the reunion, Danny barely has a chance to speak with Jennifer before he’s drawn away by one of his in-crowd. Less than an hour later Danny’s dead in the parking lot, an apparent suicide. And Gavin Lawless, budding singer/song writer and the love of Leigh Ann’s life, has returned to dredge up exactly what happened to Jimmy Mitchell that dreadful night twelve years ago that left Gavin with repressed memories and war hero Ben Underwood under a cloud of suspicion in Jimmy’s disappearance. Old grudges and new insights lead Jennifer straight into danger as she’s left Dying to Remember…Jennifer’s writers’ group is back, ready as always, to go undercover and ferret out information and help with outrageous ideas. Jennifer’s boyfriend, investigative reporter Sam is back, too, as is her ever faithful greyhound Muffy.“Fitzwater comes through with an imaginative plot, hilarious secondary characters (the critique group, mostly aspiring romance writers, is a hoot) and good red herrings to throw readers off the track.” Publishers Weekly“Dying to Remember is a fast paced read and one I felt compelled to finish in one sitting….I was kept guessing right up until the end.” The Mystery Reader“Jennifer is trapped in the thick of it, knowing too much to suit a killer…and dying to remember enough to save her own life.” The Mystery Review“Fitzwater writes a clever plot and reminds us all why maybe it’s better to skip all those reunions.” Crime by Collins, Glynco Observer“The nostalgic overtones of the setting add a good deal of charm to this intriguing puzzler.” Romantic Times“In Dying to Remember, author Judy Fitzwater continues to show her affinity for amusing, entertaining mysteries wrapped around a solid plot. Jennifer is a likeable, warm character whose adventures are aided by a congenial writing group.” Sun-Sentinel“This is an enjoyable series with a unique set of characters and compelling plot-lines. Jennifer Marsh, sleuth and budding author, definitely has the ‘write’ stuff when it comes to solving mysteries.” Cozies, Capers and Crimes Newsletter “…the fabulous fourth in this entertaining and delightful series.” Mystery Lovers Bookshop

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2000

About the author

Judy Fitzwater loves a great mystery. That's why she started writing novels, and why her Jennifer Marsh mystery series was born. Murder is nothing to laugh at, but how Jennifer thinks is, and that's what made writing the Jennifer books so much fun. The first in the series, DYING TO GET PUBLISHED, was sold without an agent to Ballantine Books, a division of Random House. It went on to receive an Agatha Award nomination and become an 8-book series. The latest Jennifer book is DYING AT HONEYMOON INN. She has also written two suspense novels, DROWNING IN AIR and NO SAFE PLACE. Less humor in these but lots of action, adventure, danger, and intrigue. VACATIONING WITH THE DEAD, a fun-filled romantic romp, is a paranormal romance filled with ghosts. She invites you to join her in the adventure, danger, and comedy that inhabit her books. Her most recent publication is THE ROCKY ROAD TO PUBLISHING: ADVICE ON WRITING. It's a fun read packed with advice and info on writing and publishing.

Reviews

[Linda]

What do you remember about your prom night. Evidently somethings will come back to haunt you. And going to a reunion can be the start of an unplanned serious of events. The question of Jimmy's disappearance came up at Jennifer Marsh's was he dead or did he run away. What happened?

[Michele]

Well written. The character is growing on me and I appreciate that I couldn't tell until the end who the killer was. Doesn't happen often in mystery stories.

[Judie]

Going to a class reunion can be intimidating for someone who was not among the popular clique at school and who has not fulfilled his or her ambitions: Not married, no children, no fabulous career.
Aspiring mystery writer Jennifer Marsh reluctantly agreed to go to her high school reunion, twelve years after her graduation. A couple of days earlier, she received a note from Danny Buckner, her date from their senior prom (who abandoned her in a car in the parking lot when one of his buddies knocked at the window) saying he heard she knew a private detective and wanted to talk with her about something at the reunion. Just as they began talking (and she did not want to have whatever discussion he wanted), he was called away by the same person who had interrupted their prom date.
Not only did Danny not return, his body was found in a car in the parking lot. His death was ruled suicide caused by carbon monoxide pouring into the closed vehicle. Danny’s wife, Sheena, who had caused quite a stir at the prom and during their high school years because she was extremely jealous of Jennifer and possessive of Danny, was convinced he had been murdered.
Jennifer suspected Danny’s death was related to the sudden disappearance of Jimmy Mitchell, another student who disappeared Prom night. Jennifer hoped he had just taken off and was living somewhere else but no one, including his family and friends, ever heard from him again.
Jennifer, her journalist boyfriend Sam Culpepper, and her writing group friends all get involved in trying to find out what happened to Danny, especially when other classmates also are threatened or disappear.
Interesting comment: “Jennifer’s mother had always told her, ‘When you see someone mistreating someone else, don’t think you’re immune. You have that person as a friend and they’ll get around to you eventually.’”
An obscure reference by Leigh Ann, one of the writing group members, reads, “‘You can do it.’ As though she were Bela Karolyi coaching Kerri Strug through that last great vault at the summer Olympics in Atlanta. Kerri had done it and done it perfectly, but at a price.” I had to look that one up and it’s appropriate.
DYING TO REMEMBER was a quick, mostly satisfying read. The story flowed well with very little mental repetition. The characters have individual and identifiable personalities. I found the chapters to be too short but many authors seem to be doing that more frequently lately. All in all, a good summer read.

[Mary Schildman]

Little slow start

At first I wasn't impressed with this book, I was about to stop reading it. But remembered how much I enjoyed the previous books. Didn't take much longer to become completely embroiled in it. Good plot and still cool characters. Looking forward to the next book