Gone But Not Forgotten by Phillip Margolin

A departure from my usual fair, this title was published in 1993 and made into a movie in 2003.  I recently went to a website that someone posted on my facebook page.   The site is http://whatshouldireadnext.com. I plugged in one of my favorite authors--Harlan Coben and the site generated a list of alternative authors.  The suggestions are made by readers and not professional reviewers.  At the top of the list was this thriller by Phillip Margolin.

Whew! What a ride.  This is the story of a heinous killer whose trademark is a black rose accompanied by a typewritten note that says-"Gone But Not Forgotten".  The beginning of the story takes place in a small community called Hunter's Point where a number of women, married to prominent men in the town, have simply disappeared.  The culminating murders are of a young wife and her small child.  In this instance, the bodies are left for the police to find.  Two murder suspects come to the attention of this small-town police department.  One is killed and the other is exonerated.

Ten years pass and the scene moves to the west coast and Portland, Oregon where black roses and notes reappear, along with the disappearance of several women.  Nancy Gordon, a member of the original task force is given a tip that the killer has resurfaced.  Martin Darius, a local developer is arrested and his feminist attorney gives the case everything she has, leaving no stone unturned.

This is a well-written, believable storyline.  The characters are interesting and varied.  Just when you think you have the story all figured out--the author leads with a new theory.  I like a story that I can't figure out at the first chapter and this one did not disappoint me.

One word of caution--don't read it when you are all alone on a dark stormy night.

Ladybookbug!