Returning home to star in a movie about going home, Jan Fairchild stirs up old resentments galore. When the actress is found dead the morning after a nostalgic pajama party, several of her former high-school girlfriends become suspects—including Ginger Barnes. The homicide specialist the police bring in seems unusually eager for the amateur sleuth’s observations. Is that because she's his #1 suspect?
1) I love how you go through all the time leading up to the murder, something that is so often not done in mysteries. We know she will be murdered ahead of time, so we are riveted by everything that happens leading up to it.
2) I love her relationships with her husband and her mother. Love the way her mother talks to her about herself, her kids, and how focused in she clearly was about Gin's friends. She would make a good co-sleuth! The scenes re her father in the school and afterward at her mom's really got to me.
3) Your descriptions of people, their expressions, the settings are awesome. The characters seem so very real, and the situation is totally convincing. Your similes and metaphors are so good, and not overused, as is true of so many books.
Donna Huston Murray always provides great consistency in quality in all her works like the best mystery writers such as —Agatha Christie, PD James, and others. I always look forward to each book knowing that it has been clearly outlined and diligently researched for accuracy, have interesting and well developed characters, and without a doubt create a most enjoyable read.
Farewell Performance by Donna Huston Murray is an intriguing mystery that hooks you right from the beginning. When Jan Fairchild returns to town, Ginger and her best friend Didi are excited to learn about her life as a star. But not everyone is happy with the actress’s return. Her reappearance stirs old grudges which take a deadly turn when Didi’s old-fashioned sleepover ends with Jan found murdered. Ginger can’t imagine one of the guests being capable of something so violent. To top it off, a homicide specialist seems to draw the wrong conclusions from Ginger’s observations and this could make her a suspect. Now, she has no choice but to dig into Jan’s arrival and see if any of the old grudges could be a motive for murder.
The opening is unique as it takes you directly into the crime scene and tells you who the victim is. This kicks off the mystery from the get-go and immediately captures your attention. The sleepover introduces the various suspects before going back and seeing what their motives are for murder. The sleepover takes a sharp turn from a cozy gathering of friends to murder. The format of the mystery incorporates a flashback to Jan’s arrival which introduces her and sets up what could potentially be what led to her death. This allows you to play catch-up with the different clues and motives that are highlighted from Ginger’s perspective. Present-day interjections interrupt the story to remind you that what you are reading is Ginger’s recap of what happened. Donna Huston Murry succeeds in crafting a mystery with this unique structure, setting the story apart from others in the genre. This is useful in showing the inner workings of the various friendships and to show that not everyone was happy to see her return, including whoever sent a mysterious letter threatening her. The other characters are well-rounded and make for ideal suspects. Farewell Performance is full of originality, suspense, charm, and endearing characters that make the mystery addictive and delightful.
