Lady Blues: forget-me-not

From the front cover to the end of the book, I loved everything about Lady Blues! When I read Aaron\’s latest book, Murder on the Brewster Flats, earlier this month, I was pleasantly surprised that one of the main characters had been married–and I didn\’t know it! Well, that set me on the search where I found a Gus LeGarde Mystery which I had not read! Wow, am I\’m so glad I caught my omission. Because Lady Blues became a personal favorite for me… Gus LeGarde is a professional musician and teaches at a local college, so his books are always filled with music, which as you all know, I really enjoy exploring. But it was the two main mysteries that I was enthralled with–Gus had befriended a man in a local residence for older people: What had happened to the woman his new friend kept asking for… and What had happened to the patients as a result of new medicine… On the other hand, an unusual mystery came with a young woman who whom Gus and his family gave shelter when the tailor shop in which she worked with her brother caught on fire! The question was–why was Lily\’s back full of both old and new marks of abuse? A not-surprising answer to this but sad.. Whenever he could make it, Gus played for Sunday morning services for residents at a senior citizen\’s home. One man was known as \”the piano man\” since he could not tell him his name. But, amazingly, with Gus\’s bringing music to the home that day, Gus was able to bring out the older man and begin a conversation. Gus knew that he would come back to visit. As time went by, Gus was given a name and then in a somewhat mixed-up question asked–Do you know her? Although all personal memories had been taken, he was able to remember the lady he loved… But as Gus continued to visit, he noticed that the man was becoming more verbal, more communicative–and learned from his nurse that many of the patients were improving and regaining their memories! Until they again lost them… How I wish that the main issue of the medication being given to patients could have been true. Wouldn\’t it be wonderful if a new medication allowed patients who had lost their memories, to be able to regain them?! It was in this part of the book that the danger and suspense grew as the families and staff began to question just what was happening to the patients. Lazar weaves magic into his books…readers feel refreshed and vibrant as they leave from their visit to the LeGarde home, where the food is plentiful, mostly homegrown, and friends are welcomed for Sunday dinner when Gus takes over as chef… And it was so gratifying for those who have come to care about Siegfried to watch as he falls in love and looks toward a future of his own with a loved one…after so very long! And Lady Blues? This mystery had a wonderful closing! I can\’t wait to have you read it and love it as I did! Go on…check it out right now! GABixlerReviews

Lady Blues: Forget Me Not: A Gus Legarde Mystery is an enjoyable read. Author Aaron Paul Lazar writes with great panache. His descriptive phrases are particularly evocative, and he is skillful in weaving in details about characters and settings. His protagonist Gus Legarde, a college professor, is not really a mystery solver, as you would expect in a mystery; rather, Gus is more a facilitator, being in the right places at the right times and drawing significant facts out of those he comes in contact with. The book really has two plots: the one that the title refers to—a story of lost and found love, that between Alzheimer’s patient Kip and the blues singer he is still passionately in love with but long ago lost; the second plot revolves around Korean immigrant Lily and the man who loves her, Gus’s brother-in-law Siegfried. It took me the entire novel to realize that the two plots are connected by a similar theme, that of communication, for Lily is hampered by her lack of English skills while Kip is initially hampered by his failing memory. The resolution of both plots is quite satisfying, and the journey along the way makes for a fun read. I have to quibble a bit about the multitude of characters. Gus has an extended family that numbers seventeen humans and two dogs, each and every one of them with names that we as readers are to remember. Frankly, I got totally bogged down trying to remember who was who when a name was used, at least for those characters who didn’t appear as major ones. I figured out that writer Lazar was writing of the importance of family and that he was using this huge family unit to make his point. But oh, how confusing it got for me. I needed a scorecard to refer to. Other than that warning to you, dear readers, I heartily endorse Lady Blues.

This is the first I\’ve read of this author. It\’s an interesting, well –written book. I really enjoyed this book so much. More than just a mystery or a thriller this story contains the best of what fiction has to offer, an interesting story with intriguing characters that interact and share themselves in ways that make the reader involved and invested in their stories. If you are looking for a straight up adrenaline rush thriller, this book probably isn\’t for you. But if you enjoy mysteries and you like to try something new give this book a try. It\’s very well written and very well paced. There are several different mysteries to solve and they are overlapped and intertwined in an interesting way that holds your attention and furthers the story as you get to know and enjoy the characters more and more. It\’s a really good cross between reading about an interesting fiction family and their day to day lives and reading a mystery novel. a nice genre crossing book tieing fiction lovers and mystery lovers together in a very good book.

A good mixture of intrigue , history and story telling to captivate until the end. could easily start again to make sure nothing was missed.

This book is a must read, I loved all the characters you got to know them well, found yourself cheering for the good guys, hope to read more of the LeGarde Mysteries.

Galaxyaudiobook Member Benefit

- Able to comment

- List watched audiobooks

- List favorite audiobooks

- Bookmark will only available for Galaxyaudiobook member