Review: A perfectly presented  piece of fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 14, 2014
Lady Blues: Forget me Not is a Gus Legarde mystery, the tenth in the series. Although part of a series it works perfectly as a standalone book, although you will inevitably want to read more of these novels. This book is probably best described as a cozy mystery, although that might not do it full justice. There’s genuine tension and threat, edge of the seat stuff, and the characters have depth and interest to them, rather more than in some cozies. Yet our hero, Professor Gus Legarde, is such a comforting sort of person that we feel safe and secure in his hands, and that’s where the coziness comes in.Gus is fifty-something, a professor, and lives with his second wife, his step-daughter, his ex-wife’s brother Siegfried, a variety of dogs, and his daughter and grandchildren are in the house too at the start of this story. There’s a strong supportive family atmosphere. Another guest, Lily, arrives, a Korean woman, after Gus and Siegfried pull her out of her burning house above the shop she runs with her brother Thom. He’s badly injured in the fire. And Lily has secrets to hide. That’s one strand of the mystery, and another stems from an octogenarian Gus meets when playing the piano at a nursing home. Music helps him remember, as do drugs, although possibly only temporarily, and one of the memories that comes back is of Bella, the woman he loved, his Lady Blues. Gus is determined to help him recapture his past before it’s all too late.It’s hard to describe the story without giving away too much, but suffice it to say it’s intelligently and tightly written. So I’ll turn my attention to the writing. This is beautiful – evocative, startling, teasing, terse, soothing and suspenseful in turns. Author Aaron Paul Lazar has a wonderfully readable style, empathetic and gentle, but also frank and realistic. The characters he creates are fully rounded, flaws and all, and it’s hard not to be drawn deep into their world with them. Good food and music are recurring motifs throughout the story and so is the Genesee valley. There is so much to admire artistically in this book, and with a catchy cover and a very high standard of presentation, it is a perfectly presented piece of fiction. Very, very highly recommended.