Murder Never Forgets

Carla Day #1

by Diana O'Hehir

Suspicious events at an assisted living facility-and her father's ramblings about a dead woman on a nearby beach-lead Carla Day into a shadowy mystery, and into the deep recesses of the brilliant old man's memory.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Diana Farnham O'Hehir is a poet and writer of prose from northern California. She was born in Berkeley in 1929. She taught from 1961 to 1992 at Mills College in Oakland where she is Aurelia Henry Reinhardt Professor Emerita of American Literature. She lives in San Francisco with her husband, writer Mel Fiske.

Series:
* Carla Day

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a rough time reading this. The way it was written did not keep my attention. Good story though!

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

A library find.
July 2024.
A good read during a hurricane.
A time consuming read. When there is nothing else to do. Four stars for that. Entertaining me.

[Tamara · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was purusing the library shelves when Cayden grabbed this book and said "I got one for you mama!" Otherwise I wouldn't have given this a 2nd look. Now that I'm reading it I can say that it isn't too bad for a brainless quick read. Every once in awhile I just go with the flow & read whatever is put in front of me.

Okay - just finished this one. What a crummy book! Don't bother!!!! COuldn't beleive how silly th eplot line was & then end was SO SO SO predictable. That's what I get for letting a 2 yr old pick a book out for me.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

not sure if I will continue with this one, disappointing so far, but I must press through to at least page 100!?! I'm just curious when the father actually engages in the investigation....hmmmm

I finished it, but I it will be my first and last for this series. It just didn't hold my interest and I am not into Egyptology. The dad is too far gone with Alzheimer's (sad) to really be any help and before they could begin searching for the murderer, they had to first decipher whether or not her Dad's insights were real and current or memories from the past.

[Leslie]

Don't even bother. I read about 60 pages at the beginning, couldn't even manage to read as many pages as my age, Judy, then read the last 20 pages or so. No improvement. None. 0 stars. The plot involves an Egyptologist who has Alzheimer's and is in a retirement home where bad things are happening. His daughter can't decipher whether what he says happens really did or is part of his illness.

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

First in O'Hehir's series about 20-something Carla Day and her retired professor Egyptologist father--who also has Alzheimer's. I can't decide if I read because of the wonderful interactions between the caregiver daughter and her dad, or for the mystery. This one is set at the assisted living home, somewhere near Santa Cruz or points north--very enjoyable for the characters. Aaron Elkins blurbs for her if you need a point of comparison.

[Trudy Nye · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though at times confused and meandering, Murder Never Forgets had a few good points. O'Hehir is a wordsmith and sometimes that comes through. However, there is a lot of "filler" that does not even tie in well with the plot. The book goes on for fifteen pages after the story should wrap up, and it appears that the author is trying to set up a next book. Most readers will not care.

Sheriff Hawthorne, sums things up nicely on page 279: "Lotta stupid stuff going on around here."

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dealing with a father living in a nursing home because of alzheimer's disease doesn't sound like an invitation to murder -- but it is here. A fascinating investigation where even the murder is up for question because the witness's mind is not reliable.

[Sharron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever, cute, and appealing main character, Carla Day, reminds me of a young Kinsey Millhone. The writing was clear, direct, and moved the pleasantly-complex plot along smoothly. I'm eager to read more in this series (which began in 2005) and hope O'Hehir will continue writing about Carla Day.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just enough of a different twist that I'll try the next in the series. Maybe the subject is close to my heart since the story was centered around a retirement village. I would have liked it better without all the Egyptology references, however.

[International Cat Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is definitely a 'sweeter' kind of story than I typically read, but it was funny and had a good twist - and I enjoyed reading it. Sadly, I was hoping for there to be more of an Ancient Egypt influence, but alas.

[Shirley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This author new to me and when I saw that most of the action took place in a nursing home, I wasn't sure this was for me, but, actually, it was superb, and unusually, I didn't figure out the killer.

[Bonnie Archuleta · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was slow - I laid it down and finished two other books since I started it. I finally gave up on it around page 185. I just could not make myself read anymore