A review by booksuperpower
The Forgotten Ones by Brian McGilloway

4.0

“The Forgotten Ones” by Brian McGilloway

Another solid installment in the Lucy Black series!
As the third Lucy Black chapter opens, we find Lucy dealing with her father’s deeper slide into the abyss of Alzheimer’s and his admittance into a home. Lucy’s lover is pressuring her to make a stronger commitment to their relationship and of course there is Lucy’s warm and fuzzy mother to contend with.
But, all the personal drama gets pushed into the background as a puzzling case or two, or three, all seemingly random and separate, keeps Lucy on her toes. As she gleans more information in each case, the threads slowly begin to weave together, unbelievably connecting these crimes to one another.
I will confess I loved the first two books in this series, set in Ireland, and I was stoked about diving into this new installment. But, I struggled for a bit as the story seemed disjointed with too many threads going on at once. Lucy wasn’t using her skills to their fullest potential, in my opinion. But, I stuck with it and before long I realized there was a method to all the madness. Once again, there is a very clever plot afoot, but Lucy’s sharp detective skills are second to none.
Lucy exposes more of her softer side in this one, and the atmosphere, while ghoulish, didn’t feel quite as dark, as the first two books in the series. However, this is a very unique and twisty story that I highly recommend to fans of Lucy Black. For those who have not read the previous chapters in the series, you will greatly benefit from reading them before diving into this one. However, this book can work as a standalone. 4 stars.

Reviewed by Julie Whiteley for Suspense Magazine