Review – Carolina Moonset by Matt Goldman

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Carolina Moonset by Matt Goldman
Published by Forge Books on May 31, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense
Pages: 272
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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Both suspenseful and deeply moving, Carolina Moonset is an engrossing novel about family, memories both golden and terrible, and secrets too dangerous to stay hidden forever, from New York Times bestselling and Emmy Award-winning author, Matt Goldman.

Joey Green has returned to Beaufort, South Carolina, with its palmettos and shrimp boats, to look after his ailing father, who is succumbing to dementia, while his overstressed mother takes a break. Marshall Green’s short-term memory has all but evaporated, but, as if in compensation, his oldest memories are more vivid than ever. His mind keeps slipping backwards in time, retreating into long-ago yesterdays of growing up in Beaufort as a boy.

At first this seems like a blessing of sorts, with the past providing a refuge from a shrinking future, but Joey grows increasingly anxious as his father’s hallucinatory arguments with figures from his youth begin to hint at deadly secrets, scandals, and suspicions long buried and forgotten. Resurfacing from decades past are mysteries that still have the power to shatter lives—and change everything Joey thought he knew.

Especially when a new murder brings the police to his door...

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

This book was terrific! I went into this book without any expectations since I hadn’t heard a whole lot about it. It didn’t take me very long to determine that I had stumbled on an absolute gem. This book blends several genres seamlessly and is filled with realistic and likable characters. Once I started reading this book, I did not want to put it down.

Joey Green is on a visit to the small town of Beaufort, South Carolina, to spend some time with his father who is suffering from Lewy’s body dementia. He encourages his mother to take a trip since he can watch out for his father for a few days. Everything seems to be going well until a murder in the neighborhood brings the police to their front door. Joey’s father is stuck in the past since he has lost his short-term memory and seems to be talking to people from the past who aren’t there. Are the events from the past connected to the current murder? What exactly does Joey’s father know?

I thought that this book was incredibly well written. I was hooked by this book from the very start. The family drama surrounding the decline of Joey’s father and the toll it has taken on his mother was really well done. The change in Joey’s father’s mental status was upsetting not only for the family but for him as well. The mysteries from the past and the current murder kept me guessing and I enjoyed trying to figure out exactly what happened and how things might be connected. There is even a bit of romance between Joey and the neighbors’ daughter, Leela. I thought that Joey and Leela were great together and made a great team in trying to solve the mysteries. I really liked that they are a bit older and had a lot to figure out if they wanted to try to make a relationship work.

I would recommend this book to others. I thought that this story was an incredibly enjoyable read that left me thinking about the story anytime I had to set the book aside to deal with life. I will have to check out some of Matt Goldman’s other works.

I received a review copy of this book from Forge Books.

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