Forgotten: A Novel

Mariah Stewart is a pleasure to read, and "Forgotten" was no exception.

It was nice to finally get Portia's story, and MS did a great job with drawing the reader in and not letting them go until the final page.

Looking forward to her next one!

I really enjoy reading Mariah Stewart. This story was creepy, but keep me on the edge of my seat....couldn't put it down! As usual, a great mystery read!

Forgotten is a terrific book. I was glad to finally read Portia's story and was happy to read about some favorite characters from Ms. Stewart's previous books.

Even though Portia is unhappy to be stateside and no longer working undercover, she throws herself into this new case with gusto. The serial killer Portia is forced to work with is very creepy and when the new serial killer is revealed, it is startling. The story was well written and suspenseful.

FBI agent Portia Cahill returns stateside after her undercover anonymity is blown. She doesn't want to be there, she wants to be back doing the adrenaline rush of a job overseas, but that's no possible. Her first assignment is to talk to inmate Sheldon Woods and find out where the body of Christopher Walsh is buried. It's believe that Walsh had been one of his victims, but he never confessed. Now, Madeline, Christopher's mother, is dying, and her last wish is to see her son's remains be laid to rest before she's gone.

Portia makes a deal with Woods and finds remains believed to be Christopher's. However, there's a new development: another set of remains, smaller, is under Christopher's. Try as she might, Woods won't give up the identity to the second set of remains; `He's mine'. But Portia doesn't care. While the comment is disturbing to say the least, she's determined to bring the boy back to his family.

But there are twists, and a new development. Seems Woods has been talking to someone else, for a `fresh' body of a young boy is found in another one of Woods' victims' graves. Obviously it wasn't Woods; he's behind bars. But who's copycatting Woods's MO? Another discovery: Woods sexually assaulted his victims before killing them. The new bodies turning up were simply strangled and nothing more.

James Cannon, Woods's ex-lawyer, is determined to help Portia find the bodies and the new killer. Both are determined to keep each other at arm's length, yet they both lose that fight. And while they're close, a young friend of the family becomes a victim and Portia is determined to keep Cannon away from her until this is solved. Even consummed with guilt, she's determined to stop the lastest murderer, no matter what. But who is he?

Stewart sure knows how to write a story with believable characters and twists that seem to freeze and puzzle you as much as the characters. With words, the characters come to life and you can't help but follow the path laid out for them. Woods seems just as creepy as if he'd been real, and the sparks between Portia and Jim are terrific. The plot is excellent, and the twist Stewart throws in throws off the unsuspecting reader, who then yells "What the h...?" and flips the page desperately needing to know what and why. Excellent read!

I have read most of Mariah Stewart's books. Forgotten is an out of series book, but was as engrossing as any of her other books.

In Forgotten, psychopath Sheldon Woods has kidnapped a number of boys - what adds to the grisly scene is that nobody is exactly sure how many and where there body lies and this situation will set the scene for this extremely dark, exciting and disturbing novel. Stewart manages to create a tension filled storyline - and it is obvious that she has based her Sheldon Woods character on a combination of real life psychos!!!! Woods is a very well created character, spooky and disgusting and he was the central plot for me, because of this character - the novel worked.
The interaction between James Cannon, who was the initial attorney who represented Woods, and the FBI Agent, Portia Cahill was well drawn and they worked well together.

Stewart always manages to write extremely broody novels. With her apt and vivid descriptions, you could almost feel yourself talking with Woods - practically wanting to beg him to tell you where the bodies are buried and at the same time, you wanted to run away from him AND kill him with your bare hands. This novel is fairly descriptive