Review: Don't You Forget About Me

Don't You Forget About Me by McCole Cupp, Erin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I really enjoyed this Catholic-themed novel.

Ms. McCole Cupp's Don't You Forget About Me is a romantic murder mystery immersed in a Catholic environment and the story touches on all things Catholic. Literally, every issue that concerns modern Catholics is confronted, explored and explained in this fast-paced novel. We have the fallen-away Catholic who is on The Pill, characters reciting Latin prayers, many Catholic rites and sacramentals (such as Gene's' brown scapular), Catholic Liturgy, parts of the beautiful Rosary, nuns, etc.

I found the characters interesting and believable, the Catholic theology sound and I was impressed with the plot which managed to develop this romantic murder mystery while conveying Catholic sentiments without being too preachy. Let me explain: I didn't personally find it preachy, but I could see a non-Catholic reader draw that erroneous conclusion. Having said that, I would recommend Don't You Forget About Me to anyone who enjoys romantic mysteries.

Oh, I forgot about one issue I experienced while reading: the prologue is written in the present tense and I didn't think it needed to be, especially given that it's a flashback. Okay, just one more issue: early on in the story there appears to be some tension in the writing with respect to the use of the past subjunctive mood (for example; I wish he were... vs I wish he was...) This stylistic intrusion is even alluded to at one point, when the fictional author corrects her friend on its proper grammatical usage. But offsetting those issues is clever, witty dialogue and vivid descriptions along with a believable plot based on (what I can only assume) the author's solid research into the fields of pharmacology and chemistry.

(The problem with reviewing a mystery is that I can't say anything about the plot without giving away key elements.)

Suffice to say, in Don't You Forget About Me Ms McCole Cupps hits all the right notes and I'm looking forward to reading more of her books.

I also have to mention another favorite part of the book - the title and all the chapter titles have cool 1980s song subtitles: Don't You Forget About Me, indeed!




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