Gone, But Not Forgotten by Phillip Margolin

Phillip Margolin practiced law in Portland, Oregon for many years before devoting full time to writing novels in the mid 1990’s.  Many of his works including his third novel, Gone, But Not Forgotten made the New York Times Best Seller list.

In this novel, protagonist Betsy Tannenbaum is an up and coming criminal defense attorney in Portland, Oregon.  Wealthy businessman, Martin Darius walks into her office one day and gives her a healthy retainer with no indication for why he needs legal representation.  Soon after, the bodies of women who’ve been kidnapped, tortured and murdered are found on a construction site owned by Darius.  Left behind at each of the women’s homes are a black rose and a note that reads “Gone, But Not Forgotten.”   No physical evidence ties Darius to the crimes and he is released on bail.  Then information surfaces tying Darius to similar crimes in New York state ten years earlier… but he was never charged.

 

Tannenbaum is caught in a moral dilemma.  She believes everyone deserves legal representation whether guilty or innocent but she can’t bring herself to defend Darius if he truly committed these heinous acts.  Then Darius’ wife is murdered while Martin is under surveillance so he is innocent of at least that crime.  But Tannenbaum’s investigator uncovers damning information about Darius concerning the New York crimes.  Could he be guilty of the crimes a decade earlier and be innocent of the recent Portland crimes?  Could there be a copycat killer? The more Tannenbaum learns the more she is drawn to the case and the more the lives of her and her family are in jeopardy.

This is the second time I’ve read Gone, But Not Forgotten… the first nearly twenty years ago.  I’ve read several of Margolin’s novels since that time but of late find myself disappointed by comparison to his earlier books.  Re-reading Gone, But Not Forgotten reaffirms for me that Margolin’s earlier works were as good as I remembered.  Gone, But Not Forgotten has the disturbing grit of Connelly’s Concrete Blond and the startling spin of Turow’s Presumed Innocence… two of my other favorites of the nineties.