Three Times Lucky

Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage

A girl does not know who her parents are. She currently lives with "The Colonel". He found her in a river one stormy day. He does not know how he got there and has no memory of his life prior. They live in a rural area of North Carolina, somewhere near Winston-Salem. Things get interesting when a detective comes into town investigating a murder. Later, somebody is killed also. The girl and her friends decide they will help in the investigation. (In part out of guilt because her friend was returning a boat to the man shortly before he died.) The investigations end up merging, and it is discovered that the Colonel was once a lawyer and worked on the case of the murders (who were also robbers.) His former fiancé was the lady in town, who had hoped he would regain some memory. It is an interesting look at small town life and a good detective story in one.