Rachel Abbott

So this was... just ok. Really more of a 2 1/2 star, but I couldn't justify the bump up a half star on here. I'll start with this. I was unaware until after reading it that it was the second in a series. That being said, for it being a "Stephanie King" series (apparently) she doesn't really show up as a major player until much later in the book. She is there at the initial murder investigation, but doesn't really do much. Also, she doesn't come around again in any major important role until Jemma calls her because she has some info on an unrelated incident (which ends up being the major incident) and she feels uncomfortable about Lucas's game.

Anyway, that aside, the book's still just ok. The author plays it off as a mystery that the reader should be able to figure out pretty easily. Admittedly, you can kind of see SOME of it and piece things together, but unless you've got a white board going with every conversation while you're reading, the little details are exactly that... little. They are no where near as obvious as the characters imply. You can still figure out most things without them as the story progresses though and you get a little more background information.

A lot of sections become very repetitive, honestly, despite pages flying by. Additionally, I'm not really sure it was necessary to have access to so many characters' inner monologues. It felt like a lot of fluff. If I had to wager a guess, it was meant to build suspicion, but it really just ends up with the characters second guessing themselves.

Finally, without spoiling anything, the end was the most ridiculous wrap up I think I've ever read. First of all, there's no real closure, only allusions to closure and speculation. With so little physical evidence on as many cases as there are, connected and otherwise, the reader is left wondering if the police were able to convict those involved, but there's definitely not enough for a sequel. It's just a disappointment.

Overall, it's not a bad book, but it's by no means a "must read". If you're trying to follow along with the investigation and the cases, It's a little more than a beach read, but for those not playing couch cop it's a perfect beach read.… (more)

Ellis Cobain is cruel and mean. Delights in criticizing and belittling, making others feel less than. A wealthy philanthropist, his public persona is without reproach; he hides his sinister side, revealing it only to those he chooses to torment. Ruthless, full of attitude, certain he’s smarter, richer, better than anyone else, it’s a wonder he hasn’t been murdered before this.

Sergeant Stephanie King and her partner DCI Gus Brodie are having a small holiday at a boutique hotel. Ever the watchful police officer, Stephanie thinks something is a little off when she observes Russell & Juliette Dalton with Ellis Cobain. It’s odd, but she thinks no more of it until a few days later when Ellis is found murdered and she and Gus are assigned the case.

The Last Time I Saw Him is full of tension, suspense and secrets, and with a six-degrees-of-separation kind of thing going on. As Stephanie and Gus work the case they uncover more and more connections between the likely suspects. Russell introducing Juliette to Ellis for the first time did look odd because it was: she already knew him. Russell is at the hotel to interview singer Nadia Shariq about possible representation. Seems she also knows Ellis. Celia, Ellis’s wife, is elusive and seems frightened. Things didn’t end well for Ellis and Juliette, nor for Ellis and Nadia, and they aren’t going well for Celia and Ellis. They all have reason to hate him, and wait – do they already know each other? Yes, they do, and they devise a plan to silence him once and for all. But did they agree that once and for all meant death?

Who killed him? One of them? Two of them? All of them? I raced through the book trying to figure out who was lying, who was telling the truth, who had the biggest motive, the best opportunity, the most to gain, the most to lose. Stephanie and Gus make a good team, both on and off the investigation field. There have been recent changes to their lives, too. What will the future bring for them?

Thanks to Storm Publishing for providing an advance copy of The Last Time I Saw Him via NetGalley. It was intense and exciting and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.… (more)

This book is nearly 500 pages so be prepared to try to follow all that was happening and figure out who was doing what! I was totally lost by the time the book ended! And, Wow, what a climax! The key to this hold over readers' attention is because there are so many secrets! But they don't necessarily have anything to do with what happened on that back road... So how are you going to know who is doing what?! Sure, there are hints, but they are just guesses, at the most. This author surely keeps a white board handy nearby to keep her characters and plots straight... for her mind cannot keep each track straight on its own...LOL... In whatever way she does it, I've got to praise her skills in plots, twists and turns!

I was amazed at the things Leo faced as she returned to certain spots in town--amazed to realize that people could have been so cruel to a young child who had absolutely no responsibility for the sins of her father...

At the same time, I enjoyed watching a relationship develop between Leo and Tom, the sheriff... Leo, I was surprised to learn, was now a "life coach" who had obviously gotten over the trauma of her past and now was reaching out to help others. In fact, her blog entries run through the novel and are a pleasant diversion of "good thoughts..."

But Leo's occupation and offer to provide free life coaching introductions to a number of women in town really brought about a reaction from many of the men--who also had secrets that they had no intention their wives share!

This is one of the best mystery suspense novels I've read this year! I certainly recommend it to everybody that loves to be stumped by an author! I sure was...and if you figured it out, let me know what "clue" got you started on solving it!
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