A boy will not give up on finidng his sister who was kidnapped a year ago. ( )

"Darkness is a cancer of the human heart

This surprised me be being near impossible to put down. Even though there were parts I thought were a little too easy - I do love that much of it was not. The characters - Katherine, Alyssa, Johnny, Jack - all of them were well done and hard to read. I liked that none of the characters were squeaky clean but they all had their dark side or tipping point.

I like that I feel like the reactions from the police, procedure and reactions were realistic and didn't feel fake, bumbling or ridiculous.

I am looking forward to reading another book by this author. ( )

A TOTALLY ADDICTING MURDER THRILLER! ( )

I tried, I really did. And based on the almost universal positive reviews, I'm in the minority. But I really don't get the fuss about this book. The characterization was dreadful, so full of stereotypes that not a single character felt real to me - the passive and childlike, drug-addled mother, the abusive and skeevy boyfriend-of-mother who is also the rich man who owns the town, the cop who is tormented by the one unsolved case, etc. etc. etc. There's even a character who has all the hallmarks of the Magical Negro.

Audiobook, borrowed from my public library via Overdrive. Scott Sowers gives an awkwardly stilted performance as narrator. DNF at 18%, or about 2 2/3 hours in.



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Easy, interesting story to read. ( )

I read this book thinking it was another one. Once I figured out it wasn't, I read for the imagery. The author does descriptions well, but not plot and not character. This is full of blather and stupid. What a snoozefest. The synopsis is totally wrong. I did want to know how it ended, though, so I kept reading till the last page. There's multiple POVs for no real reason, mostly from adults. It makes me think that the author was not comfortable in their ability to write from the POV of a child. The imagery was pretty. This book is not a thriller; it's a weak character study. The voices differentiated from each other slightly, sure, and each character had different information from the next. They never really connected about it, though. Everyone was very one-note. One of the adults is intellectually impaired and has a special relationship with G-d. Why? Why that device? I suppose the author was trying to make him seem innocent and deaths he was involved in, seem accidental. What a silly choice. Especially when they're clearly deliberate. The author tries things that were new and novel for the time, and utterly fails. I skimmed a fair amount but kept having to go back and read preceding paragraphs so I could keep up with what passes for plot in this. This was poorly executed. I will not intentionally seek out future works from the author, nor will I recommend this to anyone. ( )

This is my second John Hart novel. I read Redemption Road first and absolutely loved it. ( )

The Last Child is one of those powerful books that takes your breath. It’s must-tell-all-my-reader-friends quality and it’s going to stay with me for a long time. ( )

That was quite a page-turner. I really enjoyed it and read a big chunk of it in one sitting. Great stuff, and I highly recommend it. ( )

This was a very heavy book, and I don't mean its size. A lot happens, much of it very sad and emotional. It seemed like a book of tragedies, affecting lots of different people - it seemed like each character in the book had his or her own personal tragedy to contend with.

Most of the book goes along a line where it seems like some sort of pedophile or serial killer has perhaps taken a couple of young girls in town, but that would be too simple and easy for John Hart, not to mention for us and a lot of characters in the story.

At times, things got a bit weird and somewhat mystical, but not unbelievably so. Most of the book was very believable, like you were there and a part of the story. There is a sequel that looks like it might be more mystical than this one; this is not my favorite genre, but I'll probably read it to see how it is.
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Wow! This book sucked me in from the first page. Twists and turns and totally unexpected happenings. Kept me guessing and kept surprising me. Very well written. Johnny was a great character. I'd love to see him as a grown up to see what time makes of all this grit, determination and trauma. ( )

I spent all day yesterday reading this book. Not only because the mystery is compelling, but because the book itself is such an effortless pleasure to read. John Hart's prose is beautiful, liquid, and I just drank it down, taking the North Carolina town, its people, and its atmosphere in quick, quenching draughts. The characters are wonderfully real in their complexities and contradictions, nuanced in shades of innocence and evil, selfishness and determination, simplicity and cunning. Within such vivid surrounds, the mystery of the kidnapping becomes only one thread in the warp and weft of other mysteries---what will happen to these people, to their families and their futures, and how will they come together? Or fall apart? The Last Child is a dark story, but it's a moving and uplifting one as well. ( )

I don't even know what to say about John Hart anymore. Guy's just a phenomenal author.

This particular novel is a tough one to review because...well, to be honest, I simply loved everything about it. The story. The characters. The twists. The writing. All of it.

Just....go get yourself one of his books...any one, doesn't matter...and experience John Hart. ( )

boy searches for kidnapped sister, search leads to other pedophiles, sister turns out to have been hit and run covered up

John Hart is a gifted writer. Protagonist Johnny Merrimon's life was wrecked by the disappearance of his twin sister from school, presumably kidnapped by a rapist/killer, the apparent abandonment of his father, and his mother's collapse into drinking/drugs and a tryst with the town's leading developer. After a second girl is abducted, Johnny happens upon a hit and run victim who tells him she is alive and Johnny accelerates his neverending search for his twim. The local cop, who has obsessed over the sister's abduction and mother, believes in Johnny. Reminded me also of Stephen King's The Green Mile. Good taut plot. ( )

It was a very good story line that kept you guessing until the end. I didn't think the main character Johnny, who is 13 years old in the book, is a very realistic character. ( )

John Hart is a fabulous author! I literally could not put this book down. I stayed up WAY too late most nights wanting to continue reading this book. The characters were beautifully developed and the story line moved along at a great clip, but at the same time, Hart included so much description that you felt like you were in the story (but it didn't overwhelm the story line). There were so many twists that you had to keep up with everything and I was left surprised with the outcome. I would highly recommend this book to anyone! ( )

I was going to start Hush, but then realized that it was part of a series so I went back to this one. I found this book extremely enjoyable, unexpected and different from a lot of the books I’ve been reading lately. I enjoyed the writing and the characters and Although mom was a bit weak, I can completely justify her behavior because of what it happened to her and her family. There was a nice little shocker at the end. Looking forward to number two. ( )

Very rarely do I read a book that did not bore me at times with repetitive thinking by the characters. This story constantly moved along, rarely rehashing past events, kept adding new developments. Even when there were red herrings, the author found a way to make them part of the overall story. Johnny was on a mission to find the truth about his missing sister. At times he seemed beyond his years of just 13, totally taking care of himself, driving, tolerating adults weird behaviors. Hunt, the detective, was over involved in this case but yet had faith in Johnny’s thinking. Came close on solving but not all parts. ( )

This is a well written mystery/suspense novel. It kept me guessing and has some clever twists. Though by the end I felt the conclusion of it all was a little convoluted. I liked the characters and found the little bit of magical/supernatural element intriguing. Recommended for mystery fans. ( )

The Last Child by John Hart I couldn't believe just how good this book was.
 
From the very beginning to the very end he never lost the edge in his writing nor the sharpness of his story. Never predictable, often poignant always challenging in that I never found it predictable.I loved the heroes and hated the arseholes. The main characters breathed along with me. Everything about this was credible and sadly touching.I can't say enough good things about it. Read it ( )

Johnny Merrimon is the star of this lengthy mystery-thriller. Johnny is thirteen years old and obsessed with finding his sister Alyssa, who disappeared a year before. With his best friend he haunts registered sex offenders in the area, knocks on doors to ask if anyone has seen Alyssa, skips school to track down leads.

His obsession is only matched by that of the detective on the case, Clyde Hunt. Hunt has spent many sleepless nights on the case, lets other obligations fall to the side, and nearly ends his career through his impetuous moves. He is also obsessed with Johnny's mother Katherine, although he doesn't like to admit it. Katherine is married, but her husband disappeared after his daughter went missing, apparently distraught by his part in the child's loss and unable to stay with Katherine, who never let up on her accusations against him.

Katherine, for her part, still loves her husband and misses him. Johnny misses him too, and is especially angered that his father's place has been taken by an abusive bully, Ken, who wants nothing more than to get rid of Johnny too.

There are complications and odd coincidences. One day Johnny happens upon one of the bigger clues when he sees a horrifying event.

**somewhat spoiler alert**may be spoiler-alert**yeah it's a real spoiler alert***

There are aspects of this story that had me yelling at the CD player in my car. One is that Hunt admires Katherine, considers her "strong". Yet she does not cope well with Alyssa's disappearance, even letting herself be led to drugs that keep her out of it pretty much all the time. She no longer monitors Johnny's activities or helps him in any way. She is too distraught. Further, even after she cleans up a little she still stays inside her house demanding that something be done. When something bad happens in her house and she is in a motel room, she tells Hunt she never wants to go back there. So who is going to clean up that mess? Who is going to pack her things for the next house? Does she even care? To me, a strong woman would stay strong for her son. She would do what she needed to do to keep on living and keep her son alive and well. She might even do her own research, try to help discover what happened to her daughter. Try to find her husband.

Then there's Hunt. Strong and supportive of Katherine and Johnny, he sure isn't there for his own teenage son. He has excuse after excuse, keeps feeling bad about neglecting him. Sheesh! These types of obsession are not signs of a healthy mental life, a truly compassionate person. I can't buy his crap. And what he sees in Katherine aside from her beauty is way beyond me.

And Johnny. At one point he has essentially captured a large black man, an escaped prisoner of low mental capacity. Thinking the man, Levi, knows something about his sister, Johnny does not bring the badly injured man to the hospital. He has chance after chance to help him but he has to find out what he knows. What results is tragic and preventable. Johnny should feel very bad about this but no.

So it was hard for me to care about these characters. Of the three I do prefer Johnny. He's a child, after all, and some excuse might be made for his obsession. The other two, good grief. Nevertheless, the story kept me entertained for a lot of hours. It was great having it there in my car. ( )

Be careful what you pray for. I have to admit that when the killer first entered the story I instantly knew it was him. It did not make the book any less enjoyable. There are plenty of stories going on in this tale to keep you entertained throughout. ( )

This is the 2nd novel that I have read by John Hart. His writing captivates the reader from page one and regardless of the immediate setting, the reader feels every emotion the characters convey and express through the circumstances that evolve for each of them.

The Prologue is the perfect example…
“Asphalt cut the country like a scar, a long, hot burn of razor-black. Heat had not yet twisted the air, but the driver knew it was coming, the scorching glare, the shimmer at the far place where blue hammered down.”

Reading those words, the reader can not only feel that burn, that heat but visualize it and reach into their own life experiences to know what a searing day like that is – how demanding, how all-consuming, and the seeming never-ending qualities of that particular kind of day.

The writing is riveting, absorbing, page-turning, and intriguing. John Hart takes you into the lives of a devastated family. There is a 13-year old twin boy, Johnny Merrimon, who is determined to take care of his Mother and even more determined to bring his twin sister, Alyssa home. Johnny's father is gone and that can't be the priority. Then there's the law enforcement side, a Detective named Clyde Hunt who is just as determined as Johnny to bring Alyssa home.

This story could be ripped from headlines across the country. It's a story of good and evil, hope and despair, existence when life seems too much to bear, the endurance of friendships, the tests of the human spirit, the fine lines of right and wrong, legal and illegal, the true meanings of integrity and compassion, willfulness and strength.

I will remember characters Johnny Merrimon and Clyde Hunt for a long time.

This story is not for the faint of heart. John Hart takes you deep into the realities of the story and doesn't mince words or spare descriptions. There's an ordinary family ~ mother, father and twins ~ leading an ordinary life in a small rural town. Then one day, everything changes. A father forgets to pick up his daughter. The daughter decides to make her own way home but never arrives. The reader is in each moment. It's clear, concise, and real. The reader will know the sacrifices, the wins, the losses. Don't miss it.
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This is the best mystery I've read in a long time! Kept me guessing and turning pages right to the end. Can't wait to read more by this author! ( )