The Last Word by Taylor Adams
Format: Print, Hardcover
Pages: 340
Start Date: June 20th, 2023
End Date: June 23rd, 2023
My Ratings
Overall: ★★★★
Character Development: ★★★★
Ending: ★★★★
Suspense Level: 🔪🔪🔪
Pace: Quick
Recommend: Yes
Triggers: Animal endangerment, fertility struggles, child loss.
Summary - Goodreads
After posting a negative book review, a woman living in a remote location begins to wonder if the author is a little touchy—or very, very dangerous—in this pulse-pounding novel of psychological suspense and terror from the critically acclaimed author of No Exit and Hairpin Bridge.
Emma Carpenter lives in isolation with her golden retriever Laika, house-sitting an old beachfront home on the rainy Washington coast. Her only human contact is her enigmatic old neighbor, Deek, and (via text) the house’s owner, Jules.
One day, she reads a poorly written—but gruesome—horror novel by the author H. G. Kane, and posts a one-star review that drags her into an online argument with none other than the author himself. Soon after, disturbing incidents start to occur at night. To Emma, this can’t just be a coincidence. It was strange enough for this author to bicker with her online about a lousy review; could he be stalking her, too?
As Emma digs into Kane’s life and work, she learns he has published sixteen other novels, all similarly sadistic tales of stalking and murder. But who is he? How did he find her? And what else is he capable of?
My Thoughts - Contains Spoilers, Continue at Your Own Risk
Ok, first thinks first, this was predictable. Alternatively, this is my genre, so it can be hard not to guess some of the twists. Also, you do have to have some character building of the villians so the book doesn't feel thrown together at the end. Now that that is out of the way, I loved this! I really struggled to put this book down. I thought that the way the book was written was unique and really captivating. Right from the beginning you are sucked in by Emma seeing a person in her room while she is sleeping. The story just kept going up from there for me.
I will say the book I read prior to this was terrible, so maybe I was just happy I didn't hate this one, too. Regardless, I thought the flashbacks were done well, without becoming too bulky within the plot. Sometimes flash backs and history building can just get too cumbersome for me. I definitely did not feel that way here. I also really liked the storyline of Emma and her dog. Everything about the dynamic between Emma and Laika seemed to help lighten the mood within the story, in my opinion. I also thought the scene to scene of events happening in real time versus how Murder Beach was being written was really good. I found the contradictions amusing, which I also think helped make the book feel less heavy.
I could tell Deek was going to be bad right away, but then I sort of kept flip flopping throughout the rest of the book. Once Howard was "revealed" and Deek was proclaimed "good", I thought I must've been wrong. THEN towards the end it came out that he really was the puppet master and then I was annoyed with myself for doubting my initial feelings.
I will say, I am slightly suprised Emma didn't die in the end. I'm not mad she didn't, but given everything she went through, I got the sense she wasn't going to make it. I do feel like, ending wise, everything came full circle in a good way. I loved that Emma eventually went back to her husband, and that he had to meet her on her drive back home because he couldn't wait a moment longer to be with her.....sob! Even little thinks like when they mentioned Howie spending some nights at the house, which explains the automatic toilet flushing; I had forgotten that from the beginning. Overall, I just felt like it was easy to read, and the storyline was written really well.
Ashley's Questions:
Did you find the book predictable? Even just in portions like I did? I did, but I think it is partly due to just being my favorite genre of book.
What did you think of Howie? We're you at all saddened for the boy/man that seemed to only want to be loved & accepted? Do you truly think he was a villain?
What did you think of Emma's attachment to her dog? Did you think the dog was needed for the story or do you think it was a distraction? I actually liked it. As I said above, I felt like it lightened up the book a little bit, like Laika was a motivator for Emma's survival.
If your actions resulted in the outcome of losing someone you loved, how do you think you'd react? Do you think you'd act similarly to Emma? I definitely can understand Emma's feelings and this need of isolation. I really could NOT fathom losing my child, no matter how freakish the situation was. I personally would hope I could grieve over the loss with my partner instead of pushing them away, but, again, I feel like I understand why she retreated.
I'm Curious
Would you stick around after being told there was a creeper outside your front door, would you stick around?
How did Jules not alerting the police make you feel? Do you think you would react similarly to protect your child?
What did you think of Deek setting up the attack between Howie and Emma? Did you see that twist coming?
I'm curious, if you are the FEDEX driver, are you attacking Howie or are you running for your life?
Next Book: Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce
Comments
Post a Comment