The Last One Home – ARC Book Review

A razor-sharp novel of suspense about the lies families tell—and those we choose to believe—by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of Jane Doe.

Lauren Abrams wants nothing to do with her damaged mother, whose spurious testimony sent Lauren’s father to prison for murder years ago. After a serial killer’s confession to the crime restored justice, Lauren chose to live with her father and grandmother. Now an adult, Lauren has come home to the Sacramento family estate for good, her mother’s lies be damned…

It’s been decades since Donna made her cheating boyfriend pay, but she hasn’t forgotten the past. She knows her estranged daughter has made a terrible mistake by returning to the estate. There’s more to the story of the welcoming old homestead—and her childhood—than Lauren knows.

As Lauren settles in, she is haunted by the questions of what really happened with her father, what her mother might be hiding, and what secrets the family ranch holds. It’s getting so dark, Lauren may not be able to see the truth to save her life

No. of pages:- 301 pages

Publisher:- Lake Union

Date published:- will be published on 30th March 2021

Genre:- Domestic Thriller

Lauren Abrams inherits a house from her grandmother and has an estranged relationship with her own mother, who apparently lied and sent her father to the prison over the death of a girl. Now the person who actually did commit the crime is safe behind the bars and her father is a free man, happily married. Lauren gets messages from the killer himself who is in the prison. Meanwhile, she uncovers a secret in the house…

I haven’t read her previous books Jane Doe yet, which is actually in my want to read book list so I was excited to try this book out first. The story is told from the perspectives of Lauren, which is present day and Donna, Lauren’s mother, back in the 1980’s when she was pregnant with Lauren, each recounting about their encounter with that particular house. To me, it wasn’t fast paced but more like a sleepy thriller, not much twists and turns as I expect to from a thriller. The writing was however OK and good. It was however a short thriller but nonetheless I thought this was kind of an OK thriller–not like a dying thriller with twists and turns. Kind of predictable as well.

Overall, I give this book three stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union for this ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion.

Victoria Helen Stone is the nom de plume for USA Today bestselling author Victoria Dahl. After publishing more than twenty-five novels, she is now taking a turn toward the darker side of genre fiction. Born and educated in the Midwest, she finished her first manuscript just after college. In 2016, the American Library Association awarded her the prestigious Reading List Award for outstanding genre fiction. Having escaped the plains of her youth, she now resides with her family in a small town high in the Rocky Mountains, where she enjoys hiking, snowshoeing, and not skiing (too dangerous).