– A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery #3 –
Description
“I’m working on the greatest mystery ever,” was the last thing noted mystery novelist Mercedes Livingston said to seven-year-old Chris Matheson before walking out of Hill House Hotel never to be seen again.
For decades, the writer’s fate remained a puzzling mystery until an autographed novel and a letter put a grown-up Chris Matheson on the trail of a cunning killer. With the help of a team of fellow retired law enforcement officers, each a specialist in their own field of investigation, Chris puts a flame to this cold case to uncover what had really happened that night Mercedes Livingston walked out of Hill House Hotel. Watch out! The clues are getting hot!
- Title: The Last Thing She Said
- Author: Lauren Carr
- Genre: Mystery
- Release Date: July 22, 2019
- YouTube Trailer
- Paperback: 388 pages
- Content Rating: PG-13 (Lauren Carr’s books are murder mysteries, so there are murders involved. Occasionally, a murder will happen on stage. There is sexual content, but always behind closed doors. Some mild swearing (a hell or a damn few and far between). No F-bombs!
ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!
Ends November 30th, 2019
My Thoughts
If you read my review of Winter Frost, Book 2 in the Chris Matheson series, you learned that I struggled with it for a while. There were lots of characters and I was having a difficult time sorting them out.
You will now understand my elation when I opened the most current book in this series. In The Last Thing She Said Carr provides a Cast of Characters. Since I didn’t read the first book and I listened to the audio for the second, I’m guessing she might have provided this for all three books in this series. But I don’t know.
But I found myself referring to this list several times. Carr has The Geezer Squad and a list of the Characters in Order of Appearance. All have a brief description. Below are two examples.
Christopher Matheson (Chris): Widowed father of three girls. After his father’s sudden death, he retires from FBI and moves to family farm in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
Mercedes Livingston: Award-winning, international bestselling author of The Last Thing She Said, a novel said to have changed the mystery genre forever.
Needless to say, I gave a big yippee when I saw those pages at the front of the book!
Moving On With The Review
As I began reading, I was caught up in the story immediately. I couldn’t flip through the pages fast enough. It was interesting and written well.
But as I continued reading I came to a little snag. When the geezers got together to share their thoughts it slowed the story down considerably. It went from person to person in the group and each speaker seemed to be tagged with said. The conversation was distracting and went on far too long. I’m a fan of trying to do away with most tags, or of course tucking them away so that they go unnoticed. This portion of the book was like hitting a large roadblock.
But moving on, as the story continued I was again a happy reader. The plot was very interesting and kept me guessing and reading.
I wouldn’t hesitate for a minute to read another book by Lauren Carr.
I was given a copy of this book by iRead Book Tours. I have voluntarily left this review. Opinions expressed are unbiased and entirely my own. Thank you to #iReadBookTours and #LaurenCarr for this opportunity.
What Concerned Me
The dialog didn’t always work for me.
What I Liked Most
The story started on an interesting note. At one point a very lengthy letter is included in the book. I was afraid it was going to be too long or uninteresting, but that wasn’t the case at all.
I liked the writing and the plot.
About The Author
Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Thorny Rose, Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries—over twenty titles across four fast-paced mystery series filled with twists and turns!
Book reviewers and readers alike rave about how Lauren Carr seamlessly crosses genres to include mystery, suspense, crime fiction, police procedurals, romance, and humor.
Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She lives with her husband, and two spoiled rotten German shepherds on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.
Connect with the author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram
Buy the Book:
Amazon.com
Add to Goodreads
Thank you for the great review of THE LAST THING SHE SAID. On the cast of characters, YEP! I include a cast of characters at the front of all my books. Unfortunately, I haven’t figured out a way to include a cast of characters with the audio version. Thank you again!
I appreciate your comment. This is the first time I’ve read your writing and I’m absolutely sure it won’t be the last! Thanks so much.