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toofondofbooks's review against another edition
5.0
The Last Stage follows Meredith. In the late 1980s she was a hugely successful indie star but something happened which led to her quitting her band at the height of their fame and she made sure to become unrecognisable by starting a new life working at a stately home. One night someone she works with goes missing in strange circumstances and Meredith starts to fear that the past is coming back to get her.
I’m a huge fan of Louise Voss (and have been ever since I bought her first novel To Be Someone, which is still one of my favourite and most read books!) and I’m so happy to say that this book more than lived up to my high expectations. The prologue is so creepy that it gave me chills and I knew then I was going to be hooked all the way through this book (and I was right!). The idea of waking up in the middle of the night to hear footsteps on the stairs and then your bedroom door handle starting to turn is terrifying!
The Last Stage is set in the present but we get chapters from the past from when a 17 year old Meredith goes off to Greenham Common and meets a girl there. I felt equally invested in both timelines and I was desperate to know how the past and present fit together to explain why Meredith was so scared by the thought of things from the past catching up with her.
Louise Voss has created such an interesting and intriguing protagonist in Meredith and I wanted to know more about her from the start. She does make some bad decisions in this book and at times I wanted to reach into the pages and make her do things differently but I could see why she chose to keep quiet about the unnerving things that were happening to her and around her. I think fear affects people in all kinds of ways and while some people would immediately beg for help and support, other people almost shut it down and believe that if they don’t acknowledge it out loud then it can’t possibly be really happening. I really felt for Meredith and was rooting for her to be okay.
I love the title of this book and how over the course of the novel you sense a different meaning in it. I initially thought it was about the last stage Meredith might have performed on as a rock star before she quit, then I thought it might be the last stage of her life but then I wondered if it might not be about Meredith but rather a reference to the last stage of a campaign to ruin her life. Or maybe it’s more to do with the way Meredith has to confront her fears from her past (last as in previous stage) before she can move on. I love when a title gives me lots of possibilities to ponder over!
This book kept me guessing right to the end! I didn’t trust anyone in this novel, they all seemed like they might have something to hide and this made for such a thrilling read. The tension in The Last Stage is there from the start and it slowly builds and builds until you’re literally on the edge of your seat. I even found myself holding my breath during the more tense moments! I loved this novel so much, it was a perfect psychological thriller and one that I’ll be thinking about for a while. It’s tense, thrilling and will keep you up way past your bedtime (and by this point you’ll be nervously wondering if you can hear footsteps on the stairs and if the bedroom door handle is moving!!). An utterly brilliant read!
This review was originally posted on my blog https://rathertoofondofbooks.com
I’m a huge fan of Louise Voss (and have been ever since I bought her first novel To Be Someone, which is still one of my favourite and most read books!) and I’m so happy to say that this book more than lived up to my high expectations. The prologue is so creepy that it gave me chills and I knew then I was going to be hooked all the way through this book (and I was right!). The idea of waking up in the middle of the night to hear footsteps on the stairs and then your bedroom door handle starting to turn is terrifying!
The Last Stage is set in the present but we get chapters from the past from when a 17 year old Meredith goes off to Greenham Common and meets a girl there. I felt equally invested in both timelines and I was desperate to know how the past and present fit together to explain why Meredith was so scared by the thought of things from the past catching up with her.
Louise Voss has created such an interesting and intriguing protagonist in Meredith and I wanted to know more about her from the start. She does make some bad decisions in this book and at times I wanted to reach into the pages and make her do things differently but I could see why she chose to keep quiet about the unnerving things that were happening to her and around her. I think fear affects people in all kinds of ways and while some people would immediately beg for help and support, other people almost shut it down and believe that if they don’t acknowledge it out loud then it can’t possibly be really happening. I really felt for Meredith and was rooting for her to be okay.
I love the title of this book and how over the course of the novel you sense a different meaning in it. I initially thought it was about the last stage Meredith might have performed on as a rock star before she quit, then I thought it might be the last stage of her life but then I wondered if it might not be about Meredith but rather a reference to the last stage of a campaign to ruin her life. Or maybe it’s more to do with the way Meredith has to confront her fears from her past (last as in previous stage) before she can move on. I love when a title gives me lots of possibilities to ponder over!
This book kept me guessing right to the end! I didn’t trust anyone in this novel, they all seemed like they might have something to hide and this made for such a thrilling read. The tension in The Last Stage is there from the start and it slowly builds and builds until you’re literally on the edge of your seat. I even found myself holding my breath during the more tense moments! I loved this novel so much, it was a perfect psychological thriller and one that I’ll be thinking about for a while. It’s tense, thrilling and will keep you up way past your bedtime (and by this point you’ll be nervously wondering if you can hear footsteps on the stairs and if the bedroom door handle is moving!!). An utterly brilliant read!
This review was originally posted on my blog https://rathertoofondofbooks.com
kellyvandamme's review against another edition
5.0
The Last Stage is one of those novels that is everything but clichéd, but still evokes all kinds of clichés in me: it’s gripping, it’s addictive, it’s unputdownable, I was glued to the pages. I hate to shower you with clichés but The Last Stage is in fact all of those things, and I was in fact totally glued to those pages.
I was such a fan of Louise Voss’s The Old You, it was one of my favourite thrillers last year, if you haven’t read it you totally should! With The Old You in mind and having read the blurb of The Last Stage I literally couldn’t wait to get my grubby little hands on it. I couldn’t believe my luck when Karen Sullivan from Orenda Books most generously gifted me a proof copy when she got wind of my Waiting on Wednesday, thanks so much Karen!!! Did I have heaps of blog tour books to read? Why yes, I did! Did I read The Last Stage instead? Why yes, I did! That flash on the cover kept winking at me until I could no longer resist!
So there I was, with sky-high expectations, I had an hour to spare on a cold Sunday evening (you know, while waiting for Orenda Books At Bedtime as you do) and I thought well why not dip into it. 100 pages later I came up for air, well and truly hooked.
The Last Stage is the story of Meredith, expertly told, past and present interwoven.
In the past, Meredith was a teenager who went to a protest and fell in love with a woman. A girl who lived in a squat home and had zero contact with her family. And eventually Merry, lead singer in a popular band, paranoid, stalked, attacked.
In the present, Meredith has a gift shop in a country estate that’s open to the public. Life is simple, life is good. Well, good enough anyway. She may regret not having a partner or kids, and she may suffer from her old paranoia every once in a while, but her boss is also a close friend, she’s best friends with her boss’s wife and she’s very close to her twin brother Pete. But then things get messed up. A murder, another murder, what the hell is happening, and how is everything connected?
The short chapters propel the story forwards, tantalising me with cliffhangers, seducing me into reading just one more chapter, begging me to pick it up whenever I put it down.
And the culprit? Nope, I did not see that one coming, so yeah the finale came as a shock. And yet, it was so believable, so plausible, not like a massive twist that comes out of nowhere (I hate those) but something I could have foreseen if I had paid just a little more attention. Couldn’t I have? I’ll let you know when I’ve re-read it.
With the finale comes not only shock, but also sadness, and an echo of the butterfly effect: one teeny tiny decision, one small action, can change lives.
In a nutshell: The Last Stage confirms Louise Voss is the queen of the psychological thriller and I cannot recommend it enough!
I was such a fan of Louise Voss’s The Old You, it was one of my favourite thrillers last year, if you haven’t read it you totally should! With The Old You in mind and having read the blurb of The Last Stage I literally couldn’t wait to get my grubby little hands on it. I couldn’t believe my luck when Karen Sullivan from Orenda Books most generously gifted me a proof copy when she got wind of my Waiting on Wednesday, thanks so much Karen!!! Did I have heaps of blog tour books to read? Why yes, I did! Did I read The Last Stage instead? Why yes, I did! That flash on the cover kept winking at me until I could no longer resist!
So there I was, with sky-high expectations, I had an hour to spare on a cold Sunday evening (you know, while waiting for Orenda Books At Bedtime as you do) and I thought well why not dip into it. 100 pages later I came up for air, well and truly hooked.
The Last Stage is the story of Meredith, expertly told, past and present interwoven.
In the past, Meredith was a teenager who went to a protest and fell in love with a woman. A girl who lived in a squat home and had zero contact with her family. And eventually Merry, lead singer in a popular band, paranoid, stalked, attacked.
In the present, Meredith has a gift shop in a country estate that’s open to the public. Life is simple, life is good. Well, good enough anyway. She may regret not having a partner or kids, and she may suffer from her old paranoia every once in a while, but her boss is also a close friend, she’s best friends with her boss’s wife and she’s very close to her twin brother Pete. But then things get messed up. A murder, another murder, what the hell is happening, and how is everything connected?
The short chapters propel the story forwards, tantalising me with cliffhangers, seducing me into reading just one more chapter, begging me to pick it up whenever I put it down.
And the culprit? Nope, I did not see that one coming, so yeah the finale came as a shock. And yet, it was so believable, so plausible, not like a massive twist that comes out of nowhere (I hate those) but something I could have foreseen if I had paid just a little more attention. Couldn’t I have? I’ll let you know when I’ve re-read it.
With the finale comes not only shock, but also sadness, and an echo of the butterfly effect: one teeny tiny decision, one small action, can change lives.
In a nutshell: The Last Stage confirms Louise Voss is the queen of the psychological thriller and I cannot recommend it enough!
mixingrealitywithfiction's review against another edition
4.0
Woah, I need a lie down. This was absolutely stunning.
I’m not ashamed to admit it, but this was my first book by Louise Voss and now, I need more of her books in my life.
Meredith, is one character throughout my reading journey here, who really struck a chord with me. Though, even several days later, I still don’t know why. But thinking about it now, I’m wondering if it was the way she was with her brother or whether its because at the beginning she’s portrayed to be scared of someone?? She also comes across as unpredictable, more so, in the sense that I never knew where I stood with her.
The last stage, is an incredibly pacy, twisty whodunnit novel that is bound to leave the reader on edge and guessing.
I highly recommend this book – but, please, set aside plenty of time to read, because trust me, once you start, you won’t want to put the book down.
I’m not ashamed to admit it, but this was my first book by Louise Voss and now, I need more of her books in my life.
Meredith, is one character throughout my reading journey here, who really struck a chord with me. Though, even several days later, I still don’t know why. But thinking about it now, I’m wondering if it was the way she was with her brother or whether its because at the beginning she’s portrayed to be scared of someone?? She also comes across as unpredictable, more so, in the sense that I never knew where I stood with her.
The last stage, is an incredibly pacy, twisty whodunnit novel that is bound to leave the reader on edge and guessing.
I highly recommend this book – but, please, set aside plenty of time to read, because trust me, once you start, you won’t want to put the book down.
mpr2000's review against another edition
4.0
Did you know that vengeance is better served cold? This is the story of Meredith who had been living in fear half of her life. In the past someone attacked her and now it seems that is back, why? And is she safe now?
Meredith was the singer of a top band when she was young, now she is scared if someone recognises her. But she is happy now living in the anonymity, she has a job she loves, has her beloved brother near her and has some good friends. Sadly, after a call strange things start to happen… She will try not to pay attention to them when one of her friends appear dead, she can only thing that is her fault!
This had been a slow burning thriller, with some flashbacks from the past and the story told between different characters, makes the story more amend and interesting. And of course, you don’t know who is the culprit till the end!
Meredith is not a Saint, there were some possible candidates to become the “intruder” and I was trying to discover the truth before the end but I didn’t succeed! I was hopping for a motive a little bit darker, but sometimes the important part is not the motive but the vengeance per se!
If you are looking for a quick read mystery that will keep you interested since the first page this is your read! I am sure that it will the perfect friend for this summer!
Ready to discover “The Last Stage”?
Meredith was the singer of a top band when she was young, now she is scared if someone recognises her. But she is happy now living in the anonymity, she has a job she loves, has her beloved brother near her and has some good friends. Sadly, after a call strange things start to happen… She will try not to pay attention to them when one of her friends appear dead, she can only thing that is her fault!
This had been a slow burning thriller, with some flashbacks from the past and the story told between different characters, makes the story more amend and interesting. And of course, you don’t know who is the culprit till the end!
Meredith is not a Saint, there were some possible candidates to become the “intruder” and I was trying to discover the truth before the end but I didn’t succeed! I was hopping for a motive a little bit darker, but sometimes the important part is not the motive but the vengeance per se!
If you are looking for a quick read mystery that will keep you interested since the first page this is your read! I am sure that it will the perfect friend for this summer!
Ready to discover “The Last Stage”?
lily_peach's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Violence, and Police brutality
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, and Sexual content
Minor: Gun violence and Pregnancy
always_need_more_books's review against another edition
4.0
Meredith Vincent, once a world famous singer in rock band Cohen, is living the quiet life in obscurity, working in a gift shop in a stately home. She lives in a cottage on the estate, she has only a couple of close friends and no-one apart from her twin brother Pete knows about her previous life.
We quickly find out that something happened to Meredith that caused her to disappear from the public eye, something terrifying which still haunts her to this day. One day when she turns up at the shop she finds it has been vandalised. She also has her garden damaged. And then, when a body of a friend of Meredith’s turns up in a pond on the estate, she realises that someone is watching her and has returned to finish what they started over 20 years before…
This was a great thriller! There were a lot of threads to this story – I was desperate to find out what had happened to Meredith (who for some reason I pictured as Kim Wilde in my head!) and Voss did a good job of teasing out the threads of the story at just the right pace. As well as the present day, we return to the early 1980s, where we meet the teenage Meredith, rebelling against the establishment and her parents, falling in love with a woman and leaving home after her dad died to live in a squat in London, before joining a band and hitting the big time.
I really enjoyed the writing and it kept me highly entertained which is just what you want in a thriller! I always think the sign of a good book is that I start looking forward to my lunch break at work so I can read some more! The threat in the book felt very real and Voss does a good job of ramping up the levels of anxiety I felt. I loved the relationship between Meredith and Pete – after several years of estrangement, the love they feel for each other is touching. The setting of a country house and a pretty little village made it even more atmospheric.
A real page turner of a thriller, the pace and storytelling made this a fast read, which I really enjoyed!
We quickly find out that something happened to Meredith that caused her to disappear from the public eye, something terrifying which still haunts her to this day. One day when she turns up at the shop she finds it has been vandalised. She also has her garden damaged. And then, when a body of a friend of Meredith’s turns up in a pond on the estate, she realises that someone is watching her and has returned to finish what they started over 20 years before…
This was a great thriller! There were a lot of threads to this story – I was desperate to find out what had happened to Meredith (who for some reason I pictured as Kim Wilde in my head!) and Voss did a good job of teasing out the threads of the story at just the right pace. As well as the present day, we return to the early 1980s, where we meet the teenage Meredith, rebelling against the establishment and her parents, falling in love with a woman and leaving home after her dad died to live in a squat in London, before joining a band and hitting the big time.
I really enjoyed the writing and it kept me highly entertained which is just what you want in a thriller! I always think the sign of a good book is that I start looking forward to my lunch break at work so I can read some more! The threat in the book felt very real and Voss does a good job of ramping up the levels of anxiety I felt. I loved the relationship between Meredith and Pete – after several years of estrangement, the love they feel for each other is touching. The setting of a country house and a pretty little village made it even more atmospheric.
A real page turner of a thriller, the pace and storytelling made this a fast read, which I really enjoyed!
thisguybooks's review against another edition
5.0
Quick Synopsis:
Once an 80's pop star, Merideth now lives alone. She's out of the spotlight hiding from a past that seems determined to find her.
Review: Five out of Five Stars
This was an unexpectedly great book! I hadn't read any Louise Voss prior to this but she has definitely jumped onto the list of authors I need to read more of.
Overall it's a standard mystery/thriller entry but her writing is quite good, it takes time to develop the main character without feeling the need to dump outrageous plot on the reader.
Merideth is generally likable but imperfect, the supporting cast isn't quite as fleshed out but still compelling.
Once an 80's pop star, Merideth now lives alone. She's out of the spotlight hiding from a past that seems determined to find her.
Review: Five out of Five Stars
This was an unexpectedly great book! I hadn't read any Louise Voss prior to this but she has definitely jumped onto the list of authors I need to read more of.
Overall it's a standard mystery/thriller entry but her writing is quite good, it takes time to develop the main character without feeling the need to dump outrageous plot on the reader.
Merideth is generally likable but imperfect, the supporting cast isn't quite as fleshed out but still compelling.
pznightingale's review against another edition
4.0
Really well written. A very engaging beginning, a small slump, and then gripping until the very end. Plenty of big twists. Fun read.
noveldeelights's review against another edition
3.0
Despite having written eleven novels over the years, Louise Voss is still very much a new-to-me author. Her previous book, The Old You, is the only one I’ve read so far (still one of my favourites too!) and I was quite excited to see what she’d come up with next.
That next book is here and it’s called The Last Stage. Meredith Vincent was the lead singer of a legendary 1980’s indie band. Until one day, she turned her back on it all and retreated to a little cottage on the grounds of an old stately home; choosing a quiet life working in a gift shop, rather than the bright and dazzling lights of the stage.
Few people know what made Meredith decide to change her life like that and the reader is fed little clues along the way with chapters that take us back to Meredith’s rise and ultimate fall in the music industry. I enjoyed that journey as a fascinating ripple effect of decision upon decision, some extremely innocuous and innocent, take Meredith on a path she couldn’t have predicted at all. You just can’t help but wonder how different things would have been if she’d made other choices. Hindsight and all that.
Meredith now leads a quiet and peaceful life but things are about to change when the estate manager is found dead. Meredith starts to notice other little things but is she merely being paranoid or has someone found out who she is and more importantly, where she is?
The disturbing prologue pulls you in from the get-go, to be followed by something a bit murder-at-the-mansion like and what’s not to love about that? There’s a delicious kind of threatening vibe running through the storyline, this feeling deep in your bones that says something is coming but you have no idea what that will be. Just that it won’t be anything good, obviously. I couldn’t at all figure out who was behind it all or why, even though it seemed fairly clear that it had something to do with Meredith’s past. It’s hard not to feel for her, the terror she deals with, never feeling safe and constantly wondering what’s coming next. I’d be hiding too.
There’s absolutely no denying Louise Voss is a brilliant writer. The Last Stage is an unsettling read, with short chapters that urge you on to keep reading. A well-paced story of obsession and revenge that shows off Louise Voss’ ability to diversify and I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next.
That next book is here and it’s called The Last Stage. Meredith Vincent was the lead singer of a legendary 1980’s indie band. Until one day, she turned her back on it all and retreated to a little cottage on the grounds of an old stately home; choosing a quiet life working in a gift shop, rather than the bright and dazzling lights of the stage.
Few people know what made Meredith decide to change her life like that and the reader is fed little clues along the way with chapters that take us back to Meredith’s rise and ultimate fall in the music industry. I enjoyed that journey as a fascinating ripple effect of decision upon decision, some extremely innocuous and innocent, take Meredith on a path she couldn’t have predicted at all. You just can’t help but wonder how different things would have been if she’d made other choices. Hindsight and all that.
Meredith now leads a quiet and peaceful life but things are about to change when the estate manager is found dead. Meredith starts to notice other little things but is she merely being paranoid or has someone found out who she is and more importantly, where she is?
The disturbing prologue pulls you in from the get-go, to be followed by something a bit murder-at-the-mansion like and what’s not to love about that? There’s a delicious kind of threatening vibe running through the storyline, this feeling deep in your bones that says something is coming but you have no idea what that will be. Just that it won’t be anything good, obviously. I couldn’t at all figure out who was behind it all or why, even though it seemed fairly clear that it had something to do with Meredith’s past. It’s hard not to feel for her, the terror she deals with, never feeling safe and constantly wondering what’s coming next. I’d be hiding too.
There’s absolutely no denying Louise Voss is a brilliant writer. The Last Stage is an unsettling read, with short chapters that urge you on to keep reading. A well-paced story of obsession and revenge that shows off Louise Voss’ ability to diversify and I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next.