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nightfly2080's review against another edition
3.0
This was an ok mystery. It bored me in some parts and by the end, i couldn't care less about the resolution of the plot. I listened this in audiobook format, so the narrator kept me entertained by doing all the voices of characters both male and female, though it sounded a little silly sometimes.
shiannefouts's review against another edition
3.0
This wasn't bad. It was boring in parts, but it kept me interested enough to finish it, at least.
writtenbysime's review against another edition
3.0
The perennially sublime Michael Koryta delivers an uneven series launch with Last Words. While the eerie, claustrophobic scenes deep inside Garrison’s massive cave are an obvious highlight, demonstrating Koryta’s extraordinary ability to create moments of pulse-pounding tension from natural environs, the overall plot is a tad uninspired. Well executed for sure, and a definite page-turner; just lacking the spark of, say, Those Who Wish Me Dead.
Markus Novak has been dispatched – banished, really – to Garrison, Indiana to asses a cold case he’s certain his boss has no intention of taking. He knows his superiors just want him out of the office while his future is discussed. Novak is a private investigator for a Florida-based Death Row defence firm, and was a good one, until the murder of his wife two years ago. That case still unsolved, Novak’s life has become one arduous downward spiral, to the extent he’s flirted with less-than-legal means to avenge her death. The case in Garrison – a decade-old cold case involving a dead girl found inside an elaborate cave system by the inscrutable Ridley Barnes – is designed to get Novak out of the way and take his mind off matters at home. But its hooks soon sink deep into his skin: how can Ridley Barnes have no memory of that night? Why is the town’s Sheriff so desperate for Novak to leave? And when Novak himself ends up drugged, and trapped naked inside the same cave system the girl was found in ten years earlier, it becomes personal. Novak won’t stop until he discerns the truth about this small town, and the events of a decade ago.
Koryta evokes wonderful imagery and tension when his characters explore Garrison’s caves. The terror of losing oneself in pitch darkness is intense; so too the realisation that one is beginning to experience the onset of hypothermia. These scenes prove to be the novel’s foundation; it’s unfortunate that the rest of the plot can’t reach the same level. There is nothing technically wrong with the narrative; but the whole ‘outsider comes to town to investigate its hidden past’ shtick has been done to death – and Koryta’s take feels perfunctory rather than innovative.
Last Words leaves the obligatory plot threads dangling for its sequel, and while Markus Novak isn’t a particularly noteworthy protagonist, he deserves a second round to validate his place in the vast echelon of private eyes. This isn’t Michael Koryta’s finest, but his storytelling remains top-notch, and he remains a cut above the competition.
Markus Novak has been dispatched – banished, really – to Garrison, Indiana to asses a cold case he’s certain his boss has no intention of taking. He knows his superiors just want him out of the office while his future is discussed. Novak is a private investigator for a Florida-based Death Row defence firm, and was a good one, until the murder of his wife two years ago. That case still unsolved, Novak’s life has become one arduous downward spiral, to the extent he’s flirted with less-than-legal means to avenge her death. The case in Garrison – a decade-old cold case involving a dead girl found inside an elaborate cave system by the inscrutable Ridley Barnes – is designed to get Novak out of the way and take his mind off matters at home. But its hooks soon sink deep into his skin: how can Ridley Barnes have no memory of that night? Why is the town’s Sheriff so desperate for Novak to leave? And when Novak himself ends up drugged, and trapped naked inside the same cave system the girl was found in ten years earlier, it becomes personal. Novak won’t stop until he discerns the truth about this small town, and the events of a decade ago.
Koryta evokes wonderful imagery and tension when his characters explore Garrison’s caves. The terror of losing oneself in pitch darkness is intense; so too the realisation that one is beginning to experience the onset of hypothermia. These scenes prove to be the novel’s foundation; it’s unfortunate that the rest of the plot can’t reach the same level. There is nothing technically wrong with the narrative; but the whole ‘outsider comes to town to investigate its hidden past’ shtick has been done to death – and Koryta’s take feels perfunctory rather than innovative.
Last Words leaves the obligatory plot threads dangling for its sequel, and while Markus Novak isn’t a particularly noteworthy protagonist, he deserves a second round to validate his place in the vast echelon of private eyes. This isn’t Michael Koryta’s finest, but his storytelling remains top-notch, and he remains a cut above the competition.
vnesting's review against another edition
4.0
Private investigator Mike Novak has been in a downward spiral since his wife was killed two years ago. He is sent to Indiana to look into the unsolved death of a 17-year-old girl a decade ago that still haunts the people of this struggling small town. Mike thinks it will be a quick visit; after all, this is not the kind of case the pro bono company he works for normally accepts. But as he is subjected to a variety of diversionary and scare tactics, he feels the need to pursue it further. Some of the most intense scenes in this book are set in abandoned caves where the girl's body was found. Not for the faint of heart.
audra_spiven's review against another edition
2.0
This book didn't grab me the way I wanted it to. It was recommended by a friend who hadn't finished reading it yet, and he said he thought I'd like it. Had I been inclined to recommend it before I finished it, I probably would've had the same optimistic outlook about it. But I ended up not really liking it at all. The story was slow and confusing, and I ended up being interested more in the frame story than in the story within. That's never a good thing because the frame story is only ever along the edges. So I was disappointed with where this plot went and with how it ended.
I think part of my disappointment was due to misleading jacket copy. The blurb made it sound like the frame story would play a much larger role than--well, than just being a frame. And it didn't. By the time I figured that out, I was pretty much in the last 20 or so pages, so it was one of those things where it was just as pointless to finish as not to finish, so I finished. Wouldn't recommend this to anyone, though.
Oh, this was also #1 in a series, but I won't be checking out any others.
I think part of my disappointment was due to misleading jacket copy. The blurb made it sound like the frame story would play a much larger role than--well, than just being a frame. And it didn't. By the time I figured that out, I was pretty much in the last 20 or so pages, so it was one of those things where it was just as pointless to finish as not to finish, so I finished. Wouldn't recommend this to anyone, though.
Oh, this was also #1 in a series, but I won't be checking out any others.
quinnster's review against another edition
3.0
I liked it enough to want to read the next book, but I think it's mostly because I want to find out the mystery behind Novak's wife's murder. The scenes in the darkness were gripping and when he describes the parts of the cave that were tight and constricting it felt like I was having a hard time breathing! If you are in any way claustrophobic you might want to skim over those parts!
lumpysweater's review against another edition
4.0
Super creepy and intense thriller. Don't read it before you go to bed. You'd think I'd learn by now.
cathipink's review against another edition
2.0
2.5. Far too many uninteresting (i.e. Get thee an editor) words in this book.
kellyhager's review against another edition
4.0
Last Words is a major departure of Michael Koryta's typical novels. (It's more like the first novel of his I read, So Cold the River, which is sort of a weird, almost-paranormal/still-a-thriller hybrid.)
I love Mark, who is not in a great head space after his wife's murder. (Which makes sense; who would be?) He's been sent to investigate this as a mixture of punishment and to get him away from his actual job while things die down (long story; you'll learn it fairly quickly, but suffice it to say mistakes were made).
While I prefer his more straightforward thrillers (which is to say without any sort of paranormal additions), this is still an amazing novel. And it's the first in a series! I can't wait to read the second installment, which looks to focus more on Mark's wife's murder.
Recommended.
I love Mark, who is not in a great head space after his wife's murder. (Which makes sense; who would be?) He's been sent to investigate this as a mixture of punishment and to get him away from his actual job while things die down (long story; you'll learn it fairly quickly, but suffice it to say mistakes were made).
While I prefer his more straightforward thrillers (which is to say without any sort of paranormal additions), this is still an amazing novel. And it's the first in a series! I can't wait to read the second installment, which looks to focus more on Mark's wife's murder.
Recommended.
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