Scan barcode
greatestheights's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
More spoilers from here on out, as I bravely dare to rate and review a thriller about a murderous writer going after the bored, grieving woman who roasted his book on Amazon. I too am bored and grieving, but this is Goodreads, and I promise not to be too mean.
Anyway.
I am once again absolutely begging thriller writers to please, for the love of God, stop writing villains with mental illness. It is not the fun plot device you think it is! I've known and cared for two people who have Howard's diagnosis, and it's not a goddamn punch line. People with mental illness are far more likely to be the victims of violence than the perpetrators of it. Too, Howard's diagnosis was a red herring. It added nothing to his character except to perpetuate a bunch of gross stereotypes.
That aside, I enjoyed a lot of things about this book. It was entertaining, creepy, full of twists, and the aforementioned (alive!) dog should have been the narrator. I also spent a ton of time rolling my eyes, sending screenshots to my best friend demanding to know how there could be so many hours left in the audiobook by the fifth time I thought it surely had to be drawing to a close, and wondering how many more times Howard was going to bisect something.
This is just a PSA to all white ladies: If you smell synthetic butter around your remote rental house and think a shadowy figure is watching you sleep, do not pass go, do not collect whatever the fuck, do not CONTINUE BLITHELY LIVING IN THE HOUSE — just leave. Also, don't play Hangman with random old men who have telescopes. Also also, how did this genius astrophysicist warrior woman not know what Hangman was?!
A BIG TW BELOW:
tw tw tw tw infant loss!!!
Idk why I keep picking up books that have surprise infant loss plotlines, but lol, I keep finding them. The detail was particularly brutal, and even though I knew it was coming, I sobbed for the last hour of this book.
Lots of other stuff to say about the plot and characters and Emma's interesting range of choices, but I've truly gone on long enough and I'm still not sure how I want to rate it. Twoish stars because...*gestures broadly*
Taylor Adams, if you're reading this, please don't murder me with a katana.
Graphic: Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Sexism, Kidnapping, Gore, Vomit, Blood, Stalking, Car accident, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Infertility
Moderate: Bullying and Alcoholism
mflynn8908's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I did guess what was going to happen about 50% into the story but the author had some twists towards the end that made me second guess if I was correct or not so it did keep me invested in reading the story.
This is the second book I’ve read from this author so far and I can say that I actually enjoyed this one much more than I enjoyed no exit.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Infertility, Stalking, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Child death and Car accident
Minor: Animal cruelty, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Vomit, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, and Body horror
ohhthehorrors's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Death, Car accident, Death of parent, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Misogyny, Stalking, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Infertility, and Suicidal thoughts
emeraldsanto's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Blood, Medical content, Vomit, Alcohol, Car accident, Gore, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Child death, Alcoholism, Stalking, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, and Suicidal thoughts
mrsreads1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Stalking, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism and Child death
jamie_rich's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Murder, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Gore, Alcoholism, Infertility, Child death, Violence, Blood, Suicide, Death, Abandonment, Stalking, Torture, Car accident, Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
steed17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Blood and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Grief, Infertility, Child death, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts
soobooksalot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The Last Word is a genuinely gripping thriller. Like, whip-through-the-pages good.
You've got an off-kilter author of some crappy horror novels, a reader giving a one-star review, a secluded beach house and some sneaky secrets.
The Last Word is right back to the fantastic cinema-ready thriller Taylor Adams established in No Exit. There's some awesome twisty creepiness here!
Unplug that landline and sharpen your katana - recommended!
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Child death, Alcoholism, Car accident, Animal cruelty, Grief, Gun violence, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Murder
haritha4may's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Suicide attempt, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, and Alcoholism
Minor: Child death and Domestic abuse
marrireadsandrambles's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Animal cruelty, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Car accident, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Stalking, and Infertility
Minor: Alcoholism and Bullying
The dog survives!