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3.08 AVERAGE
3.08 AVERAGE
Do you ever wonder where a story is going and then when it finally gets there, you weren’t sure you should have waited around to see?
When it takes that much discussion to see who did what and why – and then that many flips and flops as to why about the why so that we as readers are supposed to be satisfied about the why?
Hmmm… should we be satisfied with the final outcome?
So, should I have started with the end here?
Kiki didn’t love Jamie enough to marry him, so she broke up with him. And, then she sees him at a book launch for a mutual friend of theirs. He says he is doing fine. But afterwards she discovers he has supposedly committed suicide. Kiki doesn’t believe he has, even though the police are convinced.
Now, what does this have to do with the murder of a girl that happened 4 years earlier? There is an unknown narrator here, too to provide more confusion.
So, Kiki may be an engaging main character who wants to believe that Jamie didn’t kill himself, and that he didn’t kill this girl 4 years ago. And, she will do everything to figure this out. Even putting herself in danger. Isn’t that typically what amateur sleuths do in murder mysteries?
And, that is what leads me to all those questions above.
Maybe others may find this an intriguing and complex psychological thriller. I found it a bit messy needing too much explanation to make it plausible.
When it takes that much discussion to see who did what and why – and then that many flips and flops as to why about the why so that we as readers are supposed to be satisfied about the why?
Hmmm… should we be satisfied with the final outcome?
So, should I have started with the end here?
Kiki didn’t love Jamie enough to marry him, so she broke up with him. And, then she sees him at a book launch for a mutual friend of theirs. He says he is doing fine. But afterwards she discovers he has supposedly committed suicide. Kiki doesn’t believe he has, even though the police are convinced.
Now, what does this have to do with the murder of a girl that happened 4 years earlier? There is an unknown narrator here, too to provide more confusion.
So, Kiki may be an engaging main character who wants to believe that Jamie didn’t kill himself, and that he didn’t kill this girl 4 years ago. And, she will do everything to figure this out. Even putting herself in danger. Isn’t that typically what amateur sleuths do in murder mysteries?
And, that is what leads me to all those questions above.
Maybe others may find this an intriguing and complex psychological thriller. I found it a bit messy needing too much explanation to make it plausible.
Kiki Reed has just broken off her engagement to Jaime Larsson. He was a great guy, but Kiki felt like he was not the one for her. When they went their separate ways, Kiki knew she would run into Jaime at parties and get together. When Kiki got an invite to a friend’s party, she know that Jaime be there as well.
When people were leaving, they heard a gunshot. The friends run outside to see if everyone is ok, and they find Jaime in his car, dead from a gunshot. When the authorities think that this is a case of suicide, Kiki knows they are wrong. She is determined to find out what happened to Jaime and bring that person responsible to justice.
For me, this was a difficult book to finish. I found Kiki to be spacey, and similar to a dog chancing his tail. I needed one of her friends to just tell her, “Girl, Stop and think it through!” I felt like the story was going around and around. I also felt like she jumped to wild conclusions every time she uncovered a new piece of information. There were some points that I did enjoy, like not knowing who “did it” and so stuck with it. The premise of a women attempting to solve the mysterious death of her ex-fiancé fell very flat.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Harper Perennial for providing me an early copy to read in exchange for my honest review.
When people were leaving, they heard a gunshot. The friends run outside to see if everyone is ok, and they find Jaime in his car, dead from a gunshot. When the authorities think that this is a case of suicide, Kiki knows they are wrong. She is determined to find out what happened to Jaime and bring that person responsible to justice.
For me, this was a difficult book to finish. I found Kiki to be spacey, and similar to a dog chancing his tail. I needed one of her friends to just tell her, “Girl, Stop and think it through!” I felt like the story was going around and around. I also felt like she jumped to wild conclusions every time she uncovered a new piece of information. There were some points that I did enjoy, like not knowing who “did it” and so stuck with it. The premise of a women attempting to solve the mysterious death of her ex-fiancé fell very flat.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Harper Perennial for providing me an early copy to read in exchange for my honest review.
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Quick Take:
The Last Time She Saw Him is a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers. With its complex plot, well-developed characters, and suspenseful writing, it is a book that will keep you guessing until the very end. While some readers may find the ending to be a bit disappointing, the journey to get there is well worth the read.
The Last Time She Saw Him is a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers. With its complex plot, well-developed characters, and suspenseful writing, it is a book that will keep you guessing until the very end. While some readers may find the ending to be a bit disappointing, the journey to get there is well worth the read.
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Stilted writing, not one but two predictable and unsatisfying plots, flat characters, and an audiobook narrator whose performance depicts half of the voices with an off-putting and deeply fake chest voice (making some male characters and female characters of color sound the same). Just, ugh.
Disclosure: I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley, however all opinions are my own.
I'm going to start this review by saying that I have read A LOT of White's books. Any time I see that she has a new one out, I want to read it. But often, I'm left with this feeling that I just read something cookie cutter. Her MCs are always perfect and often well to do, or they mix well with other well to do people. I just want characters that are less PERFECT.
That said, this is one of her better books. The story moved quickly and I could not stop guessing. I thought that shortly into it I had it all figured out, but I was completely wrong, which I appreciated! Sometimes I find Kate's MCs to be Mary Sues, and Kiki was a bit like this, but she also had a bit of a spark that I don't always see in White's characters, which I appreciated.
I really wanted more of the mystery. I felt like part of this book was a second chance romance kind of thing, and I would have been fine with that, if this book hadn't been listed as a thriller. I also found it completely ridiculous that so many people thought Jamie committed suicide considering the way in which he was found.
I definitely liked this story more than a lot of White's stories recently, however I just need more realism in the future.
I'm going to start this review by saying that I have read A LOT of White's books. Any time I see that she has a new one out, I want to read it. But often, I'm left with this feeling that I just read something cookie cutter. Her MCs are always perfect and often well to do, or they mix well with other well to do people. I just want characters that are less PERFECT.
That said, this is one of her better books. The story moved quickly and I could not stop guessing. I thought that shortly into it I had it all figured out, but I was completely wrong, which I appreciated! Sometimes I find Kate's MCs to be Mary Sues, and Kiki was a bit like this, but she also had a bit of a spark that I don't always see in White's characters, which I appreciated.
I really wanted more of the mystery. I felt like part of this book was a second chance romance kind of thing, and I would have been fine with that, if this book hadn't been listed as a thriller. I also found it completely ridiculous that so many people thought Jamie committed suicide considering the way in which he was found.
I definitely liked this story more than a lot of White's stories recently, however I just need more realism in the future.
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No