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A review by the_joyful_book_club
The Last Word by Taylor Adams
5.0
Short backstory about this book: I saw this about a month ago at Barnes & Noble. As a book blogger, I tend to feel a little guilty when I buy new books since I almost always have new books in my pipeline to read. So I leave and don't buy the book. In the next month, the synopsis kept popping back into my mind. I can't remember the title, and I try googling it, which brings up nothing but past stories of when some one-off authors behaved badly in the past by being mad at reviewers, doctored-up reviews, etc. I finally go back to the bookstore, find the book and just buy it. And then proceed to read it in one day. A success.
Emma is house-sitting on Strand Beach, a remote area that while busy in the summer, is fairly deserted once it's the off-season. The author does an incredible job of making the reader feel the gloomy desolation of the Washington coast: it's stormy and windy, the days can be gray and foggy, and no one else is around. You can feel your own mind play tricks on you as you read this story, trying to guess what is real and what's not. This was an excellent execution by the author to keep the tension high while tempering it with logic, and the warring thoughts of rationalization and gut instinct.
Emma mainly reads books, walks her dog, Laika, and occasionally chats with her neighbor via whiteboards and telescopes. As a reader, we know Emma is grieving but we never truly know from what, as we see small flashbacks from memories with her husband, Shawn. But she does take a book recommendation from her neighbor for a book called "Murder Mountain" by H.G. Kane. The book is terrible, and Emma leaves a 1-star review for the book. The author actually replies to Emma's review, asking her to remove it, and she refuses. Then strange things start happening.
First, Emma wakes up and sees someone in her bedroom. When she turns on the light, no one is there. Later, she's walking on the beach and notices a second set of footprints by hers, but she never sees anyone else on the isolated beach. Then a figure in a mask is captured on a security camera.
The back half of this book is insane. There is really no way I can talk about it without giving away spoilers. I will say this: you'll think you've figured it out, or that something is final, and it gets turned around again and again. It was easily the most thrilling book I have read in a very long time.
I would absolutely recommend this book; I absolutely devoured it. It was atmospheric, tense, thrilling, and well-thought-out. It never became convoluted or confusing, especially impressive considering how fast-paced this story moves.
Emma is house-sitting on Strand Beach, a remote area that while busy in the summer, is fairly deserted once it's the off-season. The author does an incredible job of making the reader feel the gloomy desolation of the Washington coast: it's stormy and windy, the days can be gray and foggy, and no one else is around. You can feel your own mind play tricks on you as you read this story, trying to guess what is real and what's not. This was an excellent execution by the author to keep the tension high while tempering it with logic, and the warring thoughts of rationalization and gut instinct.
Emma mainly reads books, walks her dog, Laika, and occasionally chats with her neighbor via whiteboards and telescopes. As a reader, we know Emma is grieving but we never truly know from what, as we see small flashbacks from memories with her husband, Shawn. But she does take a book recommendation from her neighbor for a book called "Murder Mountain" by H.G. Kane. The book is terrible, and Emma leaves a 1-star review for the book. The author actually replies to Emma's review, asking her to remove it, and she refuses. Then strange things start happening.
First, Emma wakes up and sees someone in her bedroom. When she turns on the light, no one is there. Later, she's walking on the beach and notices a second set of footprints by hers, but she never sees anyone else on the isolated beach. Then a figure in a mask is captured on a security camera.
The back half of this book is insane. There is really no way I can talk about it without giving away spoilers. I will say this: you'll think you've figured it out, or that something is final, and it gets turned around again and again. It was easily the most thrilling book I have read in a very long time.
I would absolutely recommend this book; I absolutely devoured it. It was atmospheric, tense, thrilling, and well-thought-out. It never became convoluted or confusing, especially impressive considering how fast-paced this story moves.