The Last Word
Ratings17
Average rating3.7
After posting a negative book review, a woman living in a remote location begins to wonder if the author is a little touchy—or very, very dangerous—in this pulse-pounding novel of psychological suspense and terror from the critically acclaimed author of No Exit and Hairpin Bridge. Emma Carpenter lives in isolation with her golden retriever Laika, house-sitting an old beachfront home on the rainy Washington coast. Her only human contact is her enigmatic old neighbor, Deek, and (via text) the house’s owner, Jules. One day, she reads a poorly written—but gruesome—horror novel by the author H. G. Kane, and posts a one-star review that drags her into an online argument with none other than the author himself. Soon after, disturbing incidents start to occur at night. To Emma, this can’t just be a coincidence. It was strange enough for this author to bicker with her online about a lousy review; could he be stalking her, too? As Emma digs into Kane’s life and work, she learns he has published sixteen other novels, all similarly sadistic tales of stalking and murder. But who is he? How did he find her? And what else is he capable of? Displaying his trademark command of rapid-fire pacing, unnerving atmosphere, and razor-sharp characterization, Taylor Adams once again delivers a diabolically disturbing—and deadly—game of cat and mouse.
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Books in this genre are pretty much all the same - nothing really wrong with their writing, just nothing special. This was something different, though. The author really knows how to ramp up the tension and make you feel it. I really didn’t want to stop reading and read most if it the same day. This is the first book of this kind I’ve read in a long time where I really wanted to read another of the author’s books right away.
Did I guess the killer by the middle of the book? Yes.
Did the ending go a bit wild and kinda unbelievable? Yes.
But boy did I have fun. I absolutely loved the tone differences between the written book vs the real story. I found the character believable and I understood her actions which is half the battle in thriller books for me. If you don't mind your triller going a bit on the campy side you are gonna love this fast paces thrill of a book.
DNF @ 42 %
You know when you want to start skimming at 20% it's not a great outlook for the book. But I persevered and tried more but this felt like a slog, and honestly no thriller should feel like a slog.
I loved the premise of this one but it just came off as a bit cheesy and cringy, and I didn't like the back and forth between the normal chapters and his book chapters(?). Just an odd choice.
I know this will work for many people but I am not those people and that's okay
