An unsolved crime pits a desperate woman against a relentless killer in New York Times bestselling author Mary Burton’s heart-stopping novel of psychological suspense… still suffers the guilt of running away in fear and resents being interrogated as a suspect in the immediate aftermath. Now Kaitlin has only one way to assuage the pain and nightmares—by interviewing everyone associated with the unsolved crime for a podcast that could finally bring closure to a case gone cold.
But when a woman Kaitlin questions is later found stabbed to death, she fears that she’s drawn a killer out of hiding. It’s Detective John Adler’s fear that the murders have only just begun. Now his job is to keep Kaitlin safe.
As a bond between Kaitlin and Adler builds, the past closes in just as fast—and it’s darker than Kaitlin remembers. Soon, her wish will come true. She’s going to find out exactly what happened to Gina. Someone has been dying to tell her.
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Mary Burton is one of those authors that when I see she has a new book out, I have to grab it right away because I know I will be able to disappear for hours into a solid, intriguing plot with realistic, interesting characters for the length of the book. She never disappoints.
Fourteen years ago, Kaitlin Roe witnessed the abduction of her cousin, Gina Mason. There were four girls partying by the river. Two friends were picked up by a relative while Kaitlin and Gina stumbled towards Gina’s home. Scared to death, drunk and drugged when Gina was grabbed, the abductor told Kaitlin to run and she did. She only has vague memories of that night, but fourteen years of guilt.
Kaitlin has returned to Virginia to make a podcast of Gina’s disappearance. She will never forgive herself, but she hopes through new interviews to bring Gina’s cold case back to life, find out what really happened and bring Gina home. Kaitlin’s podcast interviews attract attention, but not everyone wants the truth to be known.
Detective John Adler is assigned a murder case that overlaps with Kaitlin’s interviews. Is it a coincidence or is the cold case leading to murder in the present day to cover up the past? As Adler works to solve the case, he also has to worry if Kaitlin could have provoked the killer to come for her next.
This book was written not only in chapters, but it is also divided by podcast interviews. The interviews add an interesting twist, because you do not know if the person being interviewed is telling the truth. Between the current plotline, the podcast interviews and Kaitlin’s memories of the past the mystery and suspense continually build. There are several red herrings and the ending was a surprise.
The relationship between Adler and Kaitlin was realistic with Adler not giving her certain information as it was an official investigation and her distrust of police since Gina’s disappearance. The romance was well paced and intertwined throughout the last half of story in a believable fashion. I was once again satisfied in every way with a Mary Burton book!
Thanks very much to Montlake Romance and Net Galley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
It’s 2004. A drunken Gina Mason is grabbed off the road where she is walking with her cousin, Kaitlin Roe, who is also drunk. They are returning home after a graduation celebration party at a favorite beach hangout. The abductor is wearing a scary clown mask. He yells at Kaitlin, “Run or I’ll kill you.” She runs.
Fourteen years later Kaitlin decides to do a podcast to try to figure out what happened to her cousin Gina all those years ago. It’s a cold case. The police rarely spend much time and energy on a cold case. Unfortunately they will have to now. Kaitlin’s podcast project has stirred the pot. People are dying. Why now? Who is the murderer and why kill these people?
Author Mary Burton is one of my all-time favorite romantic suspense authors. She has an uncanny ability to draw you in and keep you in suspense in such a way you just can’t put her book down. She crafts characters so well you can easily identify with them. Her villians scream “evil” when you read about them. They just “get” to you. Her plots are always very smooth and Her Last Word is a perfect example of this. I never get lost or confused while reading this author’s books. In addition her police procedures are so authentic. I especially appreciated in this story the inside peek of the state forensic department which gave me a good idea of all the latest forensic tests and abilities.
Mary Burton is a “Must-Read” for me. This story captivated me and I can’t wait until I get my next adventure with Mary Burton.
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Sarah –
This is another terrifying tale from Mary Burton. When Virginia police detective John Adler discovers the connections between a recent gruesome murder and a fourteen-year-old cold case, he must solve both murders before more of the victims’ friends die.
As always with Mary Burton’s books, the characters are well crafted, the murder scenes are graphic, and the relationships between victims and suspects are complicated. Adler and his partner, Quinn, are engaging detectives and I liked that I continued to suspect almost every other character until the very end. As for the whodunnit, I almost guessed part of it – but the other part seemed to come out of nowhere.
I didn’t love the way the story flipped back and forth in time and back and forth between characters and perspectives. While the disjointed structure did add suspense, it was also crazy confusing at times. I liked the date stamp at the start of each chapter, but I couldn’t always remember previous date stamps and it took me a couple of pages of each chapter to figure out whose perspective we were getting.
I really enjoy each new Mary Burton story. I like the way they are all set in the same time and place, so we get glimpses of previous characters and a wider understanding of Virginia law enforcement. I love the way Mary Burton writes the professional women in her story – I just sometimes wish that every book wasn’t full of young female corpses.
Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Her Last Word by Mary Burton to read and review.
Exciting read! This story grabbed my attention from the start. The layout was a little unorthodox and a tad confusing in that sometimes you didn’t know who’s account of the story was being shared, but overall it was a great read. Lots of danger and excitement, a mystery to try to solve along the way that ends up turning into more than one. Really enjoyed it!
Kaitlin Roe was only sixteen when she witnessed her cousin being kidnapped from the dark country road they were walking on. She’s been tormented for years with that memory, and for awhile she only cared about looking for a way to forget. It’s now fourteen years later and she’s changed her life. She’s finally strong enough to go back and stir all of those old memories up again in the hope of finally finding out what happened to Gina. Working on a podcast to put the story in the forefront again, she reaches out to everyone who had anything to do with Gina or the case all those years ago. Someone doesn’t seem to welcome the intrusion!
When homicide detective John Adler responds to a murder and realizes Kaitlin has a connection to the victim, he recognizes the case and sets out to find answers. He never expects to discover that she might have opened up a door that has a murderer coming knocking. He’s not sure he can trust her, but he’s determined to keep her safe as they race the clock to find out if this is the same guy that took Gina, and what happened to her!
I enjoyed the series
Audiobook Review.
I’ve never read or listened to any of Mary Burton’s novels, however Her Last Word sold me as a prospective fan.
The story is a romantic suspense that involves Kaitlin Roe and Joe Adler. The story begins with a prologue where Katlin is putting together a podcast to bring the case of her cousin’s disappearance to life. Fourteen years ago, Kaitlin and her cousin Gina decided to walk home from a party when Gina is attacked. Katlin flees the scene and Gina is never heard from again. Katlin has a lot of flaws as a youth in her past that people can never forget. For the heroine, guilt has tormented her because she has never been able to shake off her “bad girl” perception or help the police find her cousin. Now a woman, she returns to her hometown and starts investigating as to what really happened to her cousin. Coming back raises eyebrows for a some who still question if she’s changed and those that do not like her asking questions of what really happened that night. Unfortunately, some of the people she is interviewing are turning up dead.
After a terrible fire that left him scarred and away from his job for a spell, Detective Joe Adler is happy to return but disturbed by murders that have come to light. He along with his partner Quinn (female) start looking into the new murders and it doesn’t take him long to realize that they are connected to Katlin Roe and her cousin’s disappearance. He wonders if she is an accomplice but when she is almost killed, he rethinks his motives and finds himself wanting to protect her, and in the process falls in love.
Ms. Burton has written a captivating and suspenseful story that had me from beginning to end. The plot was wonderful adn the relationship between the H/h was well written….surprisingly those of some of the other characters as well. The story had its twists and turns that had me suspecting just about all the potential suspects until the very very surprise ending. I thought the narration by Brittany Pressley was very good although there were at some points where Det. Quinn sounded too masculine but could have had a bit more femininity in her voice. Although the 50+ chapters were separated based on interviews, I think the story could have been told with less chapters, however the abundance does not take away anything from the story.
I’ve within this past year have gotten drawn into the genre of romantic suspense and this author, along with Kendra Elliott and Melinda Leigh have made me fans. I tTotally recommend the read/listen. A very good and enjoyable novel.
This is a scary ride of one determined woman to find out what really happen to her cousin Gina years ago.
Kaitlin lived with Gina during some hard times and was the only witness to Gina beung taken one night. For years she dealt with it by drinking and living hard but she’s back and looking for the truth…..but the past is a dangerous place.
How can Ashley, Erika, Jennifer and Kaitlin all remember things a little differently from that night long ago? Who is lying? And when another one of the women is killed, Adler and Quinn investigate. And these cops are very good, realistic, and smart
Well done forensic scenes of the homes, sites, and neighborhoods. Also uses information from the Innocence Project about eye witnesses and their abilities to remember details correctly or not.
The idea of a killer actually in the homes before the victim returns there is definitely creepy. And this killer keeps saying that these women, not taken with Gina, deserve to die. Why?
I stayed up late to see who the guilty were…well worth it!
This story was a totally believable suspense filled murder mystery. I was wrong about “who did it” so that always makes for a great read with a good attention-keeping ending. I always enjoy reading books by this author and will continue to do so. I borrowed this book as my June Kindle Owners Lending Library choice.
Mary Burton is one of my favorite authors and I love her books; however, this one is not one of my favorite. It is still a good read but I just did not enjoy the writing style. In my opinion, it is choppier due to the style instead of flowing smoothly. It is not written as a straight suspense story but flips through past and present with witness interviews related to a cold case file 14 years prior intertwined with the current search by the missing girl’s (Gina) cousin, Kaitlin Roe, and the lead detective (John Adler) involved in the case. There has been no activity on Gina’s case and since Kaitlin was a witness to her abduction she suffers a huge amount of guilt from her actions at the time of the crime. She wants to appease her conscious and help find answers and ends up stirring up a hornet’s nest from her search. Someone does not want the truth revealed and they have turned their attention to Kaitlin. Overall, I liked Kaitlin and John and there was plenty of suspense and mystery throughout the story. I was just not a huge fan on the delivery, jumping from current interviews and conversations by Kaitlin and John to past interviews in the cold case file, to current conversations and actions in the middle of the search for Gina’s whereabouts. It was too distracting for me and a bit hard to follow, I had a lot of starts and stops to get through the book. This does not, however, alter my opinion of the author or her other works in any way. She is still one of my favorite authors and I will continue to read her stories. *I received a copy of this book via NetGallery and am voluntarily leaving my honest review.
Mary is an excellent writer. She creates a scene so that you can easily imagine it. This book was a page turner for me. It did have a touch of steam but just a touch. Will read the next one of her’s.
THIS REVIEW IS FOR BOTH THE AUDIOBOOK AND EBOOK VERSIONS
Really good book, easy to follow plot. Thrilling, action, emotional and twisted. Great narration for all of these characters. I enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it.
While I did semi enjoy this book, I’m giving it a 3.5 stars review mainly because of the ending. I thought this had the who-done-it, edge of the seat feel in the beginning. As the story went on the intrigue sort of died and the ending was quite anticlimactic. The characters really didn’t have much of a connection—any of them. Am I sorry I read this? No. But this wouldn’t be the Mary Burton book I would suggest to a first time reader.
I like it when halfway through a book, I think I’ve figured out the plot and the villain/killer and I’m WRONG!!! Seriously, I really like when that happens because I think that’s a sign of a good writer, one that can tell a good story right up to the end. Mary Burton is a good writer. I’ve read several of her books and I will continue to read her books because I like the way she writes and tells a story.
Muy friend got me started with this author, I love this action packed must read the whole book. I couldn’t put it down i wanted to know what was going to happen next. The characters are likeable and the storey is rollercoaster ride who did it.
Kaitlin Roe believes she has found a way to slay the demons haunting her past. The reformed bad-girl teenager hopes that creating a podcast regarding her good-girl cousin’s unsolved murder 10 years ago will give her, and the case closure. But this road to redemption is paved with dangerous emotions and villains…..
Once again, this author creates a story filled with intense suspense, chilling evil and well-developed characters, both heroes and villains, that leave an imprint. In an unusual writing-style twist (at least for this author), the story alternates between present-day events and Kaitlin’s interview notes for her podcast. Although I initially was disconcerted by this, I quickly got into a “reading rhythm” with this style. By the conclusion of the book, I realized that this format actually enhanced the suspense and plot for me. I was so sucked into the story, could so hear the characters thoughts in my head, that emerging from the book was like coming out of a dark movie theater after watching a long, intense film. Your senses are on overload from what you just experienced in the pages.
Though not written in her usual style, do not be put off by that! Ms. Burton is a master storyteller in the genre of romantic suspense, and although the romance here is not as intense as the suspense, it was still a terrific read from a must-read author.
Story just draws the reader in. Leading character comes back to Richmond to jump start the investigation of her cousin’s disappearance years ago, but sets off a killing spree. Who kidnapped her cousin? Is her cousin dead or alive? Who is responsible for the new murders? Lots of twists and turns as the story progresses.
I love all this author’s novels and this book is no exception. She writes page-turners.
I could have done without the sex details toward the end. To me such detailed sex explanation doesn’t fit in with a crime/suspense story. But aside from that I was totally drawn into this unique story and the way it’s presented. I’ll try more Mary Burton books!
Very good read.
A unsolved disappearance of young woman 14 years ago has one person finally seeking answers and another seeking revenge on those that were with her in her final moments.
Kaitlin Roe made many mistakes in her youth. After losing her brother to suicide at a young age to ease the pain she turned to drugs. Her mom in a desperate plea to save her daughter sent to her live with her Aunt and cousin in Virginia. She was only there for a year but that year forever changed her life. After a night of partying with her cousin and 2 friends, Gina is kidnapped in front of Kaitlin in a gruesome way. Gina is never seen from again and after the police not believing Kaitlin’s story due to her past history with drugs she runs back to Texas. The guilt over not being able to help her cousin Gina that night and not being able to identify the man who took her finally reaches a boiling point for Kaitlin and she returns to Virginia to interview everyone that was involved that night – from the other women that were parting with them, their boyfriends at the time and also those in law enforcement that were assigned the case. What she didn’t know would happen is her returning to town and reopening old wounds would lead to triggering a killer to start his vengeance against those remaining three girls from that night that he feels are responsible for her death.
This story was writing in an unique way. Some of the chapters are the interviews Kaitlin has done giving us all the different perspectives the people who were either directly or indirectly involved along with also giving us short chapters from inside the killers mind and his rationale for what he was doing.
After the first murder homicide detective John Adler and his partner Monica Quinn are assigned the case. The identity of the first victim has them realizing the death it tied to the missing person’s case of Gina from 14 years ago. He and his team simultaneously reopening the old case while also trying to solve the current case which eventually leads to more victims and an also fatal attempt on Kaitlin’s life.
I felt sorry for Kailin throughout the book. Other than using alcohol and drugs and having poor taste in boyfriends when she was younger she didn’t deserve to be as ostracized as she was current day. She had cleaned up her life, got a college education and was a taught classes at college. Thank goodness after a rocky first meeting John realizes she is so much more than her past and knows she needs protecting from the killer.
Even though this isn’t labeled as being part of the Forgotten Files series is has a couple of the characters from that series play big roles in this book. Dr. Tessa McGowan from The Doll Maker is the ME that deals with the bodies and Tobias Novak from The Hang Man is John’s Captain. Always love getting to revisit past characters.
This was a page turning psychological suspense that had me speedreading to get to the end to find out how it was going to end.