Winner of the 2010 Edgar Award for Best NovelHeralded by the Washington Post as a “a magnificent creation, Huck Finn channeled through Lord of the Flies”, John Hart’s The Last Child is his most significant work to date, an intricate, powerful story of loss, hope, and courage in the face of evil. Thirteen year-old Johnny Merrimon had the perfect life: a warm home and loving parents; a twin sister, … perfect life: a warm home and loving parents; a twin sister, Alyssa, with whom he shared an irreplaceable bond. He knew nothing of loss, until the day Alyssa vanished from the side of a lonely street. Now, a year later, Johnny finds himself isolated and alone, failed by the people he’d been taught since birth to trust. No one else believes that Alyssa is still alive, but Johnny is certain that she is—confident in a way that he can never fully explain.
Determined to find his sister, Johnny risks everything to explore the dark side of his hometown. It is a desperate, terrifying search, but Johnny is not as alone as he might think. Detective Clyde Hunt has never stopped looking for Alyssa either, and he has a soft spot for Johnny. He watches over the boy and tries to keep him safe, but when Johnny uncovers a dangerous lead and vows to follow it, Hunt has no choice but to intervene.
Then a second child goes missing . . .
Undeterred by Hunt’s threats or his mother’s pleas, Johnny enlists the help of his last friend, and together they plunge into the wild, to a forgotten place with a history of violence that goes back more than a hundred years. There, they meet a giant of a man, an escaped convict on his own tragic quest. What they learn from him will shatter every notion Johnny had about the fate of his sister; it will lead them to another far place, to a truth that will test both boys to the limit.
Traveling the wilderness between innocence and hard wisdom, between hopelessness and faith, The Last Child leaves all categories behind and establishes John Hart as a writer of unique power.
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Great read.
One of the books I have read in this Genre
The Last Child kept my interest from start to finish with lots of twists and turns. It’s a must read!
Couldn’t put down.
Wonderful read.
This is a very haunting book. At times very sad. Some triumphs.
One of the best thrillers I’ve read in the past year. Highly recommended.
The only thing I don’t like about this book was the use of Jesus Christ as a curse word. The story was impossible to put down.
Loved it….well written!
Was a little hard to get into at first because it was so depressing … but hang in there. Once the story takes off, it’s hard to put down.
Well written fast read with a complete surprise ending !
Good writing but too dark for my personal tastes.
Loved it so much I’m reading the sequel
Loved it.
Amazing writing. The figurative language is thought provoking. The subject matter is a bit gritty but the story is original and fast paced.
An irrational plot, excessively entangled characters, and depression that lasts and doesn’t wear out throughout the story. Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish reading the book.
It’s impossible not to fall in love with the two main characters: 13-year-old Johnny, whose twin sister abducted a year earlier, and Detective Hunt, who has entered the kidnapping story and can not be released.
A fine and recommended book.
One of my all time favorite books.
Having recently read John Hart’s Down River, winner of the 2008 Edgar Award for best novel, I knew I’d probably love The Last Child, for which he won the 2010 Edgar Award. I wasn’t disappointed. It’s a rare thing for me to become so engrossed in a novel that I put everything else aside. Yet that’s what I did with The Last Child. I was obsessed with the story and the characters. A slow reader, I suffered from three days of vision-related headaches just to finish it, it was that good, that compelling. I simply wouldn’t put it down.
Now, that’s not to say it’s a perfect book. There were a few things that bugged me a bit. While one reviewer commented on the thirteen-year-old protagonist’s believability, I didn’t find it a problem at all, for two reasons mostly. One, he was one half of a set of twins, and twins are notoriously tied together in ways most people could never understand. If one goes missing, the other feels incomplete and would be driven to find the other no matter what. And two, children who suffer abuse and loss grow up remarkably fast, taking on a more serious wisdom, a wisdom children of more functional homes would not. So I totally understood the motivation and actions of Johnny Merrimon following the disappearance of his twin sister.
I did, however, have an issue with Johnny’s mother, Katherine. After her husband also disappears, she falls victim to drug and alcohol dependency, so much so that she neglects Johnny. I think a mother who had lost not only her husband, but also one of her two children, would hold onto that remaining child with all her might and never let go. Yet Katherine allows herself to be used and manipulated by a former boyfriend, a rich and powerful man who inflicts sadistic control over Katherine. I was left wondering if she had anyone in her life, besides Johnny, who cared enough to intervene. I also wondered how she could allow herself to become so weak. The only other issue I had with this story were all the red herrings. They made me think the story was about something completely different than it was in the end. Therefore, trying to guess who-dunnit was impossible because you don’t find out what exactly was done until the end. It was truly unforeseeable.
But none of these things kept me from loving this book. While the plot was complicated and involved, the writing kept me going at every turn. Hart has a talent for words like none other I’ve ever read in this genre and most any other. He delves deep into the character’s emotions, almost too deeply, in fact, getting a tad melodramatic at times. Nevertheless, I loved being steeped so completely in the mental state of all those involved in the case of Johnny’s missing sister. Most interesting was the effect the case had on the lead investigator, Detective Clyde Hunt and his family, or what remained of it following Hunt’s involvement and utter obsession with the missing girl, Katherine, and Johnny.
The Last Child deals with the disturbing issues of missing and exploited children, including sexual abuse and murder. It’s not an easy read in any shape or form, but it is beautiful and haunting, and most of all, frightening. You’ll hold your children tight and swear never to let them out of your sight ever again. The story aside, if you enjoy beautiful writing, then you will love this book for no other reason than that. As an author myself, I worship Hart’s ability to compose words and sentences so eloquently. I am a fan for life and look forward to reading all of John Hart’s other novels.
This is my favorite book this year. Although it didn’t sound like my typical read I decided to try it and I am so glad that I did. The book grabbed me and didn’t let me go until the end. I will be buying John Hart from now on.