Bestselling author Louise Voss returns with a dark and riveting psychological thriller ‘Superb, like an episode of Midsomer Murders written by Gillian Flynn’ Mark Edwards ‘Such a great concept. Enthrallingly gripping – and those twists! A must read’ Angela Clarke At the peak of her career as lead singer of a legendary 1980s indie band, Meredith Vincent was driven off the international stage by … band, Meredith Vincent was driven off the international stage by a horrific incident. Now living a quiet existence in a cottage on the grounds of an old stately home, she has put her past behind her and come to terms with her new life.
When a body is found in the manicured gardens of her home, and a series of inexplicable and unsettling events begins to occur, it becomes clear that someone is watching, someone who knows who she is … Someone who wants vengeance.
And this is only the beginning…
A dark, riveting and chilling psychological thriller, The Last Stage is also a study of secrets and obsessions, where innocent acts can have the most terrifying consequences.
‘I’ve been a fan of Louise Voss for years and I honestly think THE LAST STAGE is her best yet. A superb read’ Cass Green
‘Twists, turns and stabs you in the heart. It deserves to be huge’ Martyn Waites
‘An expert piece of contrivance’ Publishers Weekly
‘Brilliantly unsettling’ Jane Casey
‘Ingeniously plotted and totally addictive’ Paddy Magrane
‘I was guessing right to the end’ Katarina Diamond
‘A cracking page-turner that sucks you straight into the dark heart of human behaviour. I couldn’t put it down!’ Marnie Riches, author of Born Bad
‘A tense, super-twisty, well-written page-turner … Fab read’ Amanda Jennings
‘Poignant, clever and terrifically tense’ William Shaw, author of The Birdwatcher
‘A truly twisty yet believable tale with memorable characters and a cleverly woven atmospheric narrative’ Liz Loves Books
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Chilling read. Merideth is in her early 50s and leads a solitary existence by choice. She used to be the frontwoman for a wildly successful pop band in her 20s, but keeps this a secret from everyone in her current life. Something horrible happened to her, scarring her deeply, physically and psychologically. This leads to her to leave the band abruptly and go into seclusion, but the details of what occurred aren’t revealed until deep into the story.
Seemingly out of nowhere, strange things start happening that jar her simple and private existence. Strange things that can be explained lead to inexplicable fatalities. There are a few chapters narrated by the perpetrators, but their motivations remain unclear until the final showdown.
I’d give this book 2.5 stars, but arguing with myself about bothering to finish it pretty much says it all. The plot kept me going, but I wasn’t vested in the fate of the main character. She was weak and manipulative. I don’t think I will try this writer again.
Wanted to like this and liked the premise… BUT it is not very well written… jumps around too much between time periods and characters without really developing any of the characters. I quit reading the book about a quarter into it…
/ 5
I really enjoyed the majority of The Last Stage by Louise Voss, but the ending caused it to fall a bit short for me.
What it’s about: Meredith Vincent is currently living and working in the gift shop of an old stately home called Minstead House after abruptly leaving her band – for which she was the lead singer – in 1995. The public doesn’t know why, and her band members were very upset with her, but the reminder on Meredith’s hand is all she needs to remember why she’s never going into the spotlight again. But when people in her life start dying, she’s worried that the weird things that have been happening could indicate someone has found her, and she may not get out with her life this time…
I loved the musical aspect of The Last Stage, and I really enjoyed the switches from past to preset in Meredith’s POV. We get to see how her band started in the first place, and it all sets the stage (eh, eh!) for what is occurring in present day. There were quite a few character viewpoints and the way Voss wove everything together was quite brilliant.
The Last Stage was a pretty chilling novel, and there were a few parts that had me more than a little freaked out. The book has some stuff with knives that reminded me a tiny bit of Mister Tender’s Girl, and equally as disturbing. Nothing got overly gory, but I did cringe on several occasions. Voss is clearly incredibly talented at the creepy and disturbing.
The big reason why The Last Stage is getting a 3.5 from me instead of a higher rating is because I was very frustrated with the ending. I thought both Meredith and Gemma (an experienced detective) made mistakes they never would have made with Meredith in as much danger as they thought. I also thought the end was drug out a bit too much. This is already a short book, but I felt like the end could still have been a bit more concise. At the climax of the book we are reading dialog between Gemma and another cop that I didn’t think was necessary and I ended up skimming a tiny bit.
Song/s the book brought to mind: American Pie by Don McLean and Bad Moon Rising by CCR
Final Thought: Don’t let my 3.5 rating fool you, The Last Stage is a solid novel that I think the majority of readers will enjoy. It’s on the slower side of things at first, but it quickly picks up and the ending is all action. I will definitely be reading more of Voss’ novels and I did enjoy her writing style. A 3.5 from me means I really enjoyed this book overall, and I think most of you will too!
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book, all opinions are my own.