Customer Reviews

Last Girl Dancing

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Jess brubaker is a detective with the Atlanta PD. She gave up a career in dance to become a cop when her twin sister disappeared 13 years ago. She is a loner with only her job for company and in her off time she tries to solve the mystery of her sister's loss.

Hank Kamian is a retired Ranger, he was disfigured on a mission and has many scars on the outside and the inside. During the trauma of his recovery he developed psychic powers. Now to be true to his Ranger oath he helps some friends in the police dept when he is not teaching martial arts.

When strippers begin to appear dead around Atlanta, Jess is asked to go undercover because of her dance background. Hank is asked to be her protecter and use his abilities to sniff out the killer or killers.

The action is fast and the romance is hot. When Hank touches Jess he discovers what he had thought to be impossible, an honest dedicated woman who sees him and not his scars. Jess sees herself in Hank a man dedicated to helping others.

As the plots moves quickly along we see Jess become the target of our killer, but unfortunately they have no idea who it is. Hank can feel the horror and arrogance of the killer on things he has touched but how to find him?

Great plot, wonderful characters, delicious romance, I loved it.

I read Holly originally for her fantasy novels. While there certainly is a fantasy element in "Last Girl" the mystery-thriller far overrides all else. Warning: this is a book that's hard to put down. Lisle writes compelling and sympathetic characters and imbeds enough hook into the tale to leave you turning pages well into the night. The one downside is I'm not sure I enjoyed the view of the strip clubs. Ms. Lisle did her research well--she managed to give her strippers vivid character.

The plot: A trio of serial murderers is killing strippers in one of Atlanta's best strip clubs, Goldcastle. Police detective, Jess Brubeck, is called in to go undercover--as a stripper. This is her big break to become one of the Grand Old Men of Crime--and secretly her hope to find out who killed her twin sister Ginny 13 years before.

But, things do not go as well as she'd have liked. She's teamed up with a psychic. Enough of those fakes took her for everything she was worth when her sister disappeared. But this one, Hank Kamien, is the real thing. The Ex-Ranger who gained his powers at the cost of scars over half his body is the Real Thing. Jess and Hank quickly suspect the attraction they feel for each other is the Real Thing, too.

"Last GIrl" is definitely a tough, gritty novel with some interesting surprises. This is a departure from much of Lisle's fantasy writing, which could be termed for more of a family audience. Definitely worth setting aside several hours to read if you are a thriller fan.

FANTASTIC book! I thoroughly enjoyed Midnight Rain by Holly Lisle and I went right out to pick-up Last Girl Dancing and even though I really need to be focused on moving and work and family -- I couldn't put this book down once I started. Holly Lisle writes a darn good romantic suspense book!

Again the subject matter is not the fluffy variety. Going undercover as a stripper is probably not the ideal job for most cops, but Jess Burbaker has 2 very good reasons for accepting the assignment. Her twin sister Ginny disappeared 13 years ago and she had moonlighted as an exotic dancer, so getting an idea of Ginny's world might help and two because she desperately wants to become a permanent member of Atlanta's famed Homicide Special Crimes Unit (HSCU) so she can continue to search for her sister. The stripper assignment comes with a catch -- in order to help find the serial killers, Jess must pair up with Hank Kamian, a tough former Army Ranger with a rare psychic ability.

The pacing of the story is tight and Ms. Lisle has this great ability to make you fell just a bit creeped out. She delves into the emotions and feelings of Jess taking on the identity of a stripper and in my opinion, does a tasteful job of making the story about the people and not about the 'stripping.' It was a fast read and one I delighted in. I certainly hope there are more to come from her! EXCELLENT reading!

The first time I'd ever read anything by this author was her title "Midnight Rain." I quickly ran out and checked out this author's backlist. I was thrilled to find out that she had a new romantic suspense being released. I quickly pre-ordered it and waited not so patiently for it to arrive. It was well worth the wait.

Atlanta Police Detective Jess Brubraker is good at her job but she gets no thrill from her sucess. It's more of a means to an end really. She became a cop in order to find her missing twin sister. In the mean time she will do what she must in order to see that happen. When a chance in a lifetime job gets handed to her she will do whatever she must in order to find a killer. If she has to put her feelings about psychic's on the shelf, well, that's what she will do...maybe. But, when this psychic just so happens to be the owner of a beautiful voice, nice hands, and a rear end that just won't quit well, it might just work. But, what will happen when she finds out that Hank is more than a partner or psychic, but the owner of her heart?

Hank if a former Ranger with a special talent when it comes to psychic abilities. He doesn't do this for just anyone and when his friend approaches him, needing his help to solve a serial murder case well, he's on board. The fact that his partner is everything that he wants to avoid is beside the point. When he touches her he sees the truth, she is not put off by his scars and for the first time he trust that a beautiful woman wants him...and only him. Now if only he can keep her safe from a killer that wants her dead.

Hank and Jess were wonderful characters, and the chemistry between them was wonderfully tense! This story although not a new one was done in such a way that the reader will truly be kept guessing until the final few pages as to who the killer really is. Ms. Lisle really knows how to keep the suspense going while at the same time moving the story forward. This is one author that I highly recommend for edge of your seat reading with the added bounus of a sensual romance as well.

Official Reviewer for Romance Designs

I really enjoyed this book and couldn't put it down. In fact I read it in about 6 hours the day it came out. This is not the type of thing I normally read, being a SF and fantasy fan myself, but I love Holly Lisle other titles and thought I'd give this a go. It was brilliant.
It's filled with memorable characters and has a great twisty ending. The level of paranormal involvement is just enough to keep you hooked without dropping you into any 'hey, wait a minute' moments. I loved the tension that runs through this book, both the normal, 'got to catch the killer' kind with some delicious sexual tension added into the mix.
I've ordered myself a copy of Holly's previous paranormal suspense novel Midnight Rain and if this is anything to go by it should be a great read.

Holly Lisle's Last Girl Dancing is a smart, sexy detective story with some sharp twists and more than a few surprises. The story and the characters combine to make a fast read that never lacks for action. Better yet, these are some of the most fully developed characters I've read in a long time.

This book rocks! Last Girl Dancing entices you into a web of conflicting agendas and fascinating characters, not the least of which is Jess Brubraker. She's a beautiful female cop that is assigned to the Atlanta Homicide Special Crimes Unit when a serial killer targeting exotic dancers starts escalating his activities.

Unfortunately, it isn't her brains the HSCU wants, but her body. Jess is asked to go undercover as drink waitress at an exotic strip club to track down the killer. It is a measure of desperation on the police department's side to consider such an insulting, ridiculous idea - an idea that Jess quickly accepts.

What the smart boys on the HSCU don't know is that Jess' entire reason for being a cop is about to collide with her personal motivations. And when the HSCU introduces her to her contact, a disfigured ex-Ranger named Hank with his own issues, sparks fly in every direction. The fire that ignites threatens everyone.

Smart, sexy, well plotted - what's missing?

Did I mention Jess hears the voice of her dead sister and Hank is a psychic?

Get over it - this book is too good to ignore. In fact, we should be seeing it as a movie on Showtime or HBO. It is that good.

I started reading detective and crime fiction with Hammitt and Chandler, and graduated to Ross and John D. MacDonald, Kellerman and all the rest. I've read all the popular male detectives, and some years ago found the female detectives as they were getting started.

These characters Lisle created have exactly what the current crop of best-selling detectives need: Fire.

Buy Last Girl Dancing. Read it. Feel the heat.

(Then write Lisle a letter telling her we want these people back, and as a series!)

Despite the fact that I like this author and that the book was overall quite good, I was very disappointed by both the romantic elements and the ending. I would have thought that the ending had been written by another author, had I not paid attention to the stilted romance. I felt like a whole chapter was missing at the end. The wrap-up showed the main character making major life changes without the thought process that accompanied them. I realize my explanation for my problems with the book sounds stilted, bt I wanted to express my dissatisfaction without spoilers.

Lisle is better known as a science fiction novelist, but this foray into romantic suspense is quite successful. The premise, a detective going undercover as a stripper (and actually getting naked in the process), isn't particularly believable, but when the other main character is a man who can read people through things they have touched, you're already suspending disbelief. Ultimately, the characters were likeable and the mystery was decent (I didn't guess whodunit until it was practically revealed). I'm not a huge sci-fi fan, but I would be interested in reading more of Lisle in this genre.

Sorry. Too many plot holes and not enough character development.

I actually liked the premise and the characters, but stopped reading about 2/3 way through when something was bad enough to make him violently ill and he left her, but then blithely met back up with her at her apartment to continue sleuthing.

There might be some problems--this is a serial killer story, after all, and I did guess whodunit pretty early on, but that doesn't seem to matter. Holly Lisle's writing just sucks me in anyway.

A young dedicated cop gets a chance to make it into the elite homicide squad if she helps solve a series of stripper killings. The downside is that her career, which is her whole life, is on the line. Because of her dance background and her undercover experience, she's asked to go undercover as a stripper. And to work with a psychic. And she really hates psychics.

There are excellent reasons for everything, but the backstory is doled out naturally, in small doses--you don't get a big "this is who she is and why she's doing this" speech right up front, and the same goes for the hero.

Just fabulous writing. This is only the second book of Holly Lisle's that I've read, but I'm slowly collecting the rest. Since it was the writing I was so enthralled by, I expect I'll like them, too.