Customer Reviews

Last Known Victim

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book was decent, but it was not Erica Spindler's best. There was suspense, but the book was overloaded with characters who had confusing relationships and the end was simply ridiculous. I say give it a read, but get it from the library.

The book was a fast, engrossing read that held my attention throughout. I really liked the setting of post-Katrina in New Orleans and thought it made a great location for a murder mystery. However, it seemed as if all the characters were related to each other and I was confused by the family ties. I also questioned how realistic it was that the captain would be investigating her own husband's murder...wouldn't this be a conflict of interest? I didn't find that part believable but overall a very good read and one I recommend to fellow mystery/suspense readers.

Our book club read two of Erica's novels (See Jane Die, and Killer Takes All). When we spoke with her on the phone at our book club meeting, and she filled us in on the plot of her new book, Last Known Victim, we just had to read it. I am from New Orleans, and it was like being at home when reading - I could visualize the places and felt like I was there while reading the events that took place. I can't wait to read her new book! I was planning on ordering it on Kindle, but I'll wait to see if I win the autographed copy!

I became completely engrossed in this book from page one. I loved the setting painted by the author of post Katrina New Orleans. Something about novels set down in the bayou has alaways drawn me in and this one definitely did not disappoint!

But I didn't find it to be her best. I prefered Killer Takes All to this one.

I found that it dragged a little in some parts. It wasn't as exciting and suspenseful for me like her other novels. The synopsis has you focusing on Patti, but the story doesn't really focus on one main character - more like several characters.

As for 'The Handyman', I was way off; didn't even suspect. Had a few people in mind, but this one didn't even come close. I liked that.

I felt bad for Yvette, and worse for Patti. Can't wait for the next novel!

Erica Spindler is in my top ten favorite/must read authors for a reason. She has more than proved herself as a talented, page turning author. Her characters are solid and interesting. Her facts are more realistic than a lot of books in the same genre. In LKV, Patti O'Shay, a captain in the New Orleans police department is out to find her husband's killer. The first clues come from an abandoned refridgerator left in Katrina's aftermath. One of my three suspects eventually became unmasked as the killer. This isn't a bad stat. I like to be kept guessing, and Spindler suceeds in that again here. I hate having to wait a year each time for a new Spindler book. If you haven't read any books by this author, I recommend you pick up some of the older ones first. Work your way through them to this one! Last Known Victim isn't a five star book like most of her others, but it still is way above the norm.

The predictions were bad, but the results were worse. Hurricane Katrina tore through New Orleans with a ferocity reserved for demons. It flattened buildings, flooded the city, destroyed property, tore apart families, and left law enforcement officials fumbling.

It had been two years since Katrina came through, but Police Captain Patti O'Shay couldn't get past it. In the early hours after the storm, she lost her husband. There was no explanation for the shooting, no suspects, and with the cleanup efforts taking precedence, there was no real investigation. Until she knew who killed Sammy and why, she would grieve.

When Katrina came through and the city lost power, the contents of over a million refrigerators and freezers were left to rot. Most residents abandoned the refrigerators rather than to try and clean them out. They were gathered up and set aside. Cleaning them out fell under the EPA's jurisdiction. They got on it, but for every refrigerator cleaned out, two more arrived. Two years and thousands of refrigerators later, they stumble across a cache of a serial killer's trophies, six severed hands.

NOPD took possession of the evidence and opened the investigation. There were six unidentified victims out there and the Handyman was responsible. A few days later, the body of one of his victims was found in the park. Sammy O'Shay's badge was found lying beneath the victim.

The Last Victim is a complex and compelling story. Patti O'Shay's grief and her determination to bring the Handyman to justice were both poignant and real. Add a plot that constantly twists and turns in unexpected directions, and you have an awesome story.

I get the feeling that this is one of those books that, if you've read the author's earlier books involving members of the Malone family, you will really enjoy because it seems as though a lot of prior protagonists are brought back and their lives updated. However, if you haven't read those earlier books, you don't have anything invested in those characters, so the glaring problem with this book is impossible to overlook: the fact that Capt. Patti O'Shay - the policewoman who was the first-on-scene at the time of her policeman husband's murder - is also the person who is placed in charge of his reopened murder investigation. Not to mention the fact that the murdered policeman's nephew is also one of the investigating detectives. Isn't this one of those situations where a member of the murdered person's family would not even be allowed NEAR such an investigation to avoid the possibility of subjectivity or prejudicing the case, much less be involved with the interviewing of actual suspects? It would seem that their involvement with any investigation would basically hand a defense attorney a "not guilty" verdict.

This stumbling block really prevented me from giving this book a higher rating. It's an okay book, involving a number of characters and subplots which was good. The main character,Patti O'Shay, though, was rather cardboard, I thought. It was set in post-Katrina New Orleans, which was also a nice twist and a good reminder of how much still needs to be done down there. But, it was also pretty clear mid-way through the book whodunit - it was just a matter of realizing which character seemed to be the furthest removed from consideration.

SPOILER ALERT: The reason why Sammy O'Shay was where he was when he was murdered also seemed a bit shaky. His murder took place in a wealthy community - one protected by a private security force and in an area that wasn't flooded. If he went in there immediately before Katrina struck, there should have been a record of the murderer's entrance also. If he went in there during the hurricane, then the reason why he was following the car - an open trunk - is ridiculous, given the fact that he should have been involved with the evacuation of the city, not doing what we were told he was doing.

Patti O'Shay? A cliche of a name for an adolescent author's main character, a foretaste of the quality of the writing to come. Last Known Victim is a serial killer mystery filled with obvious, hackneyed dialog that the decent plot fails to override. The characters all lift their eyebrows, fist their fingers, find themselves in enough trouble already, and don't have a clue, over and over again. The back story, with its focus on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, is laid on much too heavily. It's a pity, really, because the characters and story aren't bad at all. This book is a good beach read, but not much more.

While this book has some plot issues and the whodunit is hard to believe, it did keep me turning the pages and guessing. I couldn't decide between three and four stars, but I think part of my problem with the book was that it was a continuation of See Jane Die and Killer Takes All, and I hadn't read either one. It would help to have known the characters better pre-Katrina I think, but it did OK as a stand alone.