The Last Noel (Import HB) [Hardcover]

Heather Graham (Author)

Book Description

Series: Import HB | Publication Date: November 1, 2007

It's Christmas Eve, and all is neither calm nor bright

With a storm paralyzing New England, the O'Boyle household becomes prey to a pair of brutal escaped killers desperate to find refuge.

Skyler O'Boyle is convinced the only way they can live through the night is by playing a daring psychological game to throw the convicts off their guard. Threatened by a pair of Smith & Wessons, she has to pray that the rest of her family will play along, buying them time. Her one hope for rescue is that the men are unaware that her daughter, Kat, has escaped into the blizzard. But as the wind and snow continue to rage with all the vehemence of a maddened banshee, her prayers that Kat can somehow find help seem fragile indeed.

When Kat stumbles on a third felon, half-frozen and delirious, her shock deepens, because she recognizes Craig Devon immediately. What is the onetime love of her life doing back in town—and in such company? With the threat of death hanging over the O'Boyles, Craig is desperate to unload a vital secret that could change their destiny. But can he trust Kat with the truth? Because one false move and everything he's sacrificed will shatter—and this could be everyone's final Christmas alive.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In veteran novelist Graham's satisfying holiday latest, three jewelry store thieves stall out in a snowbank and have a disagreement that leaves only two of them standing. Meanwhile, the O'Boyle family is spending Christmas at their rural Massachusetts home, snowed in and bickering, until the doorbell rings. Brandishing guns, the two thieves threaten to kill Skyler, the family matriarch, who hopes that Kat, her college-aged daughter who has remained hidden upstairs, will figure something out. As the O'Boyles struggle to survive their horrific ordeal, they soon discover the strength of their family bonds in the face of despair. (Nov.)
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About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Heather Graham has written more than one hundred novels, several of which have been featured by the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild. There are more than twenty million copies of her books in print and she has been published in more than fifteen languages. Heather lives with her husband in Miami, Florida, traveling often to visit her five children.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Mira; Library ed edition (November 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0778325253
• ISBN-13: 978-0778325253
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #217,936 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

New York Times and USA Today best selling author, Heather Graham was born somewhere in Europe and kidnapped by gypsies when she was a small child. She went on to join the Romanian circus as a trapeze artist and lion tamer. When the circus came to South Florida, she stayed, discovering that she preferred to be a shark and gator trainer.

Not really.

Heather is the child of Scottish and Irish immigrants who met and married in Chicago, and moved to South Florida, where she has spent her life. (She has, at least, been to the Russian circus in Moscow, where she wished she was one of the incredibly talented and coordinated trapeze artists.) She majored in theater arts at the University of South Florida. After a stint of several years in dinner theater, back-up vocals, and bartending, she stayed home after the birth of her third child and began to write. Her first book was with Dell, and since then, she has written over one hundred and fifty novels and novellas including category, suspense, historical romance, vampire fiction, time travel, occult, horror, and Christmas family fare.

She is pleased to have been published in approximately twenty-five languages, and has had over seventy-five million books in print. She has been honored with awards from Walden Books, B. Dalton, Georgia Romance Writers, Affaire de Coeur, Romantic Times, the Lifetime Achievement Award from RWA and more. Heather has also become the proud recipient of the Silver Bullet from Thriller Writers. Heather has had books selected for the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild, and has been quoted, interviewed, or featured in such publications as The Nation, Redbook, Mystery Book Club, People and USA Today and appeared on many newscasts including Today, Entertainment Tonight and local television.

Heather loves travel and anything that has to do with the water, and is a certified scuba diver. She also loves ballroom dancing. Each year she hosts the Vampire Ball and Dinner theater at the RT convention raising money for the Pediatric Aids Society and in 2006 she hosted the first Writers for New Orleans Workshop to benefit the stricken Gulf region. She is also the founder of "The Slush Pile Players", presenting something that's almost like entertainment for various conferences and benefits. Married since high school graduation and the mother of five, her greatest love in life remains her family, but she also believes her career has been an incredible gift, and she is grateful every day to be doing something that she loves so very much for a living.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars My first Heather Graham Novel, April 13, 2008

By 

Theresa W (mi, usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Noel (Import HB) (Hardcover)

The Last Noel was chosen for my book club's pick for a certain month. It was my first Heather Graham novel, so I was interested to see how it would be. I was pleasantly surprised, I enjoyed it very much.

The Last Noel was a page-turner from page #1. Each page was suspense laden...you could almost cut the tension with a knife as the hostage scenario played out. And through to the end, the story was well-written and thought out.

I think I'll check out more of her books in the future, as this one gets a thumbs up from me!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Last Noel delves deeply into the bonds of family, February 19, 2008

By 

Kelley Hartsell "Kelley" (Irving, TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Last Noel (Import HB) (Hardcover)

Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques

The O'Boyle family wants to spend one more Christmas together at their house in the mountains. The children are all growing up and before long will want to spend the holidays elsewhere. While Skyler is trying to make it a holiday to remember for her husband and children, danger is about to find them.

Not too far away, a robbery gone awry leaves the store owner dead and the felons escaping through the mountains, until their car crashes in a snow drift, stranding them within sight of the O'Boyle home. With a nor'easter blowing in, the felons seek refuge at the O'Boyle home, and thus usher the holidays in with terror.

Guns trained on her family, Skyler hopes and prays her family will find their way out of this living nightmare. Their only hope, daughter Kat has managed to escape and seeking help. But with the storm growing worse, will she be able to get to help in time? Or will this be The Last Noel for the O'Boyle family?

The Last Noel delves deeply into the bonds of family. Here we have a family that has grown distant from each other and has lost the true meaning of Christmas. No one except Skyler really wants to be there and some family members can barely get along. When their holiday getaway is invaded by criminals with a knack for terrorizing, the O'Boyle family learns the only way they'll make it out alive is if they remember what being a family really means and work together to erase the nightmare.

Surprisingly, the villains in the story add significantly to the story. Granted, one of them drove me out of my mind he was so darned annoying, but I actually found myself feeling sorry for, and liking one of them, Scooter, by the end of the story. I can't really say much since that may give away some spoilers, but there was a lot more to this seemingly bumbling fool who follows his buddy no matter what, than we see when we first meet him.

I love Heather Graham and have for years, and I especially enjoy the direction she's gone lately, veering into thriller territory. While I probably wouldn't classify The Last Noel as her best book ever, it is extremely well done and her characteristic voice shines through clearly. There is a touch of romance, though not much, since the focus on this story is the psychological element of a family in the grips of villains with nothing to lose.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, February 2008. All rights reserved.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Suspense...minimal romance, December 11, 2007

By 

LovesDarcy (Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Noel (Import HB) (Hardcover)

This was just an okay book for me. It was short and didn't leave a great deal of room for expanding the story. This felt like more of a novella then an actual novel. There was suspense in the story but it wasn't too intense and the romance was hardly there at all. The story setting really didn't leave much time for romance anyway. Kat is portrayed as completed devastated when Craig left her in the past but I didn't really feel the depths of her pain. Again, I think it was because the book was so short. The plot really keeps this book from being longer and more in depth. Pick this one up from the library as I did.