Last Seen Alive [Mass Market Paperback]

Carlene Thompson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 29, 2007

Chyna Greer was sixteen when her best friend, Zoey, disappeared. Though very different in looks and temperament, the two girls shared a bond that was stronger than blood. But even Chyna's urgent warnings couldn't prevent a love-struck Zoey from sneaking out to the lake to meet her secret crush--and being swallowed up into the warm summer night forever….
 
Now Chyna has come back to her West Virginia hometown of Black Willow to lay her mother to rest. But memories of Zoey are everywhere…and then, out of nowhere, Chyna hears a voice--Zoey's voice--begging for her help. As Chyna delves into Black Willow's past, she learns that two other teenagers also went missing. Soon Chyna's search for answers becomes a desperate race to uncover a chilling secret that strikes at the heart of everything she holds dear--and reveal the remorseless evil that has been hiding in plain sight….

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Thompson creates smart, interesting characters the reader cares about within a gripping suspense story."--Judith Kelman, author of Hush Little Darlings 
 
"The characters are so well drawn that the reader will feel like she knows them personally. Thompson offers suspense and an intriguing mystery."--Romantic Times BOOKreviews on Last Whipser

From the Back Cover

One by one they vanished without a trace…
And then the real story began.
 
Chyna Greer was sixteen when her best friend, Zoey, disappeared. Though very different in looks and temperament, the two girls shared a bond that was stronger than blood. But even Chyna's urgent warnings couldn't prevent a love-struck Zoey from sneaking out to the lake to meet her secret crush--and being swallowed up into the warm summer night forever….
 
LAST SEEN ALIVE
 
Now Chyna has come back to her West Virginia hometown of Black Willow to lay her mother to rest. But memories of Zoey are everywhere…and then, out of nowhere, Chyna hears a voice--Zoey's voice--begging for her help. As Chyna delves into Black Willow's past, she learns that two other teenagers also went missing. Soon Chyna's search for answers becomes a desperate race to uncover a chilling secret that strikes at the heart of everything she holds dear--and reveal the remorseless evil that has been hiding in plain sight….
 
"Thompson creates smart, interesting characters the reader cares about within a gripping suspense story."--Judith Kelman, author of Hush Little Darlings
 
 
"The characters are so well drawn that the reader will feel like she knows them personally. Thompson offers suspense and an intriguing mystery."--Romantic Times BOOKreviews on Last Whipser

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press (May 29, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312937318
• ISBN-13: 978-0312937317
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #181,630 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!, August 18, 2007

By 

Cynthia L. Hoomalu "hottpcchick" (Phenix City, AL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Last Seen Alive (Mass Market Paperback)

I don't usually rate books, but after reading the reviews and rebuttal I couldn't help myself.

I purchased this book as an impulse buy from Wal-Mart, and was very pleasantly surprised. I read A LOT, but don't usually read authors that I haven't gotten recommendations on.

Yes, there are some typos, but as I said I read A LOT and many books that I read and love have typos. This does not bother me, as I am smart enough to figure it out and move on quickly without much hesitation and no loss for the content.

Onto my opinion overall... I absolutely could not put this book down for the day and a half it took me to read it. I loved the suspense, and especially loved the supernatural aspects of the book. I'm not really into real life supernatural, but it is a nice addition to a suspense book instead of the regular realistic things that I usually read about in suspense books. I'm not sure that sentence made much sense, but I'm a reader not a writer... And I really enjoyed the choice of names. I guess I was looking for something a little different and found this book very refreshing in that aspect. I, too, am a dog lover, so I also enjoyed that about the book. I do not have children, so I could relate to the young professional with a dog, where so many other women my age have several children and no time for a wonderful pet or two!

I guess that's enough of my opinion, but I thought this book was a great page turner that I couldn't put down and I'm hoping that I can find and enjoy several other books by Carlene Thompson!

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rebuttal, June 12, 2007

By 

P. C Thompson (Point Pleasant, WV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Last Seen Alive (Mass Market Paperback)

Perhaps it is considered bad form to reply to a review, but sometimes I can't help myself. I am sorry PROUD TEXAN did not like LAST SEEN ALIVE, but the Texan's main problem seemed to be with typographical errors and inconsistencies. Because I caught so much flak over this in LAST WHISPER, I thought perhaps the public might be interested in learning one thing about the publishing process.

An author does not set her own type. She receives "proofs," printed pages of what will be the book, and given a week--sometimes less--to catch any errors. Usually, the errors she marks are changed. Sometimes, because she is so rushed, she misses an error. Occasionally, she catches an error but it is not corrected and the book is published, error and all.

The Texan claims that on page 73, someone teases a man about his weight gain. He has not recently gained weight and no one teases him. The Texan complains that on page 120, this character's daughter states that he cannot afford to lose any weight at all. Actually, his daughter worries that after the fairly recent death of her mother, her father lost twenty pounds she didn't think he needed to lose--just as a loving daughter might believe her father looked perfect even if other people thought he was stocky--and she worries that if she leaves him, too, he might sink into a depression and stop eating sensibly altogether. Also, I don't find the substitution of the name "Deirdre" for "Chyna" a big deal, but apparently it was enough to drive the PROUD TEXAN "nuts."

I do not expect everyone to like my books. I do not expect people who usually like my books to love every one of them. However, I think it's terribly petty of a supposed fan to label a book "a total flop and a waste of time and money" because he/she is concentrating on trivialities, not content.

I gave my book a rating only because it is required.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolute, MUST READ, June 4, 2007

By 

B. Bush (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Last Seen Alive (Mass Market Paperback)

Full of suspense, LAST SEEN ALIVE by Carlene Thompson is an excellent book! I absolutely could not put it down until I was finished! Readers will not deduce who the murderer is, or even why until you find out who!! I definitely recommend this book to all who love murder, intrigue and suspense!