The Last Voice They Hear [Paperback]

Ramsey Campbell (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Forge (1998)
• ASIN: B000OTKAZC
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cambell is at the top of his game, April 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Last Voice They Hear (Hardcover)

Investigative reporter Geoff Davenport is happy with both his personal and professional lives. He loves his wife and his job. He is currently on an enjoyable publicity tour of Britain, trying to sell his newly released book. For Geoff, life is good.

However, one phone call in the middle of the night abruptly turns everything upside down for Geoff. The voice on the other end apparently is his brother Ben, who accuses Geoff of letting it happen.

At about the same time, a serial killer is murdering happily married couples. Goeff thinks the culprit is Ben. He decides to investigate the killings in an effort to stop them in case it is a family affair.

Ramsey Campbell has a richly deserved reputation for his quality novels outlining the strengths and weaknesses of families (see ONE SAFE PLACE and NAZARETH HILL). His latest book, THE LAST VOICE THEY HEAR, is a brilliant thriller that emphasizes the down side of familial rellationships. Geoff is a wonderful amateur sleuth, and his investigation and fears ring true. Mr. Campbell has written a shocker that is most people's worst nightmare.

.Harriet Klausner

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A stunning piece of suspense horror from the master, April 20, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Stockport, U.K.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Voice They Hear (Hardcover)

I read an advanced proof of this book and can tell you it is Campbell at the top of his form. Geoff Davenport is a successful investigative journalist working on a high profile TV series. His wife works in TV too, and they have a young son, Paul. Someone has been quietly killing couples in the Windsor area for a number of years but the police have no leads. A telephone call taken by Geoff on a publicity tour brings his childhood roaring back to haunt him. And the killer might be a part of that past, Geoff's half brother Ben. Campbell has here written an intense and emotional thriller with enough suspense to keep us turning the pages long after lights out. The climax of the book is one of the most tense I have ever read and did my fingernails no favours at all! Highly, highly recommended.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Super Suspense!, January 13, 2002

By 

sweetmolly (RICHMOND, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Voice They Hear (Mass Market Paperback)

Ramsey Campbell's specialty is families: some good, beautiful, and loving; some cold, terrifying, and detestable. He doesn't allow any faceless victims; you know them all too well and suffer accordingly.

Geoffrey Davenport is a moderately famous investigative TV journalist who appears to have it all: an attractive business-partner wife and a delightful four-year old son. For no particularly good reason that I can see, Geoff chooses to keep a big chunk of his life a secret-his older half-brother Ben who he has not seen or heard from since Ben left home for good at age 18.

Geoff begins getting anonymous phone calls that he fears are from Ben. He gradually comes to realize that Ben is a serial killer who claims Geoff can stop the killing if he wins a tortuous "game" of clues, a surreal Treasure Hunt. Unfortunately, for the reader's peace of mind, we get to know Ben and have a certain amount of sympathy for him. The parents loved, cosseted, and supported Geoff; yet treated Ben with Dickensonian cruelty. As the "game" continues, Geoff realizes the danger is coming closer and closer to home and the tension and suspense ratchet up accordingly. The finale is slam bang with touches of Dali surrealism, and the imagery is remarkable.

I had a few minor irritations with the book. I think the son's age should have been two at the most, rather than four. Four-year olds use complete sentences and don't toddle. I never could satisfactorily figure out why the parents treated Geoff and Ben so differently. But these were very minor annoyances. The book has beautiful characterizations, concise but perfect. Nothing slows down the pace, ever-increasing dread and tension of the story. For all but the faint-hearted, I highly recommend the book.