The Last Child (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A year after 12-year-old Alyssa Merrimon disappeared on her way home from the library in an unnamed rural North Carolina town, her twin brother, Johnny, continues to search the town, street by street, even visiting the homes of known sex offenders, in this chilling novel from Edgar-winner Hart (Down River). Det. Clyde Hunt, the lead cop on Alyssa's case, keeps a watchful eye on Johnny and his mother, who has deteriorated since Alyssa's abduction and her husband's departure soon afterward. When a second girl is snatched, Johnny is even more determined to find his sister, convinced that the perpetrator is the same person who took Alyssa. But what he unearths is more sinister than anyone imagined, sending shock waves through the community and putting Johnny's own life in danger. Despite a tendency to dip into melodrama, Hart spins an impressively layered tale of broken families and secrets that can kill. 175,000 first printing; author tour. (May)
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From The Washington Post

From The Washington Post's Book World/washingtonpost.com Reviewed by Art Taylor A year and a day have passed since the abduction of 12-year-old Alyssa Merrimon, and her twin brother, Johnny, has never felt more alone. His father abandoned the family soon after the disappearance, and his mother has all but vanished into a haze of drinking, drugs and abusive sex. The police detective who investigated the case hovers over the remnants of the family like a watchful angel, but his attentions are unwelcome; he hasn't found the girl. In fact, Johnny's only true friend is his frail young classmate Jack, and even he wavers between supporting Johnny's faith that Alyssa's alive and knowing that she's gone forever. But then a clue falls from the sky -- literally: A biker hit by a car and thrown from a bridge lands almost at Johnny's feet. "I found her," he says in his dying words. "The girl that was taken." John Hart's third novel covers only a few days in the life of a North Carolina town, but the minutes all seem breathless. Every few chapters bring new twists and startling revelations: another girl's disappearance, bodies and then more bodies, a surprising series of connections that casts new light on everything that's come before and throws darkening shadows over what's ahead. The young boy at the story's center is a magnificent creation, Huck Finn channeled through "Lord of the Flies," and as a detective in his own right he proves as driven and passionate as any mystery fan could hope for. Along the way, the author returns to the central themes of his first two novels -- class divisions and the bonds of family -- but with a broader scope, delving with grace and empathy into the inner lives of characters across a wide spectrum: policemen balancing the personal and the professional, an escaped convict who hears the voice of God, troubled children growing up too fast, parents undone by grief. And where those earlier novels -- even his Edgar Award-winning "Down River" -- seemed mired in frequent melodrama, this new book strips away the more overt sentimentality and proves all the more poignant and heartbreaking. Hart is still far too young for "The Last Child" to be called a crowning achievement, but the novel's ambition, emotional breadth and maturity make it an early masterpiece in a career that continues to promise great things.
Copyright 2009, The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books (May 12, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312359322
• ISBN-13: 978-0312359324
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (121 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,301 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dark and moody with a good dose of disturbing, April 20, 2009

By	mellion108 (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews

(What's this?)

I dare you to read the prologue of this book without getting totally pulled in to the story. My heart was pounding by page 2, and I think my boss might want to have a talk with Mr. Hart because I went in to work a couple of mornings on very little sleep because I couldn't put this book down until I got to the last word.

Johnny Merrimon was once a happy child. He and his twin sister, Alyssa, lived with their beautiful, vibrant mother and strong, caring father. Then Alyssa goes missing. She's seen being pulled into a mysterious van, and a year later, Johnny's life is completely different. His mother is bullied into passivity by a rich, abusive man who keeps her strung out on drugs and treats her like a possession. Johnny knows in his heart that he can find his sister, bring his father home, and save his mother, and for months he plays a dangerous game of spying on local child predators, convinced that at least one of them knows what happened to his sister. Detective Hunt is the haunted cop who cannot break out of his obsession with Alyssa's case - and the beautiful mother - to save his own family from falling apart. Jack is the wounded best friend who idolizes Johnny and tries to mask his own pain with the alcohol he steals from his cop father.

Hart could have taken the easy way out and turned this into a suspenseful but heartwarming story of mystery and redemption. Instead, he creates complex, rich characters and places them in terrifying, soul searching situations. Johnny is a child living with nightmares, and he reaches into ancient mysticism, searching for strength and clues to help him heal his family. He's seen too much of the harsh reality of life for someone his age, and this dark desperation colors all the events in this book.

I was, simply put, blown away by this book. It is well written, intelligent, and impossible to forget. A week after finishing it, I'm still thinking about it. Hart is now on my must-read list, and I look forward to reading his next novel.

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thirteen-Year Old Towers Over Tragedy, April 29, 2009

By	Emily D. Agunod (East Coast United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

(What's this?)

John Hart's "The Last Child" is a gripping story of Johnny Merrimon, a thirteen-year old who lost his twin sister to an abduction. The year before, his best friend, Jack Cross, saw Johnny's sister Alyssa taken into van. When the tragedy happened, what used to be the happy Merrimon family started to crumble. His mother Katherine blamed her husband for not picking their daughter up. The accusation drove Spencer Merrimon away. Katherine spirals into a world of drugs and dependency on an old manipulative boyfriend.

Johnny has lost everything he grew up with. But he wouldn't give up looking for his sister. Hoping against hope, Johnny relentlessly pores over the county's terrain, keeping tabs on sex offenders and acting on any lead he finds in order to solve the mystery of his sister's disappearance.

But he is not alone. The detective assigned to the case has spent the entire year trying to figure out what happened, too. Detective Clyde Hunt couldn't let this case go and when another abduction takes place, he is determined not to let it go unsolved. Tiffany Shore was another local girl and a classmate of Johnny.

Johnny and Detective Hunt run parallel tracks as they try to uncover who the town's possible serial kidnapper is. A strange series of events will keep the reader guessing on who the real perpetrator is and when the truth finally unfolds, the ugly side of Raven County surfaces.

I'm very impressed at the crisp writing and the constant movement. It's poignant, thoughtful, and Mr. Hart has a talent for getting into the mind of his characters and taking his readers with him. It is quite amazing how everything falls into place.

In the end, "The Last Child" is a story of how much a parent loves a child, of how much friendship means, and of how everything seems to happen for a reason.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not a thriller, but a good story, April 6, 2009

By	Mad Ethyl Flint (St Louis, MO) - See all my reviews

(What's this?)

I admit I was hesitant about this book, however the author's writing and story telling abilities grabbed me from the first page and kept me reading until the end.

A year ago, Johnny's sister was abducted changing his life completely. His mother has a total breakdown and her constant accusations drive Johnny's father away. He just left one day and didn't come back. His mother turns to drinking and drugs by way of her affluent boyfriend who 'lets' them stay in one of his run down rental houses, however he resents Johnny and is abusive, both mentally and physically to both of them.

Johnny tries to take care of him mother and somehow manages to attend school and get good grades despite staying up and out all night scouring neighborhoods for clues to where his sister may be.
He is sometimes joined by his best, and only friend Jack, son of a gruff policeman.

In the meantime, Detective Hunt has never given up on the case. He's become obsessive to the point of loosing his wife and alienating his son. Knowing Johnny's living situation, Detective Hunt tries to keep an eye out for Johnny. He knows what Johnny is up to and tries his best to keep him safe even though Johnny would prefer he stay out of it.

One day after ditching school, Johnny and Jack are hanging out at the river when they witness a murder. That's when things start to get interesting.

I have to admit I was clueless until the end of the book. I sort of figured it out toward the end, but still, it was a good ending.

I wouldn't recommend this book for a hard-core detective story, but for those just looking for a good story and a book that will keep you interested until the end, I would tell you to read this book.
Thank you.
MEF