The Last Time I Saw Him (Stephanie King #4) by Rachel Abbott

 

Description from Goodreads:

"WOULD YOU KEEP A SECRET FOR A STRANGER, IF IT MEANT THE BLOOD WAS ON YOUR HANDS?

Celia, Juliette and Nadia are complete strangers with one thing in they have all been wronged by Ellis Cobain. A wealthy philanthropist on course for a knighthood, Ellis' public persona is bulletproof - but lurking beneath this veneer is a sinister side that only the women closest to him have seen.

When they meet at a boutique hotel on the Cornish coast, brought together by the blind arrogance of their tormentor, they realise what connects them and form a to blackmail him and free themselves from his grasp.

But when he is discovered the next morning, murdered in cold blood, they are left scrambling. None of them knows who did it, and now they must desperately cover their tracks.

Will they keep each other's secrets, now they are all implicated in his death? Will one turn on the others, when any of them could be next?"

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This is the fourth book in this series but only the second I have read (I read the second in the series some time ago) and whilst I will have definitely missed out on the back story; I actually didn't think it had that much of an impact on how much I enjoyed this book.

With fantastic characters, a complex and intriguing story line that kept me guessing until the end and with twists and turns and all written at a good pace, this is a great book that I was totally invested in from the start.  I have to admit that I have never been so pleased to see a character meet a sticky end ... Ellis Cobain is definitely not a nice man and, I feel, got his comeuppance and, if anything, it wasn't horrid enough for me!!!!  

If I have one niggle it's that I found Juliette's bits to be a bit repetitive and she was annoying me so much so that I found it hard to have any sympathy with her and the situation she found herself in but, apart from that, I enjoyed it and would recommend to anyone who enjoys a good murder/mystery/crime thriller.

My thanks go to the author, Headline, Wildfire and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this book.

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Read my review of the second in the Stephanie King series:

The Murder Game

The Murder Game (Stephanie King #2) by Rachel Abbott

Due to be published in April 2020

    

Description from Goodreads:

"A year ago today, we all gathered for Lucas's wedding at his glorious Cornish home overlooking the sea.

But no one was married that day.

Now Lucas has invited us back to celebrate the anniversary. But the anniversary of what? The wedding that never happened, or the tragedy that occurred just hours before the ceremony was due to begin?

He's told us that tonight he has planned a game. We have our costumes, we have our parts, and everyone must play. The game, he tells us, is about to begin.

What does Lucas want from us? What are we not being told? And what's going to happen when this terrible game is over?"

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What a great read this is!  I haven't read any of Rachel's books before but I certainly will in the future if this book is anything to go by.  This is the second in the series featuring Stephanie King but I don't think it essential to have read the first ... I haven't and it didn't detract from my experience at all so I feel this can be read as a standalone but will definitely think about reading the first to get some additional background.

In this book, a group of friends gather for a "celebration" but this is not going to be a normal get-together because a year ago someone died when there should have been a wedding but was it suicide, a tragic accident or something altogether more sinister?  Lucas, the host, has devised a "murder game" where everyone has their part to play and if they don't go along, secrets will be revealed.

With excellent characters, a fast pace and interesting story line, this book kept my interest until the end.  The book drip-fed information and clues in such a way that you were but a passenger going along for the ride - one minute you think one way and then something happens and you think another.  This was very well done and kept me guessing until about two thirds through the book when I had an "aha" moment.

There were a couple of niggles that prevents me from giving this a five star rating; for the first couple of chapters, it wasn't made clear whose perspective the chapters were from and you had to work it out yourself as the chapter progressed.  I did find this confusing but, thankfully, it didn't continue throughout the book.  The second thing that irked me somewhat was the end ... it just didn't have the impact that I was hoping for and seemed to be a bit rushed and quickly wrapped up which was a bit disappointing given the complexities of the story line.

Overall though, I thoroughly enjoyed this book despite the niggles.

Thank you to the "Secret Readers Project" for the opportunity to read this book prior to its release.

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