“Creepy and absorbing Plan to stay up very late to finish this one!”RT BOOK Magazine,,Stars
Teenagers Sheridan Kohl and Jason Wyatt were parked at the lake in Whiterock, Tennessee, when a stranger wearing a ski mask shot them both.
Sheridan lived but Jason diedand the stranger was never caught, Even though Sheridans family moved away right afterward, shes never been able to put the crime behind her,
Because of a new development in the case, Sheridan returns to Whiterock, But when shes attacked a second time, its only because of Jasons stepbrother, Cain Granger, that she survivesand Cains the last person she wants to face.
If not for their history, if not for her, Jason wouldnt have been in that parked car,
Cain knows that whoever killed his brother probably isnt a stranger at all, But figuring out that persons identity is easier said than doneespecially since the killer seems to be taunting them both: watch me.
Well, this is the best of the series so far, There were inconsistencies with conversations repeated back to back, Thats an editing problem. But plot wise, there wasnt anything glaring,
Im grateful to say my guess at who done it initially failed, I guess at the killer but settled on someone else, so thats good, I like to be surprised,
I liked the relationship dynamic, but truthfully on the surface Ive enjoyed them all so far, This book gives me encouragement for the rest of the series,
The narration was good, Therd book in The Last Stand series by Brenda Novak, I liked it a lot, It had all the required elements I look for, Romance, suspense, mystery and a few red herrings to try to throw me off track, Though I have to admit I guessed pretty early in the book and stayed with my guess even through those red herrings.
About half way through, I was certain I had this one figured out, but no I really didnt, This was exciting from the start and continued to keep me on edge to the end, Another day, another book, another Romantic Suspense devoured too quickly, Im enjoying these Brenda Novak pageturners, and I think this third book is the one I like most so far if only because the male protagonist isnt a neanderthal like the first two and so, by default, despite some of his flaws, I like him the most.
However, I cant
help but be slightly bothered by the alltoo formulaic outline of the romance and the suspense, While the story is a different one, all the plot devices and all the twists and all the secrets are fairly predictable to a T.
As the story goes:
Twelve years prior to the present storyline, Sheridan Kohl was shot and left for dead at the age of sixteen.
The same man shot and killed Jason Wyatt who was with her at the time, Afterwards, she and her family left their hometown and, presently, Sheridan is part of The Last Stand as we already know.
After receiving contact from a police officer in Whiterock about new evidence to the old case, Sheridan is determined to return to her hometown and investigate the case.
But as the very first chapter begins the moment she sets foot in Whiterock, she is attacked and almost buried, fortunate to be saved by Cain Granger.
Cain is the type who has a good reputation and a bad reputation, though his bad reputation is what people focus on as an aloof, womanizer despite the fact that he hasnt slept with a woman in three years.
People like him because hes good with animals, has his life together, and is friendly enough, People gossip about him because of his teenage rebel years of being a troublemaker and a womanizer, At the present time line, he is the police forces favorite suspect for the murder of Jason Wyatt also his stepbrother twelve years ago just because the rifle found in his old abandoned cabin matched ballistics for the weapon that shot and killed Jasona rifle that was lost twelve years ago and recently found in an abandoned building.
On top of that, Sheridans almost dead form was discovered by him on his property,
Basically, the murderer has a hardon for framing Cain for every sin ever perpetuated since the dawn of time.
And then the infamous, longsought murderer from twelve years ago, as well as the man who starts off the very first chapter trying to bury Sheridan, all but tells you that hes the one.
Yeah. That one was pretty obvious,
Aside from a few minor background characters, the brief appearance of Skye, and our resident main couple I found that I really just didnt like the rest of the people in this small town of Whiterock.
The police are a joke which I have a feeling they were made out to be on purpose, being unable to handle a homicide or cases as such and being unable to remain partial and professional Id hate to be caught in a small town where everyone knows your business and is already biased enough to never give you a fair chance at trial if youre ever being suspected of something.
I mean, the entire case wasnt so much an investigation as it was a witchhuntthey were looking for reasons to blame Cain for all the violence and all the troubles rather than trying to sift out the truth and find a real suspect.
RANT INCOMING
On top of that, all of these people involved in the case: police officers, related family from the murder twelve years prior They all set out to crucify Sheridan as a slut just because she had sex once, when she sixteen years old, and then kept it a secret.
Aside from never having mentioned that shed had sex with Cain, her sex life really had nothing to do with the ongoing investigation.
And I wasnt aware that sleeping with someone was supposed to be publicly broadcast to everyone and their mothers, The last I checked, when you have overly religious parents, you tend to shy away from telling the world about something you know that they would disapprove of and then she got shot a month later and almost died so Im pretty sure the entire “I had sex with a guy who has a bad reputation” thing should have been the last of everyones worries.
But what really got me a little irritated with the situation was that she wouldnt stand up for herself.
So what if she had sex, once, when she was sixteen So what if shes going to be having sex with him again now that shes twentyeight Why does it give the officers on the police force the right to make her out to be a tramp Im sure if shed been sleeping with someone who wasnt being forced into a prime suspect for the murder twelve years ago, no one would even be saying such things, but the fact is, being sexually active is no ones business except for her own.
Being sexually active doesnt give other people the right to make you feel bad about anything,
These “police officers” are acting like immature children rather than professional law enforcement, Its true that human beings will have their opinions, but how are we to trust our local protectors if they purposely discomfit you for no reason rather than because of a personal vendetta The “adults” in this book dont seem to be able to deal with Sheridans “Big Secret Scandal” without resorting to namecalling and unmerited sneering.
Whats up with all of that “She deserves to be humiliated”, or “She asked to be attacked”, or the “She should have just died out there” bullcrap
Victimizing the victim Slutshaming These people!
Of course, Im glad that the tone of which this subject matter is written in a way that shows that the author, herself, perceives this kind of behavior to be crass and terrible and uncalled for.
So its really the characters that were riling me up and not so much the author,
Kudos to you, Ms, Novak.
Im happy that Cain stood up for Sheridan, and I was also exuberant that Skye had no problem being brutally honest in Sheridans defense: ”Getting dumped and getting dumped on are two different things.
” Skye looked directly at him, “She liked someone else, so she broke up with you, She had the right. Get over it. ” “In my line of work, Ive seen some real suffering, ” Might I also point out that Sheridan was only sixteen at the time, so I dont know why her exboyfriend thought it was okay for him to join in the slutshaming just because his ego was bruised now that theyre adults.
Dude, you were getting engaged you were in love with another woman now move the fuck on!
But why did Sheridan just stand there and take all the insult like she really was to blame for all the problems.
She didnt ask to get shot she didnt ask to watch someone else get murdered and her sex life is nobodys business but her own.
But she kept letting people walk all over her and kept apologizing for something that wasnt her fault,
As a victims advocate, she really needs to get in there and coach herself,
END RANT
Heck of a place, no
And while were on the subject of characters: Cains exwife, Amy is one hell of a scary, creepy stalker chick and needed to get herself some help.
To think that shes part of the police force, spends her free time stalking Cain almost every night, and investigates a case with personal biases rather than professionalism Yeesh!
Anyway
In spite of all the issues Ive addressed above, I still managed to enjoy this book.
Its strange how that happens, Sheridan was a nice character, but I needed her to grow more of a backboneit kind of irked me when she kept pushing Skye to leave.
Aside from some TSTL tendencies, Skye is actually pretty damn good at defending herself and shes not a bad investigator either and probably would have managed to help Sheridan crack the case.
Her appearance in the storyline seemed only to be there to satisfy a “previous characters I remember” quota, which was a little disappointing.
I liked Cain almost as soon as he presented in the book, He owns three dogs that he commands with ease, takes care of small injured creatures and nurses them back to health, works with wildlife, and owns a vet clinic.
Just that little description makes him kind of swoonworthy, Hes like the ultimate toughguy with a softheart type, And as I stated earlier, hes not the neanderthal with caveman ideals that the previous two books presented us with.
He was sweet with Sheridan and took care of her really well, but didnt treat her as if she was a defenseless little woman.
The romance was formulaic, but also a little disjointed and strange but Ill take it, It wasnt too bad.
Overall: This was another fastpaced pageturner from Brenda Novak, as expected, Maybe I like this book more than the previous two if only because I liked Cain a lot,
As far as this series goes, Jasmine is my favorite Last Stand gal I have a soft spot for profilers just because I think the profession is intriguing.
This is the third novel in The Last Stand series I am not sure how Brenda Novak is able to make each additional novel better than the last one but she does! You will not be disappointed reading this series.
Now on to book four but it can wait until morning I think! this book is mediocre in every sense of the word.
its like the whole thing was a filler just for the beginning and end of the book white noise sandwiched by an introduction and a resolution.
the romance aspect of this book is quite confusing as it is at a stalemate for most of the book, but then suddenly ramps up to “come in me im gonna bear your children”, when cain had reservations about children since the beginning.
its really an imakeimpulsiveandrashdecisionswithyouandonlyyoubecauseiloveyou type cliche and i find it dull and unrealistic, i was actually wanting the main character to die at the end so there could be something interesting to mention about this book.
This was the third in a series of novels about a group of crime victims who have started up a victim's advocacy group in Sacramento.
In this one, Sheridan returns to her hometown to track down the man who shot her and killed the boy she was with when she was only.
She's hardly in town for a day before he strikes again and nearly manages to kill her before being interrupted by Cain, her high school crush and stepbrother to the boy who died.
Together, the two of them battle local gossip and the obstacles thrown at them from all sides in order to finally track down the killer and bring him to justice.
A great bit of suspense, with a nice twist, Although the first two books were pretty incredible this book is my favorite in the series so far, Brenda has a magical way of crafting stories that keep you on the edge of your seat, causing you to get a little jumpy and yet also enjoying the heart warming aspects of the story.
Its a love story and a thriller in one as most of her novels are and they are so addicting and thoroughly enjoyable.
The characters are so realistic and believable and their stories inspiring, In this book Sheridan has experienced some truly horrific things but is still strong and making her way forward in life despite them.
I cant wait to begin the next book, Unputdownable! Watch me wont let you go!
Sheridan is back in Whiterock, after receiving a phone call telling her about a break in a twelveyearold case.
Twelve years ago, while parked at a lake, a stranger yanked open the truck door, shooting both Jason and Sheridan.
Sheridan survived, Jason didnt. Sheridan has felt the guilt all this time, guilt thats been eating at her, for if it hadnt been for her, Jason would still be alive.
While at her uncles home, getting it ready to put on the market for sale, someone sneaks in, attacks her, and believes her to be dead as hes digging a hole to put her in.
Cains dogs wake him with their barking, He assumes its because of a raccoon or perhaps even a bear, But the dogs behavior suggests it could be something else, and he follows them, only to find Sheridan, Finding a thready pulse, he gets her to a hospital, and for some inexplicable reason, wont leave her out of her sight.
And now people in Whiterock are turning up dead starting first with Cains exwife, Amy, Amy may no longer be married to Cain, but shes still obsessed, As much as she wants to punish him, she knows that it wasnt Cain who killed Jason, or who came after Sheridan a second time.
But someone has, and they believe that the current killer is the same person from twelve years ago, Finding out who it is, is even more difficult, as Amys twin brother is now the Sherrif, and he believes Cain is behind it all.
Everyone in town is talking and speculating, Sheridan knows it wasnt him, But evidence is being framed against him, and as the terror escalates, Cain wonders how they will catch the killer in time before he strikes at Sheridan again.
SPOILER ALERT DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU DONT WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS,
Incredible! Tense scenes, whether fighting a killer or arguments between characters, this novel packs a punch, Sheridan still believes that Jasons dead because of her, Shed had a crush on Cain for the longest time, and after making love that one time at a party that hadnt resulted in anything, shed purposely flirted with Jason until he asked her out, all with the intention of making Cain jealous.
She has no idea that the attack didnt have anything to do her whatsoever,
That one night had affected Cain, even when he tried to forget it, But something about Sheridan touched him, and he couldnt get her off his mind, Shed given up her virginity to him that night, Knowing that she was out with Jason crimped his party mood and he went home, only to receive the phone call that Jason had been shot and killed and Sheridan had been shot as well.
But when her very religious parents moved away shortly afterward, Cain didnt think hed see her again, and went on his merry rebellious way.
Since then, hed been blamed for Jasons death by just about everyone, but with no evidence, nothing was done,
But twelve years later, when the gun that was used was found by two boys who broke in to Cains old cabin, suspicions began to arise again.
Ned, now the sherrif, contacted Sheridan, who decided shed go back to Whiterock to help solve the case, When the killer heard she was coming back, intent on solving the case, he was afraid she may have remembered something important from that night, and attacked her in her uncles kitchen, believing hed finally killed her, and took her out to Cains land to bury her.
Only, things didnt go to the killers planning, And now, attempted attacks, more killing, more secrets about the past revealed, as the reader, you truly begin to wonder who the killer actually is.
Several times I thought I had it figured out, but I was wrong,
Interesting characters, tense scenes, love making at its best, a perfect mystery that results in an awesome climax and ending, I couldnt have asked for better.
Then, with the story finished, I started reading an excerpt at the back of the book, Seems The Last Stand stories arent over, and I cant wait until Augustfor The Perfect Couple, the next novel in The Last Stand series.
Keep em coming, Ms. Novak! Im loving them!.