This author has an extensive selection of mystery and suspense books to choose from.
If you’re not familiar with the author or her work, but are looking for a good crime fiction to start up, I would give these books(and her others) some serious consideration.
‘The Last Sister’ is the first in Kendra Elliot’s ongoing ‘Colombia River‘ fictional crime series. While the characters pass in and out of each book, they can be read as a stand-alone without any confusion. The third installment of the series ‘In the Pines‘ is set to be released in August of next year(2022).
Possible spoilers ahead!
The Last Sister by Kendra Elliot
Publication date: January 2020
Pages: 328
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Fiction
Series: Book 1 of 3: Columbia River
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First line: She wrapped her shaking fingers in the hem of her sweater to avoid damaging any fingerprints as she slid open the rear patio door, following the trail of blood.
Emily has a secret.
Death has come to Bartonville, Oregon, twenty years after another murder sent shock-waves through the small community and altered the lives of one family forever.
Something swayed in a tree. She couldn’t breathe.
Please. Not again.
One night, many years ago, a young Emily woke to find her father hanged in the backyard and their home on fire. Statements made suggest everyone had been sleeping and witnessed nothing. But Emily did see something in the woods that night.. something that kept her from telling the truth.
Something that would ravage what’s left of their small family.
She stood and paced, knowing she wasn’t in a position to discuss what had happened that night. She’d been thirteen back then. She’d been asleep and had seen nothing.
At least that was the story she told everyone.
Twenty years later: When Emily becomes concerned for an employee, and friend, stopping by to check on her seems like the right call.. She never expected to find herself walking into a overwhelmingly familiar crime scene.
This time the murderer won’t get away with it.
Emily’s lack of confidence in the local police only intensifies when they determine the deaths to be ‘murder-suicide’.. and going over the sheriff’s head doesn’t earn her any friends. It does catch the attention of the FBI.
There was no room for more errors.
Racial overtones. Scene contamination.
From here on out, the deaths would get the proper investigation they deserved.
Her tenacity pays off when FBI Agent Zander and his partner Ava are called in to assess the situation and hunt down the killer. The two are quickly pulled into the small towns dark past and, even knowing how similar the cases are, with the murderer for the original crime behind bars.. the pieces just aren’t adding up.
Everything leads back to the sisters.
Everything appears to link back to the original murder and the family it destroyed.
Three young women, sisters, each keeping secrets.
The churning in his stomach had subsided, but now he felt numb and determined to get to the bottom of Emily’s movements.
Is she involved somehow?
After the first responding officer is found dead of ‘suicide’ it begins to look very likely that the original killer was never caught. And, when Ava is shot in an attempt on Emily’s life, Zander knows they’re getting closer to the truth.
Emily’s description of the shooter’s actions indicated he’d deliberately shot at them. But who had been his target? Emily or Ava?
What is Emily hiding? Why did Tara take off? And with Madison resolved to unveil her sister’s secrets, it’s no surprise that she’s keeping a few of her own.. but for what reason?
Three and a Half Stars!
Emily saw something the night her father was killed.
She’ll never tell.
Tara was afraid of something and she ran.. but why?
Madison was awake that terrible night as well.. did she see the killer?
Three sisters, each with-holding information that could solve this puzzle of mystery and murder.
About the book:
They wanted the truth. They found a killer.
Every small town knows the kind of people it harbors, there are no secrets, and this town is no different.
A man is murdered in a horrific way, his three daughter’s all have a secret that’s somehow connected to his death, and none of them are interested in sharing. Their emotionally unavailable mother, depressed and unable to cope, ‘passes away’ not too long after her husband’s death. The two younger girls are then raised by their three quirky aunts, never knowing of the towns whispered disapproval towards their father’s “distasteful” interests.
Our main character Emily is beginning to realize that the lies she’s told, and maintained for decades, may have done more harm than good. Madison’s search for answers leaves her shaken when she begins to discover just how much a small town can keep hidden.. and how little we really know about the people around us. The local police and FBI spin in circles while these two woman search for answers and find them.
The author shows us the fierce internal battle Madison has about their father and his actions.
Emily and Tara were old enough to remember their father’s temper, the strange meetings he attended in the city but.. that was harmless, right? How could he be what they’re saying? How could he carry such a darkness and them not see?
No one wants to believe racially motivated acts still thrive in the shadows of our more modern times. We want to believe that humanity has evolved passed such things. It sounds nice but.. not true. Hatred and evil will always thrive in the dark places we keep locked away. People will choose to look the other way, condemning such behavior in the light of day, while turning their backs on the possible consequences that turning a blind eye might have. This book gives a small look into what can happen when the immoral actions of a few goes unimpeded for too long.
Overall:
A satisfying read but.. I still didn’t feel that spark. That moment when the book grips you tight and drags you under. I was curious enough to keep turning pages but I never really felt invested in the characters and, while the plot could have been so much more, it seemed to fall flat in the end. All in all.. It wasn’t my favorite from Kendra Elliot but it also won’t prevent me from reading more from her in the future.
I liked Madison’s personality the most, she was independent and curious, often piecing things together before the others. Emily really wasn’t a strong character for me and her glacially slow- burn “romance”(or glacial infatuation), left me wondering why it was even added. No depth, passion, or chemistry there.
The sister’s relationship with one another is so authentic. Jealousy, secrets, hurt feelings, and a unwavering protective instinct that comes with the bond of surviving childhood together.
The similarities between these three aunts and the ‘aunties’ from the television show ‘Sabrina, The Teenage Witch‘ had me chuckling quite often. They were an entertaining and fun bit of comic relief. I really enjoyed their antics and it would have been nice to have seen more of them in the book.
I consider 3.5 stars to be a decent rating for the first book in a series. It usually takes that long to get the stage set and the characters in place so.. I feel like this is an appropriate and fair rating. Am I going to rush off to read the second book immediately? No. But I will be reading more from this author in the future!
What do you think is the most important aspect of a good thriller?
The suspense? The characters? The plot twist?
Excellent review Sheri. This is an author that somehow slipped off my radar. I obviously need to get her back on there. ❤📚
Thank you so much! Someone on here suggested this series and, not surprisingly, I already had her on my TBR.
Worth it. 😉
I consider 3.5 a good rating for a first book in a series. A 3.5 star rating wouldn’t stop me from picking up a book, but in this case I think I’ll pass. Not quite what I was looking for, but I love the thoroughness of your review, and the aunts sound like fun.
When it comes to a REALLY good thriller, I want all three of the things you mentioned–suspense, great characters and a twist or two to leave me stunned and baffled 🙂
I can understand that.. I tend to prefer books that are more intense and challenging. Have you read anything from Megan Miranda? She writes a great twist.
And thank you so much! I do like to be thorough. 😆
Love the detailing of your review!
Thank you so much! 😊