What do you think?
Rate this book
To The Last Breath: Three Women Fight For The Truth Behind A Child's Tragic Murder
On January 22, 1994, two-year old Renee Goode played happily with her sisters and cousin, as the four of them enjoyed an impromptu "slumber party" at the home of her father, Shane Goode. The next day she was dead. The local medical examiner could not determine the cause of little Renee's death. But her mother Annette and grandmother Sharon were convinced she'd been murdered--and that they knew the identity of Renee's her handsome father, Shane Goode, a manipulative, emotionally abusive man who displayed virtually no interest in Renee--until he took out a $50,000 insurance policy on her life. With the help of a courageous female police investigator and Assistant DA, Sharon launched a case against Shane and had Renee's tiny coffin, lovingly filled with her favorite stuffed animals, exhumed from its final resting place. And her small corpse revealed what her grandmother had suspected all cold, calculating Shane Goode had murdered his own daughter to cash in on her death. To the Last Breath is the winner of the 1999 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime.
272 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 15, 1998
73 people are currently reading
598 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
July 9, 2013
A very sad story about another woman who married the wrong guy - only this time instead of killing his wife, he killed their 2-year-old daughter for insurance money. The three women referenced in the title - the victim's grandmother, the investigating detective and the prosecutor - all deserve many kudos for their persistence.
May 19, 2011
Be careful! This book will make you angry! But it will also show you that the justice system is SO screwed up!! It's hard to believe why people kill. There is a special place in hell for those that kill children!!
March 9, 2015
Sad but good
If you like true crime, read this book. Although it is so sad , it will keep you interested until the very end.
If you like true crime, read this book. Although it is so sad , it will keep you interested until the very end.
March 9, 2018
I always like reading true stories. This was interesting and an easy read. Nice to know there are detectives and police out there that still care enough to go the extra mile.
February 5, 2023
Excellent, excellent, excellent! The women in this book who doggedly persevered for justice are a perfect example of why the feminine genius is such a vital contribution to law enforcement.
April 13, 2014
Right now I am checking my shelves to see if I registered all my true crime books I can see when I move my head to the left.
This one was not registered on goodreads. Back in the days I wrote a very short and Very very simple ^-^ review.
I read and finished this book last night. (Jan. 14th 2007)
I liked the writing. The story was good.
It does leave you with questions. Why did he do it, how did he do it, would he have murdered the other child as well?
This one was not registered on goodreads. Back in the days I wrote a very short and Very very simple ^-^ review.
I read and finished this book last night. (Jan. 14th 2007)
I liked the writing. The story was good.
It does leave you with questions. Why did he do it, how did he do it, would he have murdered the other child as well?
May 15, 2023
Gone too soon
This story was so well written and detailed it has left me stricken with sadness. I appreciate all the dedication of time and research done by the author to tell the whole story. I can't imagine a father doing this to his child. Especially after you read it took upwards of 15 mins to kill her. That brings me to tears. He, at every minute had a chance to stop and not murder her. Pure Evi! Is in his DNA. After reading that Shane's dad still tried to collect the insurance money after Shane's conviction I think is very telling. His brothers odd behavior and his mother too for that matter. Seems like there is some long generational trouble there. The story never really clarified the question of if there was molestation involved with Tiffany and Christine nor did the autopsy seem to address this. I had the creepy vibe from his actions that this was going on as well as the insurance money scams. I know Renee is with Jesus. Her loved ones will see her again one day when His followers are called home. Rest well little love.
This story was so well written and detailed it has left me stricken with sadness. I appreciate all the dedication of time and research done by the author to tell the whole story. I can't imagine a father doing this to his child. Especially after you read it took upwards of 15 mins to kill her. That brings me to tears. He, at every minute had a chance to stop and not murder her. Pure Evi! Is in his DNA. After reading that Shane's dad still tried to collect the insurance money after Shane's conviction I think is very telling. His brothers odd behavior and his mother too for that matter. Seems like there is some long generational trouble there. The story never really clarified the question of if there was molestation involved with Tiffany and Christine nor did the autopsy seem to address this. I had the creepy vibe from his actions that this was going on as well as the insurance money scams. I know Renee is with Jesus. Her loved ones will see her again one day when His followers are called home. Rest well little love.
July 20, 2019
Did enjoy this book on a very tragic crime. Could never understand how people could choose a person like this guy. He was a user, manipulator, hostile, I could go on and on but these women were excepting him. The grandmother, Sharon was very courageous. Cannot believe her ex-husband, she was trying to raise the money on her own for her sons defense attorney while the husband obviously had money, was easy for him to buy the ticket for Greece and then to Germany in order for their son to elude arrest. It is so ridiculous the politics that are involved with peoples lives. The medical examiner and the doctors stance was absolutely ridiculous. Always corruption when someone has power. Thank God for their perseverance and the outcome.
October 31, 2021
I picked this book up at the West Columbia library, it was on the staff choice shelf, and I really didn't have any idea what it was about other than true crime.
I certainly didn't expect to read a book about the murder of a little girl born a few months after myself & who died only miles away from where I currently live.
It was a very weird experience for me & tbh this book was one of the best written true crime books I have read in a while and truly, truly heartbreaking. There's no real happy ending in stories like this, of course, but I feel like often it's important to bear witness to these stories nonetheless.
I certainly didn't expect to read a book about the murder of a little girl born a few months after myself & who died only miles away from where I currently live.
It was a very weird experience for me & tbh this book was one of the best written true crime books I have read in a while and truly, truly heartbreaking. There's no real happy ending in stories like this, of course, but I feel like often it's important to bear witness to these stories nonetheless.
August 10, 2022
It blows my mind reading the reviews of people that don’t know this family and that was NOT there to know what happened. This book is not all facts and several things are not TRUE! Take it from someone who was there and knows more than any of you on the facts of what happened. My family has been through a lot since this book came out and before you decide to judge Shane’s parents and family know that they lost a family member too and I lost a sister! Negative comments about the family needs to be deleted and remember don’t mess with Karma!
August 21, 2019
I don't even know what to think about this book. It was good. I enjoyed it. But man was the guy jacked up. I haven't read true crime in a while and this was me cracking that door back open. I knew the dad did it. I mean, it was so obvious. But what's really scary is that he totally would have gotten away with it if Sharon (the grandmother) hadn't kept seeking things out like she did. She is the reason the case got re-opened and he got caught. I can't even begin to imagine what Annette (the mom) went through losing her baby girl to her psycho ex like she did. The author did a good job of painting the picture of things.
Read
June 8, 2020This is a tragic story of revenge. It is full of the details and research that went into finding the case to be a murder instead of "unknown cause". I am so grateful for the strength and perseverance that was necessary to solve this case.
See above. Highly recommend for understanding how a case is researched and the truth brought to light. We must watch our children very carefully.
See above. Highly recommend for understanding how a case is researched and the truth brought to light. We must watch our children very carefully.
May 24, 2023
I usually read fiction or historical fiction, but the title caught my eye in the bookstore. When I read the inside jacket about the death of a 2-year old, I was drawn to it and bought the book.
I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Stowers' writing, the story itself, and the delicate balance of the facts with well-written content. Not too dry, but also no sensationalism.
I will buy more of Carlton Stowers' books.
I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Stowers' writing, the story itself, and the delicate balance of the facts with well-written content. Not too dry, but also no sensationalism.
I will buy more of Carlton Stowers' books.
August 10, 2017
SPOILER REVIEW!
This book was so good but so cruel. Just processing the thought of how her own father killed his own daughter is so mean, cruel, harsh, coldhearted. Taking a innocent life is just well there are no words to explain it!
This book was so good but so cruel. Just processing the thought of how her own father killed his own daughter is so mean, cruel, harsh, coldhearted. Taking a innocent life is just well there are no words to explain it!
September 20, 2018
Although Michael Shane Goody was found guilty of killing his daughter, there is still a doubt because there was no evidence and he never denied it or admitted it. Still very sad that Katherine Renee life was cut so short. May you rest in peace
June 17, 2022
Deserving of 10 STARS!!!
EXCELLENT!! Rarely have I read a better, more thorough true crime book and I have read hundreds of them. A precious little girl was found dead. You MUST read the whole story! It is a GREAT book!
EXCELLENT!! Rarely have I read a better, more thorough true crime book and I have read hundreds of them. A precious little girl was found dead. You MUST read the whole story! It is a GREAT book!
November 14, 2022
3.5
Pretty good book, a few editing errors but nothing major. Sometimes the author seemed to let his opinion shine through on certain topics which I don't love from a true crime writer, but it didn't ruin the book for me.
Pretty good book, a few editing errors but nothing major. Sometimes the author seemed to let his opinion shine through on certain topics which I don't love from a true crime writer, but it didn't ruin the book for me.
June 11, 2019
Great book!
Captivating and very interesting in the way the case was handled to begin with. Sharon Couch is a hero. Rest In Peace, sweet Renee. You deserved so much more.
Captivating and very interesting in the way the case was handled to begin with. Sharon Couch is a hero. Rest In Peace, sweet Renee. You deserved so much more.
June 28, 2022
Never trust a narcissist. They are evil people.
November 27, 2023
'Real life is a maze of mysteries and unanswered questions. And is some darkened corridor there is an evil real and menacing, that threatens us all."
February 29, 2024
Well told story
I really like Mr. Stowers books. They are always well written, and sympathetic to the victims and their families. The detail in the investigation is well done.
I really like Mr. Stowers books. They are always well written, and sympathetic to the victims and their families. The detail in the investigation is well done.
March 27, 2025
4.5 stars. Incredibly sad story. So well written. Outlined in a way that is informative and intriguing to make it hard to put down.
April 18, 2025
Sad story, but very well written. Hard to believe the tenacity of Sharon, Annette, and the investigators.
July 12, 2025
interesting
November 13, 2020
It's been over a decade since I read Stowers's Pulitzer Prize-nominated "Innocence Lost". I recall I really liked it and within a year acquired "To the Last Breath", which unfortunately sat on the bookshelf for over a decade. Then one day I was required to move the bookshelf to paint and plucked it from the shelf and decided to read it.
All I can say is "wow". Even though you may know the end result, Stowers grabs you from the first chapter and holds my interest in a way that other nonfiction writers cannot. The book reads in some respects like a novel, but you are always reminded that this is the real deal, which makes it all the more enthralling.
Stowers mentions in the Afterword that as a nonfiction writer you grapple with the inability to bring full closure to exactly what happened the night of the tragic event, but it's the ride before AND after that event that still had me going through a wide range of emotions. So rest easy, Mr. Stowers, because once again you did a marvelous job of telling this young girl's story.
All I can say is "wow". Even though you may know the end result, Stowers grabs you from the first chapter and holds my interest in a way that other nonfiction writers cannot. The book reads in some respects like a novel, but you are always reminded that this is the real deal, which makes it all the more enthralling.
Stowers mentions in the Afterword that as a nonfiction writer you grapple with the inability to bring full closure to exactly what happened the night of the tragic event, but it's the ride before AND after that event that still had me going through a wide range of emotions. So rest easy, Mr. Stowers, because once again you did a marvelous job of telling this young girl's story.
June 12, 2024
The book is okay but it wasn’t a page turner by any stretch of the imagination.
January 19, 2015
To The Last Breath is a true crime novel written by Carlton Stowers. The story details how three women fight for the truth behind a child’s tragic murder at the hands of her father. Renee Goode died at the age of 2 1/2 years old at the hands of her father Shane Goode. It appeared that he had gotten away with the murder but the grandmother and mother of the baby fought hard to get the body exhumed and a second autopsy to prove that she had indeed been murdered.
I don’t generally read true crime novels but this one was well written. To be honest I thought it was a murder mystery and once reading it realized that the story was being given to me in the form of factual details. I searched online to learn that this was a true crime novel. Once I looked at the book from that angle I became so frustrated at what the women involved in this legal drama were going through. They persevered and justice was found for Renee.
I certainly hope that this man is still in prison. If anyone has any information please share. I Googled this and could not get anything.
I don’t generally read true crime novels but this one was well written. To be honest I thought it was a murder mystery and once reading it realized that the story was being given to me in the form of factual details. I searched online to learn that this was a true crime novel. Once I looked at the book from that angle I became so frustrated at what the women involved in this legal drama were going through. They persevered and justice was found for Renee.
I certainly hope that this man is still in prison. If anyone has any information please share. I Googled this and could not get anything.
August 5, 2012
Pretty good story. A tragic event that began with the death of a 2 year old little girl, and ended with her own father being indicted for her murder. A story of 3 women who fought like hell to prove what they knew in their hearts to be true, and who are still fighting for the rights of little ones taken too soon.
March 5, 2009
This scared me. I read it a long time ago, and I have to agree with a friend of mine, who in her review, said she still thinks of this. I do also. This really frightened me. It's probably one of the most unique true crime stories I've ever come across.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews