Her Last Letter

by Nancy C. Johnson

In the Colorado mountain town of Glenwood Springs, not far from Aspen, artist/photographer Gwyn Sanders discovers a cryptic letter her sister Kelly left behind. The victim of a deadly hit and run, Kelly reveals she was sexually involved with her sister's boyfriend and is scared for her life. Both Gwyn and her remaining sister Linda have since married their boyfriends, so either could be guilty of murder. The sisters received a large inheritance before meeting these men, and know little of either man's background. Worse, both Gwyn and Linda love their husbands deeply, but steps must be taken to find the truth. And the truth is complicated. Is it one of the two men, or another previous lover? Or none of them? Danger abounds and everyone is a suspect as Gwyn tries with the help of a gifted private detective to track a killer....

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Ebooks, Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Romance, Thriller Suspense

296 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2007

Reviews

[Cara St.Hilaire]

I feel terribly criticizing someone's work this way. I downloaded this on my Kindle because it was only .99 at the time and I love a good suspense story. What, in theory, should hook readers in
--the main character is an artist living in the Rockies
--the story evolves from a crypic/mysterious note left by the lead characters deceased sister
--the ever-growing mystery that perhaps your husband could be guilty of deception and murder? Juicy!

However, the delivery just wasn't there.
--Yes, Gwyn is an artist. But the one exibit she had was in a mall instead of a quaint gallery and her life is anything but that of a passionate artist.
--the letter left behind by the sister was the most interesting part, but it could have been so much more suspenseful.
--I stopped caring if her husband (Trevor) or her sister's husband (Wolfgang...really? Wolfgang?) were murderers because they were so typical and so annoying. I'm not sure what would draw any woman to either of these men. Materialistic, annoying, and cheesy would describe Trevor. Wolfgang was your typical bodybuilding, abusive, unintelligent man with no class.

My dislike for this story could very much be cultural. Art shows in malls, tacky steakhouses, fancy ski equipment, and McMansions are of no interest to me. There wasn't any charm either geographically or pertaining to the characters.

[Jayne]

I thought the premise of the story was good and it gripped your attention but I felt there was too much detail that was unnecessary ( for example all the food details, who cares what the characters ate! ) The characters themselves were not that believable. Why would you suspect your husband of murdering your sister?? I didn't think the book really flowed and found myself wanting to get to the 'meat' of it instead of wading through pages of parties and ski trips that didn't add to the storyline. Not a very satisfying read I'm afraid!

[Vicki Jaeger]

Where to begin. The ebook version was $0.99, and you get what you pay for. The plot felt like a 1970s poorly crafted made-for-tv movie, with way too many predictable red herrings. The main character is an artist by trade, but she only describes things like a new shopping mall with any type of detail. And the language is awkward, saying things like, "sipping her iced tea through a straw." Like I need to know a straw was involved??
I had to finish it to see where she ended up. I could've saved the time and read something else. Whatever you do, DON'T PICK UP THIS BOOK. I'm begging you.

[Melanie Kealey]

Really had a hard time getting through this one. The characters weren't likeable, the story was filled with too many superficial details and not enough emotion to make me care about Gwyn, her sister, or even if the killer was caught. Gwyn, the main character, was too weirdly moody and irrational to warm up to and the dialogue between her and everyone else was stilted and forced. I picked up this ebook because the price was right, but I only finished it to get through it.

[Tonya]

Good and quick read!

The book held my attention even though the main characters were frustrating at times. I loved the Colorado setting. It was a nice escape. The plot had enough twists to hold my interest.

[Vicki Tyley]

I'm having a really good run with the books I've read lately, and this is no exception. I really liked the premise of Her Last Letter, not to mention the many twists – especially the one at the end.

[Julie]

I really liked this one! I think it was free or 99 cents in the kindle store, but it was really good! Very suspenseful and keeps us guessing until the end.

[Ginger]

New author to me, an ebook I downloaded for free a really long time ago. I didn’t have all of the mystery figured out, that’s for sure. I really liked the way the author kept throwing blame on different people, keeping the reader confused as to who the killer was. Would definitely read another book by Ms. Johnson.

[Lori Anderson]

Another near-freebie I ran across via the Kindle. And while it's definitely not high literature, it was a quick read that blew the cobwebs out of my head.

The premise -- three sisters. One was killed. The other two are married. One of the marrieds finds a letter written by the dead sister saying she had an affair with the boyfriend of one of the sisters and she's afraid he's going to kill her "like he did the other one".

The question now is, which husband did it?

Thrown into the mix is an ex-boyfriend that fell within the time frame who suddenly reappears on the scene, one of the husbands who may or may not be cheating, and one of the husbands who may or may not be beating his wife. Add a generous portion (to the point of being too much) Aspen skiing. Mix that with some tidy wrap-ups when strings are left dangling. You're left with a decent night's read, but it all ends up tidy and a little predictable, where the author had the chance to be edgy and exciting.


Lori Anderson


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[Imogen Rose]

When Gwyn Saunders discovers a letter that was hidden, taped inside a dresser, by her murdered sister implicating her husband as a possible suspect, Gwyn’s relationship with him is, not surprisingly, compromised. Compromised because it’s not exactly clear who her sister was referring to in her letter. It could have been Gwyn’s husband, but it could also have been her brother-in law or her old boyfriend...

Nancy C. Johnson spins an exciting whodunit, where no one can be trusted, and everyone is implicated. I enjoyed every minute of reading it. Nancy immediately hooked me and kept me captivated right to the end. I look forward to Nancy’s next book.

[Maggie White]

A good wee read. Might be one to take on holiday and read by the pool or on the beach. it is the story of a girl trying to solve the mystery of her sister's murder. it starts with the sister, Kelly, last latter that gwyn finds secreted in part of kelly's furniture. This sets off a catalogue of reactions that Gwyn had not expected especially when Kelly admits that she has slept with her sister's boyfriend - but which sister and which boyfriend she doesn't confess to.
Good book and worth reading.

[Monica]

I only liked one thing about this book and that was the setting. I bought it for 99 cents on my Nook and what made me purchase it was the fact it took place in my hometown of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. I enjoyed the shout out to local places I love like the Italian Underground,but that is all I enjoyed. The character development was non- existent and it was a lot of dialogue. Sometimes it reminded me of how third graders write a story after you teach them about quotation marks which is all dialogue and no clue who is talking or what is happening.

[Jean]

Her Last Letter was nice, but not much of a mystery. It focuses on Gwyn, who recently discovers a letter written by her sister who was murdered. She then decides to discover who murdered her beloved Kelly. Unfortunately, Gwyn did little investigating, chosing to do the smart thing instead, and hire a private investigator. The result wasn't very interesting. The book focused on skiing and the life of rich married women more than Kelly's murder. The ending was bland, and was not shocking or scary in any way. The idea was a good one, but the book wasn't much of a mystery.

[Melissa]

The actual storyline was gripping and suspenseful and I loved how the author developed the characters. With that said, I was quite disappointed in the ending as many main characters just dropped off in the novel with no real resolution to some thematic conflicts. There were just enough twists and turns to the main storyline all the way to the end. Overall a pretty good read.

[Jerusha]

Well, overall, it was OK. A cheap buy on the Kindle, and I was hoping it would be a great suspense story. Eh...I was hoping for better characters (the most interesting character was the dead sister). I was hoping for a better ending (you mean the crazy suspect was the killer all along). I won't rush out to read more by this author.

[Karen]

i have really enjoyed reading this book, it has kept me interested the whole way through,even the ending was all sewn up nicely, not leaving you to wonder what the characters were carrying on to do,in my opinion this book has been really well written and i will read more of Nancy C Johnson's books..

[Danielle]

For $0.99 on kindle...this was a great read!

[Janejellyroll]

This is a blandly generic domestic suspense book. Gwyn's sister, Kelly, was murdered a few years ago and while going through her things, she finds a letter and discovers that Kelly was having an affair with her sister's boyfriend and she was afraid of him. The problem for Gwyn is that "my sister's boyfriend" could be her now-husband, her other sister's now-husband, or Gwyn's ex, Josh. The plot is bogged down with lots of descriptions of trips, meals, and parties that have little to do with moving the plot forward. Gwyn's husband may or may not be having an affair which may or may not be with a business partner. Josh may or may not be trying to win Gwyn back. Her other sister, Linda, may or may not be hiding something about her husband. It doesn't help that this book is basically about the idle rich and not in the good soap opera way . . . more like in the "how do these people live without real goals or challenges way"?

[Caryn]

I liked it. This was a murder mystery that kept me guessing. Although I did guess part of the mystery, I never guessed it all. The story did get overly wordy in places but I thought it added to defining the characters’ characters and thought processes. Anyway, there were some harsh reviews on this book but I’m glad I don’t judge based on them!

I enjoyed this book.

[Margaret Saal]

In Colorado Gwyn Saunders discovers a cryptic letter her sister Kelly left behind. The victim of a deadly hit and run, Kelly reveals she was sexually involved with her sisters boyfriend. Both Gwyn and her remaining sister have since married their boyfriends so could one of them been her killer.? Sounds a promising book but in reality not a good story line and boring.

[Debbie]

I had a very hard time getting through this one and I didn’t have to pay for it thankfully. I found it to be looking to hook younger readers the way it was written (I’m old). I had the same trouble with “The Last Mrs. Parrish”. Neither book was well written, and both were looking for a younger audience. I stuck with it to the end but will only give 2 stars.... generously....

[Diane J. Caldarulo]

A sad but poignant story

Two sisters, originally 3...their relationship with others and each other...the scars they carry inside and out...the writer really draws a good picture of pifalls of life

[Terena]

Gwyn Sanders reads a old letter from her deceased sister Kelly, and this makes her wonder if the man accused of Kelly's murder really did do it. Whilst I felt the whodunit was a bit of an anti climax, I did enjoy the book overall, and loved the descriptions of the Colorado skiing scenery.

[Pamela Jones]

A thrilling ride

Sisters. Girlfriend. Ex boyfriend. Husbands. And murder.

This story rides like a roller coaster and never stops. A thriller whodunit, masterfully told, I loved every page.

[Marcia Lechleitner]

It is hard to put this book down. Excellent read and very mysterious.

[Donna Palmer]

Easy read

This book was easy to read and had a great story line that kept you thinking and wanting to read more

[Mrs J Akhurst]

Brilliant

A really great read, fantastic writer good story had trouble putting it down. I hope you also enjoy it, I'll look for further books by this author.

[Violet Brown]

Quite a good book. First time reading this author. Kind of long at times but well written

[Patrick & Donna]

A great read

A great plot, story moved along quickly and kept me in suspense. Characters were convincing and script was well thought out.

[Barbara Evans]

Great book. Interesting characters. Lots of twists!