The First Shall Be Last

Sharyn Howard Mystery #12

by Joyce Lavene, Jim Lavene

As the snow falls in Diamond Springs, the mood shifts, bringing with it a string of suspicious events. The death of deputy David Matthews has Sheriff Sharyn Howard more determined than ever in her quest to find his killer and solve the murder of her own father, the former sheriff. She knows that her old nemesis, Jack Winter, the former DA turned Senator is somehow involved in both murders and she devises her riskiest plan ever to attempt the bring Jack Winter to justice. After a young, single mother is run down on a cold winter morning and the murder is traced back to ADA Alan Michaelson, Sharon's suspicions of Jack heighten and the hunt for Michaelson begins. Upon discovering him dead in his garage, slumped over the wheel of his Humvee with the motor running, Sharon puts her plan in full motion. Regretfully, she has broken off her relationship with her long-time boyfriend Nick Thomopolis, the county coroner, and instead allies herself with her number one Jack Winter. Jack's arrogance and unstoppable drive as Senator and the need to control everyone around him makes him more difficult to crack than she first assumed. With everyone, including her Aunt Selma and most of her deputies, disgusted with her new behavior, the people she loves the most begin to question her capabilities and start to lose trust in the town's most vigilant sheriff. It's up to Sharyn to maintain her beliefs, trust in her own instincts, and get to the bottom of the mysteries that have cast a pall on Diamond Springs for decades. In this final installment of the Sharyn Howard Mystery series, Jim and Joyce Lavene, unravel their finest story of Diamond Springs' incredible sheriff and give her fans the answers they've been seeking.

Genres: Mystery

250 pages, Hardcover

First published June 24, 2007

About the author

aka Elyssa Henry and Joye Ames, J.J. Cook, and Ellie Grant

Joyce Lavene and Jim Lavene are a wife and husband team who have written and published more than 70 books since 1999. They live in North Carolina with their family and enjoy cooking, photography and ghost hunting.

Reviews

[Connie Parker · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wish I could give this negative stars. This one is right down there with Run Rose Run. Just awful and feels like a 6th grader wrote this garbage.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A satisfying conclusion to the Shary Howard mysteries.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stayed up all night to read this book in one sitting. I am so bummed that this is the last book in the Sharyn Howard mystery series. For those that have read this series, Sharyn finally gets to deal with Jack Winter in a very satisfying way...and that is all I'm going to say on that subject.

I have actually corresponded with Joyce Lavene and she has confirmed that this is the last book in the series but I can always hope that someday maybe....

This series was a little hard to track down all of the books (there are 12) but I would encourage anyone that likes mysteries to go that extra mile. This series is worth it. It is a little different in that the main characters are all in law enforcement where in most cozies the main character dates or is married to someone in law enforcement or a related field. I feel that is one of the strong points for this series in that you don't have all that sleuthing behind the police's backs.

I for one am going to miss Sharyn, Ernie, Nick and the rest of the gang in Diamond Springs. And they never got to move into their new office space (an inside joke that you will have to read the series to understand).

5 stars, the series ended with a bang.

[Dharia Scarab · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...

1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.

2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.

3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.

4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.

5 stars... I loved this book! It had earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.