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Last Breath
A USA Today Bestselling Author A former top cop, now a crackerjack attorney, Chloe Ryder always gets to the heart of the matter. She never lets anything or anyone get past her cool, protective exterior. Yet even she can't keep her feelings on ice when a murdered man is found in the sanctuary of her church and Father Brendan, beloved by all his parish is suspected of the shocking crime. To protect the innocent priest, she is forced to investigate the case with her former lover, Detective Matthew Diel. And to this day only Matt knows the secret tragedy in Chloe's past. Working with her again, he soon realizes some painful truths. He never stopped loving her -- and he may never again get the chance to prove it, because a killer is watching their every move.
341 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2003
4 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
About the author
Rachel Lee
368 books140 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Rachel Lee is a New York Times best-selling author and the winner of Six Romantic Times magazine Reviewers' Choice Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and is a five-time finalist for the Romance Writers of America's RITA® Award. She has penned a wide variety of novels in several genres including fantasy, romantic suspense, and romantic comedy. She resides in Tampa, Florida.
Rachel Lee is a New York Times best-selling author and the winner of Six Romantic Times magazine Reviewers' Choice Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and is a five-time finalist for the Romance Writers of America's RITA® Award. She has penned a wide variety of novels in several genres including fantasy, romantic suspense, and romantic comedy. She resides in Tampa, Florida.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 3, 2025
Boring and overly religious. I very loosely tag this as a "thriller."
I can't believe this was written by the same person who wrote some of my favorite romance novels.
I can't believe this was written by the same person who wrote some of my favorite romance novels.
January 26, 2023
She always writes a good murder mystery. I have not read her for a while I need to see what she has been writing lately.
Good characters and excellent plot. Great ending.
Good characters and excellent plot. Great ending.
February 24, 2014
Let me state like a previous reviewer has already pointed out - this is NOT a romantic suspense book like the publisher stated on the book's spine. Let me say that again - NO ROMANCE! In fact, the blurb on the back of the book is a total fabrication (the names are correct but that's about it):
"A former top cop and now a crackerjack attorney, Chloe Ryder always gets to the heart of the matter with stunning precision. She never lets anything or anyone get past her cool, protective exterior. Yet even she can't keep her feelings on ice when a murdered man is found in the hallowed sanctuary of her church and Father Brendan, beloved by all his parish members, is suspected of the shocking crime. To protect the innocent priest, she is forced to investigate the case with Detective Matthew Diel. They had once been lovers, and to this day only Matt knows the secret tragedy in Chloe's past. Now working with her again, he soon realizes some painful truths. He has never stopped loving her -- and he may never again get the chance to prove it. Because a killer is watching their every move...LAST BREATH"
Fact #1: First, no one suspects Father Brendan Quinlan of killing anyone...including the police.
Fact #2: Chloe Ryder and Detective Matthew Diel were NEVER lovers - just co-workers (fellow cops) and friends.
Fact #3: Matthew Diel never loved Chloe in their past - he was just attracted to her but she was married at that time so nothing came from it.
I think I would have liked this book better if I hadn't expected a romance to show up sometime in the story (as promised and implied) but there was only a brief kiss and a touch of a hand. That's it!
Also the ending was a huge letdown...how about you solve the mystery, Rachel Lee??? Oh, the initial crime (the murdered young man) was solved but you knew who did it fairly soon in the book so there was no real mystery there anyway but the author had to add a whole other "conspiracy" element which never gets resolved and you are left with a whole lot of unanswered questions. The book leaves you feeling like something is left unfinished.
"A former top cop and now a crackerjack attorney, Chloe Ryder always gets to the heart of the matter with stunning precision. She never lets anything or anyone get past her cool, protective exterior. Yet even she can't keep her feelings on ice when a murdered man is found in the hallowed sanctuary of her church and Father Brendan, beloved by all his parish members, is suspected of the shocking crime. To protect the innocent priest, she is forced to investigate the case with Detective Matthew Diel. They had once been lovers, and to this day only Matt knows the secret tragedy in Chloe's past. Now working with her again, he soon realizes some painful truths. He has never stopped loving her -- and he may never again get the chance to prove it. Because a killer is watching their every move...LAST BREATH"
Fact #1: First, no one suspects Father Brendan Quinlan of killing anyone...including the police.
Fact #2: Chloe Ryder and Detective Matthew Diel were NEVER lovers - just co-workers (fellow cops) and friends.
Fact #3: Matthew Diel never loved Chloe in their past - he was just attracted to her but she was married at that time so nothing came from it.
I think I would have liked this book better if I hadn't expected a romance to show up sometime in the story (as promised and implied) but there was only a brief kiss and a touch of a hand. That's it!
Also the ending was a huge letdown...how about you solve the mystery, Rachel Lee??? Oh, the initial crime (the murdered young man) was solved but you knew who did it fairly soon in the book so there was no real mystery there anyway but the author had to add a whole other "conspiracy" element which never gets resolved and you are left with a whole lot of unanswered questions. The book leaves you feeling like something is left unfinished.
June 9, 2018
First off, I want to state that this book is NOT a romantic suspense novel like the book claims and the blurb hints too. I don't like being mislead, and I feel the blurb did that by giving the impression that this would be a reunited love story. This is a thriller/mystery/suspense novel with .0001% of it being romance. /endrant…
Despite all that, I really loved the story. It was a highly captivating plot. A fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat thriller. It delves into sensitive subjects such as domestic violence, homosexuality, catholic church scandals and politics, and governmental conspiracy. But above all, it's a classic 'whodunit?' With so many twists and turns, that even when I knew who it was, I didn't really KNOW who it was.
Character development is off the hook! These people are practically jumping off the pages to perform the scenes in 3D. They're so life-like which makes it easy to sympathize with them and root for them. Even the "bad guys" I couldn't help but be sympathetic towards. As for the writing, I loved it immensely. It had the "flow" that I always look for in books. I'm a fan of Rachel Lee's contemporary romances under the name Sue Civil-Brown, so I was somewhat familiar with her, although this is the first thriller I've read by her. I'd definitely read more of her books.
Overall, I'm very pleased with almost every aspect of this book except for the misleading direction of the blurb. I was tempted to knock off a point in the rating because of it, but in the end I didn't. I feel this rating is a valid reflection of my feelings for the story that I read and enjoyed, despite the blurb and any falsification contained there. I'd recommend this one to fans of murder mysteries/thrillers/suspense novels.
Despite all that, I really loved the story. It was a highly captivating plot. A fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat thriller. It delves into sensitive subjects such as domestic violence, homosexuality, catholic church scandals and politics, and governmental conspiracy. But above all, it's a classic 'whodunit?' With so many twists and turns, that even when I knew who it was, I didn't really KNOW who it was.
Character development is off the hook! These people are practically jumping off the pages to perform the scenes in 3D. They're so life-like which makes it easy to sympathize with them and root for them. Even the "bad guys" I couldn't help but be sympathetic towards. As for the writing, I loved it immensely. It had the "flow" that I always look for in books. I'm a fan of Rachel Lee's contemporary romances under the name Sue Civil-Brown, so I was somewhat familiar with her, although this is the first thriller I've read by her. I'd definitely read more of her books.
Overall, I'm very pleased with almost every aspect of this book except for the misleading direction of the blurb. I was tempted to knock off a point in the rating because of it, but in the end I didn't. I feel this rating is a valid reflection of my feelings for the story that I read and enjoyed, despite the blurb and any falsification contained there. I'd recommend this one to fans of murder mysteries/thrillers/suspense novels.
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August 16, 2008Last Breath by Rachel Lee (2003)
August 15, 2010
Set in Tampa. A priest targeted for death, a sinister govt plot to discredit him,
December 9, 2012
great read. murder in the church...conspiracy with the government. leaves me wondering.
June 1, 2015
A little bit of mystery. A lot of personality interaction between the characters.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews