Last to Know

by Elizabeth Adler

Evening Lake: an idyllic, peaceful, western Massachusetts getaway with a close-knit community of families. Detective Harry Jordan sees his lake home as a respite from solving crimes on the streets of Boston...until crime comes to Evening Lake. Harry Jordan is out for a walk when the night is rocked by an explosion: the Havnel house is engulfed in a conflagration and Bea Havnel is seen fleeing, hair on fire, plunging into the lake. Mysterious, rough-around-the edges, and private, Bea and her mother Lacey are newcomers to Evening Lake and nothing like the well-heeled families of the community. Bea survives the fire, but her mother does not, and Harry is pulled into the investigation. As is young Diz Osborne, who, unbeknownst to any of them, carries a weighty secret about who else he saw rowing on the lake that night. When it's discovered that Lacey Havnel died not from the explosion but from a knife wound, it's clear that a murderer is on the loose. And this murderer is poised to strike again, and again. Told with Elizabeth Adler's inimitable style, illuminating descriptions, and intricate family dynamics, Last to Know is the definition of a page-turner.

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Fiction, Suspense, Thriller, Romance, Romantic Suspense

336 pages, Hardcover

First published July 22, 2014

About the author

Born in Yorkshire, North England, Elizabeth Adler met her husband Richard (an American) while both were working in London. They have lived in England, Ireland, France, Brazil, and the United States and have traveled extensively. They have one daughter and live in Palm Springs, California. Her first novel, Private Desires (also titled Leonie), launched an enormously successful writing career, she also wrote as Ariana Scott. She has now written over twenty internationally acclaimed bestsellers.

Reviews

[Dale Harcombe · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story starts with a prologue and an unidentified voice telling the reader,’this will not be the first time I have killed.’ We do learn that the killer has Rose Osborne in their sights. The scene then shifts to Evening Lake Western Massachusetts at 3am. Evening Lake is a peaceful place so Detective Harry Jordan and several other inhabitants think. Until one evening while Harry is alerted by his Malamute, Squeeze, that something is wrong. He goes to investigate. Suddenly he sees a young woman at the door of a house on the other side of the lake. Her hair is a ring of fire and then there is an explosion.
The young woman is Bea Havnel. Her mother Lacey is believed to have died in the fire. But when the charred body is later discovered it is obvious this is not the whole story. It is murder. As events unfold another murder occurs and several people fall under suspicion.
I am not familiar with this author and picked up the book purely because I liked the cover and the title. For me it was just an average read. There were certainly some scenes of the story I could have done without and I never warmed to any of the characters, not even Rose who was seen by many as such a paragon. There were also anomalies that didn’t ring true to me e.g. Detective Jordan must have exceptional eyesight to see the look on a person’s face when they were across the other side of the lake. Things like that do pull a reader out of the story.
I suppose the thing is, I did keep reading because I wanted to see if I was right about the murderer. No worries on that score. I have to say it was peopled with more than one unlikable character, and a couple quite horrible. Would I read another book by this author, who apparently has written quite a number? The jury is still out on that one. This one is not as good a book as I think it could have been.

[Adrienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook. A mostly peaceful lakeside community, a detective on holiday plus a few outsiders. A holiday home explodes in a ball if fire.
Definitely a great story with many twists. Did not guess the ending.

[Krissy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not good.

[Jen Wells · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my first book by this author and will probably be my last. I had trouble getting into it and it never did interest me. I finally gave up and skipped to the end. I thought maybe I was just in a reading funk but picked up a Jennifer McMahon book right after and read it in one sitting.

[Jackie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Help; I need to read a good book. This is the third in a row that I could barely force myself to finish. I feel like I wasted hours of my life with this predictable and unbelievable plot, poor writing, sterotypical characters, errors in facts (such as how could Harry see the face of a girl at 3:00 in the morning from across the lake). I won't go on anymore other than to say, don't waste your time on this one.

[Dorsi · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was my first by this author and will most likely will be my last. I didn't like any of the characters. The detective's girlfriend was the most self centered, childish, annoying character ever written. The story line was just awful. There were people hopping on planes to Paris like they were taking a mere trip to the market. It was predictable too. I listened to this one. The narration wasn't great either. Bleh.

[Fabi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Foi o primeiro livro que li da autora. Gostei é um livro que se lê rápido e é interessante com um pouco de mistério!

[Joannjohnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have always enjoyed Adler's books in the past so this was one came as a disappointment. "Last To Know" was definitely a divergent style from her previous books that I have read. In the beginning she achieved suspense, but the plot became too predictable too early in the book. This was a fast read since the chapters were so short, but not enough story line was developed to really make me feel connected. Hopefully her next adventure/romance novel will take us away to another foreign city once again!

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up at a small shop while I was camping. I didn't expect it to be so good, especially after reading some of the bad reviews about it on here. A lot of people claiming that they couldn't get into the book so they gave up. I agree, the first chapter or two was a bit tough, but after that, I was hooked. This book was literally so good and played a part in reigniting my love for reading.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

One thing I liked about this story was the use of a different narrator for the "thoughts" of the killer; however, the story was not that exciting and about halfway through became very predictable. Just OK for me--5 out of 10 on this one.

[Carey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Uggh. Did not like. Ridiculous characters doing improbable things. And the ending made no sense at all. It was a struggle to finish this book - I wanted to stop after the first 50 pages.

Why did Mal quit her job to hang out with Harry Jordan? He seems to be too busy for a girlfriend ... there is apparently an earlier story here ... I will NOT be looking for it.

Okay, the killer is crazy, that's fine. The creepy guy is a red herring, that's fine. The killer's narrative refers to herself in the third person, that's fine ... transparent, but fine. Rose is impossibly good. Why did that family take in a stranger after a tragedy? Improbable! Why did the police officer push for it? Improbable! Why did the killer want to kill Rose, then be part of Rose's family/replace Rose, then kill Rose again? And why was Jemima killed again? I forgot because I was so distracted by they way everyone magically knew that Jemima recognized her killer ... I hadn't realized that Jemima and Bea had met. And if Bea was so evil and smart, why did she leave a knife in her mother's eye? Makes no sense. Even if she removed it, the coroner would have figured out the cause of death. And how did those people function with one stolen identity and one made-up identity? I'm not sure that's possible. Also, the author doesn't seem to understand how Facebook works. And then, the ending ... okay, the creepy guy kills Bea ... why does he think he's her father again? Didn't he rule that out earlier? And then why did he kill himself? Or did he? It wasn't totally clear. Obviously.

[Jamie Barringer (Ravenmount) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a bit reluctant to read this book, as the back cover suggested this was a romance as well as a murder mystery, but I was pleased to discover that this novel really is a murder mystery, and the only romantic thread is the detective's annoyed fiance. I knew who the murder was from the very beginning of the plot, but even so, there were some fun surprises in the end that made this book a rewarding read.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was a good book..kind of sad but she is a good writer had me wondering for abit who the killer was..but as soon as I was pretty sure turned out I was correct woohoo..very sad to know there are very evil peoepl out there that can kill and have no remorse for it what so ever..

[Weeziee Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my Gosh!!!!! Kept me up! Must read I hope it becomes a series

[Xana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Estes últimos livros que li da autora são fraquinhos!! Leem-se bem, mas fica sempre a sensação do sabe a pouco.
Não me sinto tentada a ler mais dela, confesso...

[Vanessa Montês · Rating 3 out of 5]

(...)

Tive imensa pensa de se ter compreendido tão depressa quem era quem, mas tal não me impediu de querer saber como a ação se iria desenvolver e que secretos tinha a família Osborne, porque é fácil compreendermos que algo se passa no seio daquela família. Também queria ver como é a que a influência de Bea ia alterar o ambiente familiar e até quando isso iria acontecer.

É um livro com uma história simples e com uma rapidez de acontecimentos louca, sendo este ingrediente o que prende o leitor e o que o faz ler a uma velocidade louca. Um bom livro para passar um bom bocado.

Opinião completa em http://blocodedevaneios.blogspot.pt/2...

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the audiobook of this mystery centering around a house fire/explosion that takes a mother's life, but spares the daughter. This takes place at the lake where the main detective, Harry, lives and involves his rescue of that girl and ongoing support of her through another family from the lake community. Everything takes a turn when it is discovered that the mother was murdered prior to the fire and that she was not who she said was which calls the daughter's identity into question along with her story of how the fire started.

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wouldn't have finished this if I wasn't listening to it at work. Blah.

[Kimba Tichenor · Rating 1 out of 5]

First five chapters read and just cannot make myself go any further. Too many seasoned cops acting naively, too many damsel-in-distress references, and way, way, way too much stilted dialogue.

[Kathi Johnson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sorry I started this one and sorry I finished it.

[Mª João Monteiro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Afinal a leitura noturna acabou-se à hora da sesta... É um thriller fraquinho; logo no início temos uma voz diferente da do narrador que nos informa que vai matar alguém. Ficamos na expetativa e aparecem outras personagens e seguimos outros acontecimentos. Este suspense é bem conseguido, a maioria das personagens também. O protagonista é um deles, a sua namorada amuada não e nem se percebe a sua função na história, tal como outras personagens também são um pouco figurantes de mais. O final é pouco satisfatório; poderia ser perfeitamente o mesmo autor do crime, mas há algumas partes estranhas e mal contadas para despertar suspeitas infundadas no leitor. É aqui que, quanto a mim, a história falha. De resto, entretém por um bom bocado 3e é fácil de ler.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Usually enjoy Elizabeth Adler's mysteries, however this was too easy and quick. It left nothing to my imagination. Figured out the killer early in the book, although some readers may have had doubts if not regular readers of thrillers/mystery novels. This has short chapters and is easily read in a couple of hours.

Not sure why so many reviews are so horrible. I've certainly read worse and felt this book was worth my afternoon of leisure time all by myself.

[Barbara Blindauer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a stand alone book by this author. Half way through I figured out who the murderer was. Detective Harry Jordan is at his lake house with his dog, after he and his long time girlfriend have broken up. The house across the lake blows up and Harry sees a young girl jump into the lake. Her mother has died in the blast or did she.

[Lizzy Dardeau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow read. Ending picks up but too predictable for me.

[VP · Rating 1 out of 5]

I listened to this (at 1.8x speed) while gardening. I would not have bothered to finish otherwise.

I wish the reader would have skipped the cartoonish Boston-ish accents.

The author needs to study actual dialogue, as all sounded wrong to my ears, with the odd British-isms, and the lack of contractions.

Those aside, what a simple, obvious story. A sociopath tries to appropriate 'perfect' family. The killer should have been immediately obvious - made easier with the gender of the reader for sections from the killer's POV.

Whiny fiancee gets upset, quits job, and runs to Paris, nobly avoiding hooking up with an enscarfed French man. Not sure at all why she is in this story at all. She may be the love of our hero's life, but why?

I could go on and on.

Don't read this book.

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are the building blocks of a good plot here, but the execution left something to be desired. The characters felt flat and one-dimensional to me, and although things kept happening in the plot, I couldn't muster the energy to care. Looking at the author's creds, it's apparent that Adler's an experienced and prolific writer, so it could be that this book is just an anomaly.

[Ashley {_xamountofbooks} · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Took me awhile to get into it and the end seemed kind of anticlimactic. There were also quite a few times in the book where I felt that there was an unnecessary amount of detail describing something.

[Carrie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not even worth one star. So disappointing to begin a book that has good reviews only to find it was written for the lowest reading level possible. Proof that a writer does not have to have an English degree to get a book published.

What a waste of time. Didn't finish.

[Lori · Rating 1 out of 5]

really should have listened to my inner voice and stopped on page 50, absolutely awful

[Deb Duhl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another awful book.... I had to make myself finish this book.