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Trouble to the Last Drop
Jenny Valentine is being hunted
Will the Law or the Stranger catch her first?
The world’s greatest Girl Detective is officially an adult—and in the biggest trouble of her life! Federal agents stalk her every waking move, and the Stranger haunts her nightmares. Jenny can’t trust her phone, her instincts, or even her girlfriend.
Are there hidden clues to be found in the pages of RJ Valentine’s final Trouble manuscript, or is this just another one of her father’s devilish red herrings? Jenny’s got a list of leads, a final heirloom to solve, and a dangerous ace up her sleeve that’s getting less secret by the day.
It’s the last stop for Trouble in this explosive finale to the Girl Detective mystery series. Can the pint-sized sleuth catch her nemesis in time, or is this the end of the line for Jenny Valentine?
Will the Law or the Stranger catch her first?
The world’s greatest Girl Detective is officially an adult—and in the biggest trouble of her life! Federal agents stalk her every waking move, and the Stranger haunts her nightmares. Jenny can’t trust her phone, her instincts, or even her girlfriend.
Are there hidden clues to be found in the pages of RJ Valentine’s final Trouble manuscript, or is this just another one of her father’s devilish red herrings? Jenny’s got a list of leads, a final heirloom to solve, and a dangerous ace up her sleeve that’s getting less secret by the day.
It’s the last stop for Trouble in this explosive finale to the Girl Detective mystery series. Can the pint-sized sleuth catch her nemesis in time, or is this the end of the line for Jenny Valentine?
430 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 1, 2025
4 people are currently reading
4 people want to read
About the author
James Taylor
5 books20 followersJames Taylor is a writer, podcaster, and jack-of-all-trades media producer. Over the years, he’s been a barista, a professional gambler, and a tech support phone jockey. When he’s not tucked into a corner at a random Starbucks working on Trouble, you can find him road-tripping around the west coast, drinking a pint of Dunkel by a fire pit, or playing video games in his office when he should be doing something productive. He lives in the Golden State.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 4, 2025
*slow clap*
It takes a lot to write a book, let alone five books, not to mention good pacing and a coherent through line. I had faith that the mystery would be wrapped up nicely but I honestly didn’t expect it to be quite this nicely. It wasn’t the ending I had hoped for exactly, …but that’s mainly because I enjoy a tragic villain, a matter of personal preference, not a criticism of the actual ending which works!
Some of my concerns from the previous book that I was glad were addressed:
- Seeing Jenny not be able to solve everything with cash
- Drew and Eliza – I can’t say I expected them to make Eliza’s actions less problematic in that particular fashion
Things I loved:
- Picking up where the 4th book left off, it kicked off with a killer pace immediately
- Making sense of the paintball scene retroactively
- RJ continues to just be the absolute worst
- Dinah’s story – she hasn’t always felt like a full character to me, likely because she is holding so much back from Jenny, so it was nice to get more from her
- Asha making a quick appearance - I would be there for a redemption arc if this ever became a show
- The train scene
-
- Naming a character Ben seemed like a reference to the author
Outstanding questions if I want to be nitpicky:
It takes a lot to write a book, let alone five books, not to mention good pacing and a coherent through line. I had faith that the mystery would be wrapped up nicely but I honestly didn’t expect it to be quite this nicely. It wasn’t the ending I had hoped for exactly, …but that’s mainly because I enjoy a tragic villain, a matter of personal preference, not a criticism of the actual ending which works!
Some of my concerns from the previous book that I was glad were addressed:
- Seeing Jenny not be able to solve everything with cash
- Drew and Eliza – I can’t say I expected them to make Eliza’s actions less problematic in that particular fashion
Things I loved:
- Picking up where the 4th book left off, it kicked off with a killer pace immediately
- Making sense of the paintball scene retroactively
- RJ continues to just be the absolute worst
- Dinah’s story – she hasn’t always felt like a full character to me, likely because she is holding so much back from Jenny, so it was nice to get more from her
- Asha making a quick appearance - I would be there for a redemption arc if this ever became a show
- The train scene
-
- Naming a character Ben seemed like a reference to the author
Outstanding questions if I want to be nitpicky:
July 3, 2025
Trouble
Great Book! Solving the mystery always feels so good! Cannot wait for the podcast. Time for a re read of book one.
Great Book! Solving the mystery always feels so good! Cannot wait for the podcast. Time for a re read of book one.
July 8, 2025
A fantastic end to the Trouble series with everything you want in a big reveal. I absolutely love the wine country setting, the hidden PLL references, and the evolution of Trouble. I hope this is made into a TV series some day, because the reveal was so captivating, it was like I was watching it ! Great job, bros!
July 4, 2025
stuck the landing
Been a trouble fan since day one, and this last book was super satisfying and really fun. Excited for more trouble in whatever way it comes!
Been a trouble fan since day one, and this last book was super satisfying and really fun. Excited for more trouble in whatever way it comes!
July 20, 2025
From the start to finish, this was a thrilling ride. What an epic conclusion to the Trouble experience!
What I appreciate most about the Trouble books is the sass from the teenage girls. I laughed out loud too many times at Jenny of course, but Penny got some great one liners in throughout this book (I now realise previous books didn’t have enough Penny!). I got annoyed at times in book 4 with some of the dialogue from Jenny and Eliza feeling just too immature, like it had come from a guy - but this book was back to feeling more grounded in the teenage girl struggle. Jennys inner turmoil over her relationship with Dinah was actually really nice to experience, as I’d felt like Dinah was somewhat of a nothing character up until this book. I think there was a missed opportunity in this book to get more of Eliza’s perspective on the big betrayal, but honestly, she’s a badass and I can chalk it up to my girl being able to compartmentalise (Eliza spin off please!!!!).
There was plenty of cheeky dialogue throughout that made my eyes widen, alarm bells go off in my head, and a giddy little grin come across my face when a little clue was sprinkled on to the page (“If I was the stranger, I would 100 percent hire someone to pose as me like that” - so cheeky!). I genuinely loved this book, the reveal was great! Not too far-fetched, enough explanation where you could still go back to previous books looking for clues you missed but still be satisfied putting the series down (if you’re a psycho), and just the right amount of violent justice given to the Stranger in the end. I always enjoy a villain that is just so gleeful and pleased with their bastardry too. Just an evil little guy looking to be a menace 🫶
I do hope that Trouble continues in the future, whether that be more through more books or an epic tv show. This has been so much fun to read and such a great refresher after too many unsatisfying, formulaic mystery books of late. I’ll read whatever you guys publish next! You’ve earnt a lifelong fan here 👋
What I appreciate most about the Trouble books is the sass from the teenage girls. I laughed out loud too many times at Jenny of course, but Penny got some great one liners in throughout this book (I now realise previous books didn’t have enough Penny!). I got annoyed at times in book 4 with some of the dialogue from Jenny and Eliza feeling just too immature, like it had come from a guy - but this book was back to feeling more grounded in the teenage girl struggle. Jennys inner turmoil over her relationship with Dinah was actually really nice to experience, as I’d felt like Dinah was somewhat of a nothing character up until this book. I think there was a missed opportunity in this book to get more of Eliza’s perspective on the big betrayal, but honestly, she’s a badass and I can chalk it up to my girl being able to compartmentalise (Eliza spin off please!!!!).
There was plenty of cheeky dialogue throughout that made my eyes widen, alarm bells go off in my head, and a giddy little grin come across my face when a little clue was sprinkled on to the page (“If I was the stranger, I would 100 percent hire someone to pose as me like that” - so cheeky!). I genuinely loved this book, the reveal was great! Not too far-fetched, enough explanation where you could still go back to previous books looking for clues you missed but still be satisfied putting the series down (if you’re a psycho), and just the right amount of violent justice given to the Stranger in the end. I always enjoy a villain that is just so gleeful and pleased with their bastardry too. Just an evil little guy looking to be a menace 🫶
I do hope that Trouble continues in the future, whether that be more through more books or an epic tv show. This has been so much fun to read and such a great refresher after too many unsatisfying, formulaic mystery books of late. I’ll read whatever you guys publish next! You’ve earnt a lifelong fan here 👋
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 9, 2025
A suitably epic end to this series!
I do think the ending felt a bit rushed -- there was a lot to explain and many questions to answer, and I would've loved to get more of the emotional impact of the reveal.
I also have to say I was a little letdown by the reveal of the Stranger's identity. I liked Drew, of course, and it felt like maybe he was a little too well hidden as a suspect. He was never on the suspect list at all, and there weren't notable hints about his sadistic, violent, arrogant, and psychotic tendencies. How he acted in the final scene felt so different from how he acted at all other times to the point of feeling like someone else entirely. And considering all the awful things he did and the depth of that betrayal, I wanted to have Jenny and Eliza sit with the weight of that betrayal more.
That said, I did enjoy this book! I read through it and couldn't put it down, loved the intricate plotting and the investigations into everything, it was very thorough and the tension was definitely raised for this final installment. Excited to see what Taylor and Sparks write next!
I do think the ending felt a bit rushed -- there was a lot to explain and many questions to answer, and I would've loved to get more of the emotional impact of the reveal.
I also have to say I was a little letdown by the reveal of the Stranger's identity. I liked Drew, of course, and it felt like maybe he was a little too well hidden as a suspect. He was never on the suspect list at all, and there weren't notable hints about his sadistic, violent, arrogant, and psychotic tendencies. How he acted in the final scene felt so different from how he acted at all other times to the point of feeling like someone else entirely. And considering all the awful things he did and the depth of that betrayal, I wanted to have Jenny and Eliza sit with the weight of that betrayal more.
That said, I did enjoy this book! I read through it and couldn't put it down, loved the intricate plotting and the investigations into everything, it was very thorough and the tension was definitely raised for this final installment. Excited to see what Taylor and Sparks write next!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2025
What a wonderfully brilliant ending to a series that made me excited about reading mysteries again. I read this straight through in 19 hours - I just had to know how it ended! Then, I read it a second time to pick out all the clues I missed that first time around, and really let the finality sink in. Each read was a roller coaster that lead to the same gratifying conclusion, not only to the mystery itself but to the journey of our favorite girl detective, Jenny Trouble Valentine.
August 21, 2025
Book five picks right up where the previous book left off, and the suspense continues to build from there. There were so many ups and downs! And I did not expect the Stranger to be who it ended up being. We'll done.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews