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The Final Days
A dark, chilling and brilliantly written thriller set in the canyon lands of Utah.
It started with a child’s o god help me hes going to hurt me if you don’t do what he says. San Francisco psychologist Karen Wiley thought she understood moral dilemma; a tormented past, a sister lost in childhood to random atrocity, an ugly divorce and a precocious eleven-year-old daughter. He says hes going to hurt me. No one Karen knows has been kidnapped. If the police are powerless, is it her responsibility? But the letters keep coming. Then something far worse.
In an old Mormon mining town with a dark history, a man leaves his young daughters alone in a rotting trailer park. He returns to find one of them gone, the other barely breathing and seeping blood onto the carpet. He knows where you are now I had to give it to him.
Ella McCullers, first female Police Chief of Canaan, Utah, believed she knew crises of faith. Abruptly promoted to lead investigator in the state’s most high-profile kidnapping case, her only leads are a decaying tombstone, a butchered cat, and the now mute sister who has ghastly nightmares. Secretly, Ella suspects that God is abandoning them all.
In truth it began in the Canyonlands with a violent cult, a depraved monstrousness unleashed upon the innocent and the misled. Now, the last survivor has a story to tell and Karen Wiley is coerced into the desert wilderness by a deadly game disguised as a righteous quest for the truth.
It started with a child’s o god help me hes going to hurt me if you don’t do what he says. San Francisco psychologist Karen Wiley thought she understood moral dilemma; a tormented past, a sister lost in childhood to random atrocity, an ugly divorce and a precocious eleven-year-old daughter. He says hes going to hurt me. No one Karen knows has been kidnapped. If the police are powerless, is it her responsibility? But the letters keep coming. Then something far worse.
In an old Mormon mining town with a dark history, a man leaves his young daughters alone in a rotting trailer park. He returns to find one of them gone, the other barely breathing and seeping blood onto the carpet. He knows where you are now I had to give it to him.
Ella McCullers, first female Police Chief of Canaan, Utah, believed she knew crises of faith. Abruptly promoted to lead investigator in the state’s most high-profile kidnapping case, her only leads are a decaying tombstone, a butchered cat, and the now mute sister who has ghastly nightmares. Secretly, Ella suspects that God is abandoning them all.
In truth it began in the Canyonlands with a violent cult, a depraved monstrousness unleashed upon the innocent and the misled. Now, the last survivor has a story to tell and Karen Wiley is coerced into the desert wilderness by a deadly game disguised as a righteous quest for the truth.
496 pages, Hardcover
First published February 24, 2008
5 people are currently reading
129 people want to read
About the author
Alex Chance
5 books1 follower He was educated in Nottinghamshire and at Goldsmiths College, University of London. He lives in West London.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 12, 2016
I picked this book up on a whim while on holidays. The synopsis sounded ok but I have to admit I was rather disappointed with this book. I think the book could have been edited better as there seemed to be a lot of rambling on with one particular story line and then jumping into another story line without the break of a chapter. This left me sometimes trying to figure out what was happening to whom and where.
The story itself is quite evil and gruesome. It certainly isn't a light read. Karen Wiley, a psychologist, starts receiving ominous letters in the mail. At about the same time a young girl goes missing and it takes a detective to figure out that Karen and the missing girl's cases are related. We also meet Jon Peterson who is the ultimate of evil. However, it wasn't until nearly the end of the book that the discovery of why Jon became who he did was uncovered.
Jon had grown up in a cult and had experienced awful things as a child. I kind of wish that there had been more hints throughtout the book of Jon's early life as it would have given a reason for why he acted the way he did. This isn't my favourite book, but there was potential and the ending was quite terrifying which is the only reason I have given it three stars rather then two.
The story itself is quite evil and gruesome. It certainly isn't a light read. Karen Wiley, a psychologist, starts receiving ominous letters in the mail. At about the same time a young girl goes missing and it takes a detective to figure out that Karen and the missing girl's cases are related. We also meet Jon Peterson who is the ultimate of evil. However, it wasn't until nearly the end of the book that the discovery of why Jon became who he did was uncovered.
Jon had grown up in a cult and had experienced awful things as a child. I kind of wish that there had been more hints throughtout the book of Jon's early life as it would have given a reason for why he acted the way he did. This isn't my favourite book, but there was potential and the ending was quite terrifying which is the only reason I have given it three stars rather then two.
October 31, 2012
This is the debut book written by Alex Chance and phew!! it certainly is a breath holder in places! How an author can think up these plots is sort of creepy!
The story revolves round Karen Wiley a young mother going through a divorce. She starts to receive letters from a child crying for help. It is a race from start to finish to find the young girl that has gone missing before she ends up in pieces! and to find out why Karen is in terrible danger from an absolute madman.
Quite grusome in places but a real page turner nonetheless.
If you enjoy a story that has you gripped from the start this is the one for you!!
Enjoy.
The story revolves round Karen Wiley a young mother going through a divorce. She starts to receive letters from a child crying for help. It is a race from start to finish to find the young girl that has gone missing before she ends up in pieces! and to find out why Karen is in terrible danger from an absolute madman.
Quite grusome in places but a real page turner nonetheless.
If you enjoy a story that has you gripped from the start this is the one for you!!
Enjoy.
January 12, 2020
Ik heb het boek niet uitgelezen wegens te rommelig. Dialoog en actie lopen door elkaar, het verhaal is ergens wel boeiend maar gaat verloren in de warrige schrijfstijl.
August 1, 2010
A psychotherapist, Karen Wiley, receives anonymous notes written
by a psychopath, or a child threatened by a psychopath. This kind of plot has almost become a genre of its own, with some authers, such as Jonathan Kellerman, seeming to specialise in it. Reading the blurb and the opening chapters of this reminded me of The Analyist by John Katzenbach, which has a very similar theme. At least in this book the protagonist does not behave quite so stupidly as the one in Katzenbach's book. Both books, however, have a motif of the hidden dangers of the Internet.
It's difficult to write about such a book without including spoilers, so perhaps it's easier to write about the genre. One of the things that strikes me about the genre is that it is assumed that there is nothing remarkable about apparently normal people living apparently normal lives to have regular appointments with psychotherapists or psychoanalysts of some kind. If these books are an accurate reflection of American society, it would seem that psychotherapy has become a kind of religion, at least among the upper middle class. In America, in such circles, it seems that people would talk about "my shrink" without the slightest twinge of embarrassment, whereas in South Africa regular visits to such a functionary would be regarded as a shameful secret.
Of course in the book the normality of life is interrupted by the actions of a psychopath, but the solution isn't to be found in psychotherapy, at least not of the paid client/therapist kind. The solution requires police work, and in the story there is plenty of that, as police professionals, semi-professionals and anateurs get involved in trying to track down the psychopath, getting in each other's way and working at cross-purposes as the body count and gruesomeness rises.
But given the existence of such a genre, this book is one of the better examples.
by a psychopath, or a child threatened by a psychopath. This kind of plot has almost become a genre of its own, with some authers, such as Jonathan Kellerman, seeming to specialise in it. Reading the blurb and the opening chapters of this reminded me of The Analyist by John Katzenbach, which has a very similar theme. At least in this book the protagonist does not behave quite so stupidly as the one in Katzenbach's book. Both books, however, have a motif of the hidden dangers of the Internet.
It's difficult to write about such a book without including spoilers, so perhaps it's easier to write about the genre. One of the things that strikes me about the genre is that it is assumed that there is nothing remarkable about apparently normal people living apparently normal lives to have regular appointments with psychotherapists or psychoanalysts of some kind. If these books are an accurate reflection of American society, it would seem that psychotherapy has become a kind of religion, at least among the upper middle class. In America, in such circles, it seems that people would talk about "my shrink" without the slightest twinge of embarrassment, whereas in South Africa regular visits to such a functionary would be regarded as a shameful secret.
Of course in the book the normality of life is interrupted by the actions of a psychopath, but the solution isn't to be found in psychotherapy, at least not of the paid client/therapist kind. The solution requires police work, and in the story there is plenty of that, as police professionals, semi-professionals and anateurs get involved in trying to track down the psychopath, getting in each other's way and working at cross-purposes as the body count and gruesomeness rises.
But given the existence of such a genre, this book is one of the better examples.
February 27, 2011
appassionante, tiene inchiodati alle sue pagine fino alla fine. L’ambientazione è abbastanza tipica e richiama la provincia americana: desolazione, deserto, depravazione, ubriachezza, bambini abbandonati a loro stessi. Per il progressivo cadere nella violenza, il libro ricorda Il silenzio degli innocenti, ma forse ancora di più alcuni film horror anni settanta come Non aprite quella porta o L’ultima casa a sinistra. Il libro è costruito per scene successive che si incentrano sulle azioni dei diversi personaggi che compiono l’indagine o su quello che capita alle vittime. Alcune scene sono davvero inquietanti, con una sapiente costruzione della suspance: molto ansiogena e ben scritta quella in cui si racconta dei risvegli successivi di Kathy nel buio nello scantinato dell'assassino e della sua ricerca alla cieca.
Ciò detto, il libro rivisto a freddo presenta alcuni difetti:
• nell’elaborazione dei personaggi e ciò causa un’induzione finale del lettore che si chiede il perché di alcuni eventi. Di sicuro, però, si arriva alla fine del libro sospinti dalla costruzione della suspance, cui non si può opporre resistenza;
• l’argomento religioso/settario può risultare un po’ banale e già troppo utilizzato, ma il ministro di culto perverso e violento fa sempre effetto;
• alcuni fili narrativi sembrano rimanere un po’ a penzoloni, ma va detto che si percepisce la volontà di costruire una serie.
A fronte di una certa volgarità dunque il punto di forza del romanzo è che trascina fino alla fine e fa dimenticare errori e ingenuità.
Ciò detto, il libro rivisto a freddo presenta alcuni difetti:
• nell’elaborazione dei personaggi e ciò causa un’induzione finale del lettore che si chiede il perché di alcuni eventi. Di sicuro, però, si arriva alla fine del libro sospinti dalla costruzione della suspance, cui non si può opporre resistenza;
• l’argomento religioso/settario può risultare un po’ banale e già troppo utilizzato, ma il ministro di culto perverso e violento fa sempre effetto;
• alcuni fili narrativi sembrano rimanere un po’ a penzoloni, ma va detto che si percepisce la volontà di costruire una serie.
A fronte di una certa volgarità dunque il punto di forza del romanzo è che trascina fino alla fine e fa dimenticare errori e ingenuità.
May 6, 2011
Originally published in Great Britain by William Heinemann, The Final Days is a bit of a scream, but not in the manner intended by the author. While the story is fairly well written in terms of plot management, the translation of British English to modern American is really quite badly done and it is obvious from fairly early in the book that a Brit was trying to make the story more acceptable to American readers. The failing comes from doing it with a vocabulary likely taken from American TV shows which air in the UK. Mr. Heinemann would have been far better off either ghost writing with a Yank or having an American editor parse the book before printing. I could never get past the continuous flaws to really enjoy the story. Oh, it was fairly well written otherwise, with a good number of twists in the plot and reasonably well developed characters, but when the evil main character "reaches into his tracksuit jacket" I just crack up at the imagery. A tow truck becomes a "recovery truck"? And what the heck is "a reflex as instinctive to him as a polecat peeing up a tree'? Enough said. Two stars is a gift. I stuck it out because I am loath to leave a book unfinished, but the stack of promising reads got bigger as I read Alex's first foray into North America.
July 30, 2014
I took a punt on this book after spotting it in my local library sale for 25p. I was pleasantly suprised, lots of actions, thrills and gory details. As others have commented the scene with Zhena is a beautifully written scene, haunting and full of suspense. The novel keeps you interested until the end. However, there are two reasons I cannot give the book 5 stars, firstly the British author lapses too frequently into 'americanisms', i appreciate the novel is set in Utah but it is sometimes too much. The second reason is that the denounement of the novel was too brief after waiting 500 pages for it. having said that a thoroughly enjoyable read and I will be reading more by this author.
June 16, 2011
Als je van een actie thriller houdt zul je even moeten wennen aan de manier van schrijven want echte actie zit niet in dit boek. Wat wel in het boek zit is een spanning die je merkt in heel het boek. Je weet al wel wie de dader is, maar je weet niet zijn reden waarom hij mensen vermoord en verminkt. Dit boek is zeker ook niet voor mensen met een zwakke maag. Hij beschrijft heel luguber hoe de mensen worden omgebracht. Als met al een goed boek met een goed uitgewerkt einde. Je blijft niet met vragen zitten over het hoe en het wat.
June 16, 2011
This is a real, edge of the seat, truly fearsome work. The author is unafraid and writes with meticulous care bringing each character and scene alive with individual style. This is one of the best thrillers I have read and I am now a fan, looking forward to reading more from this author.
August 19, 2015
god... i just finished this thing because i don't like leaving books unread!!! one word: AWFUL :/
the story only gets interesting after Jon Peterson, the killer, dies!!! and that leaves only two chapters to the end...
sabe yourselves some time and read something better
the story only gets interesting after Jon Peterson, the killer, dies!!! and that leaves only two chapters to the end...
sabe yourselves some time and read something better
June 27, 2010
Excellent debut novel, bit gory in parts and not for the squeamish but all in all very good story line.
May 2, 2017
I started this book back in November, have to admit I wasn't intrigued as with previous reads of this genre. I found it difficult to read, never have I taken 6 months to read a book!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews