Dead Last: A Maddie Arnette Novel

by Amanda Lamb

Maddie Arnette traded in her hard-news crime reporting for softer, feel-good features after her husband’s death. But her lifelong addiction to the dark side of journalism, bolstered by years of meeting sources in back alleys and visiting grisly crime scenes, still clamors for Maddie’s attention.

When Suzanne Parker falls to the pavement in front of Maddie during the Oak City Marathon, Maddie assumes it’s an accident. That is, until Suzanne whispers words that make Maddie’s skin go  my husband is trying to kill me.

Maddie’s personal experience with domestic violence in her family connects her to Suzanne in a way that she can’t ignore. Soon, Maddie’s allegiance to protecting her new friend and discovering the truth about Suzanne’s husband becomes an obsession, one that leads her down a dangerous path. When someone turns up dead, Maddie finally realizes she is all in again with crime reporting, but this time she may be in over her head.

256 pages, Paperback

Published May 12, 2020

About the author

In addition to being an author, Amanda Lamb is an accomplished public speaker, podcaster and veteran television crime reporter. She worked for an award-winning NBC affiliate in the southeast for nearly three decades. She also hosted, co-wrote, and co-produced three true crime podcasts including "Follow the Truth," "What Remains," and "The Killing Month August 1978." "Follow the Truth" won the regional Edward R. Murrow award for excellence in journalism. Currently, she hosts and produces "AGELESS: Opening Doors with Amanda Lamb" which is about women transforming themselves personally and professionally after fifty. This is the focus of her keynote speech about not allowing age to define your value and your potential. She shares her wisdom and inspiration with audiences across the country.

Amanda's newest thriller, Whispers on the Mountain, is due out in September 2025. It features a dogged newspaper reporter who arrives at a mountain resort only to learn there is a missing hiker. She can't ignore the tug of the compelling mystery swirling around her in the beautiful but dangerous North Carolina mountains. Amanda hopes this will be the first installment in a new murder mystery series.

Amanda has published twelve books in dramatically different genres from murder mysteries, to true crime books, to touching and humorous memoirs, to children's books. From murder cases to motherhood, Amanda examines life through the lens of a curious journalist who is constantly observing and documenting everything in her path with deep interest, insight, and compassion.

She has written a murder mystery series about a tenacious television journalist seeking truth and justice all while juggling her own intriguing backstory. These novels from Torchflame Books include "Dead Last," "Lies that Bind," and "No Wake Zone."

As a journalist, Amanda can only report about ten percent of what she knows, but her novels peel back the veil of the news industry and give readers an intimate peek into the world of journalism through the eyes of a crime beat reporter. While the people and stories in her books are fictional, they are all loosely based on real-life scenarios Amanda has encountered in her more than three decades in the trenches.

Amanda has also penned three true crime books which include "Love Lies," the saga of a young mother who disappeared after her husband said she went jogging and never returned home. In a desperate search for the truth her friends and family circle the wagons demanding answers-answers that ultimately expose a grim tragedy in the small, idyllic southern town. "Evil Next Door" features the story of a brutal rape and murder case Amanda covered as a news reporter. The victim, a young woman who was just beginning to live into her potential, was stalked and killed by a suspected serial killer who left copious amounts of DNA in his path, but little else for investigators to go on. They play a dangerous of game of cat and mouse with the police trying to lure the killer into their trap. "Deadly Dose" is a true crime story about a young up-and-coming scientist who was poisoned by someone in his inner circle. A dogged, old-school investigator refuses to give up in his relentless pursuit of the truth, a truth far more gruesome than anyone could have imagined.

Amanda's memoirs include "The Living Room" which chronicles her 80-day journey caring for her mother who was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. In the midst of tragedy, Amanda learns how to live from her dying mother. The darkness is tinged with light as her mother's departure becomes a celebration of a life and an inspiration to those around her.

Amanda's parenting memoirs include "I Love You to God and Back" which chronicles her young daughter's prayers giving the reader a glimpse into the way adults see the world through a child's eyes. There is also a companion child's book of the same title. "Girls Gone Child" chronicles Amanda's daughters' sometimes outrag

Reviews

[Kent · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good story line but the editing is terrible. Numerous grammatical errors throughout the book reflect poorly on the author. Doubtful I will read more from this author or publisher...

Notes for those considering reading the book: Contains course language in places and an openly homosexual relationship. Not condoning or condemning either - just making you aware...