The Last Attempt: The true story of freediving champion Audrey Mestre and the mystery of her death

by Carlos Serra

THE LAST ATTEMPT by Carlos Serra While attempting to set a new world record in the extreme sport of freediving, Audrey dies. Something had gone terribly wrong and despite a massive media attention, many questions remained unanswered. Suspicion fell over her husband, the legendary freediver known as Pipin, prompting his business partner, Carlos Serra, a brother-like friend to Audrey, to promise an investigation to determine responsibilities, if any. But Pipin rejected the motion and that's when the struggle between Serra and Pipin began. THE LAST ATTEMPT is the result of that investigation, and with a surprising conclusion, it comprises the whole story as it actually occurred.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime

284 pages, Paperback

First published November 22, 2006

Reviews

[Gab]

A classic case of why you should know two sides to every story. I had previously read the same story from the husband's point of view and it read as a love story and tragedy. This book is written by the husband's former business partner and shows a much darker story. I still have many unanswered questions about the events that lead to the death of Audrey Mestre though.

[Lori]

Reads like a long tabloid article, but the author's final analysis makes up for this slightly sensational, sometimes gossipy tale. His observations are very convincing and I believe his conclusions (even the ones about Audrey) 110%. For anyone truly interested in this story (as I have been since the 2003 Sports Illustrated Article), this book is definitely worth a read.

One last note, although the author was tough on Pipin, he tried to be as diplomatic as possible. He seemed very concerned with letting the facts be the judge rather than himself.

[Nathan]

A devastating account of a sports tragedy that ends up being arguably stranger than fiction. It’s a shame that this book isn’t more widely distributed.

It’s rife with spelling errors, but you should be able to look past all of that.

[Clare]

My review: http://www.learntodivetoday.co.za/blo...

[ZLÄTA]

Fascinating, gripping. I read it in one weekend. You feel like you're right in the center of events reliving it with Carlos. The only bad reviews I've seen about this book refer to the lack of editing and poor English. Carlos' English is quite good for someone having learned it only a few years prior to writing a whole book. In the age of ChatGPT, his sometimes awkward and unusual phrasing is actually very charming in its uniqueness.

I like that he spent a decent amount of time focussing on Pipin's religious/occult beliefs because they add to this multidimensional story.

[Brenda]

One of the best books I have read. It was not perfectly worded or formatted but it was an extremely well written book. I could follow and understand what was happening, understood the dive terms even though I have never scuba dived or free dived. I was able to easily remember all the names and roles of the other people in the book.
It captivated me and I could not put it down.