The Last Time I Saw Her by Karen Robards

Posted September 5, 2015 by Anne - Books of My Heart in Book Review / 0 Comments

Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.


The Last Time I Saw Her by Karen RobardsThe Last Time I Saw Her by Karen Robards
Series: Dr. Charlotte Stone #4
Published by Ballantine on August 25th 2015
Source: NetGalley
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In this world, Dr. Charlotte “Charlie” Stone skillfully probes the twisted minds of incarcerated serial killers to better understand what makes them tick, and to help nab those who remain at large. But in the next world, Charlotte’s ghostly lover—convicted killer Michael Garland—is facing death yet again. It seem the only way Charlie can snatch Michael from the jaws of oblivion is by proving his innocence. And this dead man’s dead ringer may just be the key.

A mysterious stranger has turned up in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, and Charlie is shocked to realize he could be Michael Garland’s identical twin. But she suspects the resemblance is only skin deep—and that behind the handsome face may lurk the perverse mind of a killer. While using all her keen profiling gifts, Charlie risks her life to discover the shocking secret that will clear Michael’s name.

Then a breakout at Wallens Ridge State Prison forces Charlie to contend with a sudden swarm of psychopaths bent on spilling blood. No one has a better chance of tracking down the deadly fugitives than Charlie—unless the rampaging killers manage to find her first and make this case her last. But Michael will move heaven and hell—and even make a devil’s bargain—for the chance to save Charlie’s life, and feel her touch once more . . . if only for the final time.

 

FINALLY!  In The Last Time I Saw Her, Dr. Charlie Stone finally looks into the murders of which Michael was convicted.  A lawyer shows up who looks almost exactly like Michael, and he is defending someone of a murder in the same style.   This book starts with a bang and lots of action and adventure.

I could have skipped Her Last Whisper and just gone to The Last Time I Saw Her.  This is what I wanted to read. Well, mostly. The Last Time I Saw Her had more time for Charlie and Michael together. There is some effort to find out who really is the Southern Slasher.  But..

The FBI agents are a fun character group and provide friends for Charlie, otherwise she is fairly isolated in her work. But they are dumber than dirt!  Sure, they are protective and helpful for Charlie. They just don’t seem to actually solve cases, only trail after criminals who try to hurt Charlie.  Their whole purpose in the books feels stupid and annoying to me.   And Charlie has a bit of the TSTL going on when it comes to the serial killers she studies.  It’s fine for Charlie and Tam to provide the truth and motivation, even identifying criminals, but the FBI agents should be able to do more work providing evidence during the process.

The way the mysteries are solved is not smart, technical and detailed. The world is not totally consistent and well-built.  It’s all hazy and the rules aren’t hard; they bend and break as needed.  It’s not my kind of action and mystery story.

The romance between Charlie and Michael is hot, sexy and provides all the feels I could want.  I WANT them together.  I despair when they are apart.  There wasn’t as much humor in this book though.

So what’s next, or is this the end?  Karen Robards did an interview which seems to leave that up in the air. 

The Last Time I Saw Her does finish the original story arc and the mystery of whether Michael is guilty of the murders.  It would be interesting to see where things went from here, but for me, only if the mystery portion is a bit more technical / grounded.   Tam is awesome and I’d enjoy more of her.  And I am curious about what Michael has been doing.

Books in the series:

 

About Karen Robards

Karen Robards is the author of 40 books and one novella. She is the mother of 3 boys (25, 19, and 14) and lives in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. A regular on the New York Times, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists, among others, she published her first novel at age 24. “I read, I write, and I chauffeur children,” she says with a laugh. “That’s my life.”

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Posted September 5, 2015 by Anne - Books of My Heart in Book Review / 0 Comments