Book Review: Last Day by Luanne Rice

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I had been advanced a copy of Luanne Rice's thriller Last Day by NetGalley and let me thank them, the author and the publisher at the outset.

Last Day is set in Connecticut and is a story of four women who have grown up together. Though touted as a thriller, I found it hard to see it as one purely. Rather Last Day is an emotional journey about friendship and sisterhood.

Beth Woodward is found dead in her bedroom. Her head has been smashed and she has been strangulated with her lace panties. The killer had put the air conditioning at the highest to ensure that the body decay is slowed down and maybe had violated Beth before extinguishing the flame of her life. Beth was six months pregnant. A painting that hung in her bedroom is gone.

Beth was discovered by her sister Kate who is a pilot and who raised an alarm after she had failed to get any response from her sister, who was going through a difficult pregnancy, for three days. Beth was home alone as her husband had one sailing and her daughter was at the camp. Kate, Beth, Lulu and Scotty formed a tight circle and were best friends. Kate and Beth had undergone a similar tragedy and trauma during their childhood when two thieves had tied them up along with their mother in the basement of the art gallery that their family owned. The case was cracked by Connor Reid then and he is the first detective to reach the scene of crime this time as well.

Though these facts present themselves as premise for a edge-of-the-seat thriller, Rice works more on
the weight of emotions that this death means to everyone who was touched by Beth- her daughter, her husband, sister and friends as well as the detective involved. The story proceeds as Kate tries to dig up more about her sister's life in an attempt to find out her killer. Gradually she discovers a side of her sister that she was clueless about. Somewhat heartbroken at things that Beth kept from her but told the other two friends, Kate also figures out how to be more of an aunt to Sam. The other women also have their secrets and vices. Thrown in into this mix are a couple of other suspects who on the surface do not have anything to do with Beth but could be involved with the crime.

Though the book read well and the story seemed to progress in a neat trajectory yet somewhere along the way the thriller gets buried into the emotional devastation of the people concerned and the ending is a disappointment. Read it if you like long drawn out narratives instead of pacy thrillers.

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