Name: Lacy W's review of The Last Place You Look by Kristen Lepionka
Item: The Last Place You Look
Rating: 4
Author: Lacy W

Kristen Lepionka

Nobody knows what happened to Sarah Cook. The beautiful blonde teenager disappeared fifteen years ago, the same night her parents were brutally murdered in their suburban Ohio home. Her boyfriend Brad Stockton—black and from the wrong side of the tracks—was convicted of the murders and is now on death row. Though he’s maintained his innocence all along, the clock is running out. His execution is only weeks away when his devoted sister insists she spied Sarah at an area gas station. Willing to try anything, she hires PI Roxane Weary to look at the case and see if she can locate Sarah. Brad might be in a bad way, but private investigator Roxane Weary isn’t doing so hot herself. Still reeling from the recent death of her cop father in the line of duty, her main way of dealing with her grief has been working as little and drinking as much as possible. But Roxane finds herself drawn in to the story of Sarah's vanishing act, especially when she links the disappearance to one of her father’s unsolved murder cases involving another teen girl. The stakes get higher as Roxane discovers that the two girls may not be the only beautiful blonde teenagers who’ve turned up missing or dead. As her investigation gets darker and darker, Roxane will have to risk everything to find the truth. Lives depend on her cracking this case—hers included.

A Novel

The Last Place You Look

Tayla 

Sarah Cook, a beautiful blonde teenager disappeared fifteen years ago, the same night her parents were brutally murdered in their suburban Ohio home. Her boyfriend Brad Stockton - black and from the wrong side of the tracks - was convicted of the murders and sits on death row, though he always maintained his innocence. With his execution only weeks away, his devoted sister, insisting she has spotted Sarah at a local gas station, hires PI Roxane Weary to look again at the case. Reeling from the recent death of her cop father, Roxane finds herself drawn to the story of Sarah's vanishing act, especially when she thinks she's linked Sarah's disappearance to one of her father's unsolved murder cases involving another teen girl. Despite her self-destructive tendencies, Roxane starts to hope that maybe she can save Brad's life and her own. With echoes of Sue Grafton, Dennis Lehane and the hit podcast Serial, The Last Place You Look is the gripping debut of both a bold new voice and character.

Lacy W

tw: rape, sexual assault, alcoholism, parental verbal abuse (briefly mentioned)

Another thriller down and I get more and more hooked on the genre. In all honesty, I hadn't planned on reading this. I didn't even know it existed, if I'm being completely honest. I was approved for the second book through Netgalley (when I went on a St. Martin's Press book adding binge) but didn't realize it until I went to add it on my currently reading Goodreads shelf. Thankfully, Overdrive rescued me and I was able to read this book so I can read the second book as I do not know if this series operates as stand alones. 

This book wasn't too bad but I do have a few complaints I'd like to address. One: could we please leave the "cops/PIs/law enforcement have drinking problems" trope behind? Not everyone in law enforcement/retired from law enforcement (Roxane is a private investigator) has a drinking problem. It's really a harmful stereotype that I think we just leave in 2018. 

Two: the book was quite slow in the beginning. Roxane gets a case, which at first is just a routine missing person's case, but quickly becomes personal. I wasn't super interested in the case because it was just a case, as horrible as that sounds being as a person is missing and presumed dead. There wasn't anything spectacular about it besides a person on death row for that person being missing. Luckily, after learning more and more about what is really going on with the case, I became a lot more interested. But I couldn't ignore the beginning, hence the 4 (four) stars. 

Okay, on to the good stuff, which was Roxane and her amazing character arc. I loved her! She is bisexual, which is something I have yet to see when it comes to law enforcement. She didn't have to come out to anyone nor did she have to explain herself. I also enjoyed the fact that Roxane is a feminist. In one instance, she is buying a nondescript hat and picks out like a grey hat. The cashier asked if her if she wanted a "girly" hat and she about flipped her lid because there isn't such a thing as a "girly" hat. It was just a hat! There were so many instances like that and it made me fall in love with her every time. She wasn't perfect but I couldn't help but love her all the same. I really don't want to say much more because I want you all to experience Roxanne in your own way. 

Overall, writing reviews for thrillers is so hard! You want to go on and on about the twists and turns but can't unless you want to spoil everything for everybody. Hence why this review is so weird and not really about the book. But trust me on this, despite the harmful trope, this was actually a really good thriller/mystery and I couldn't be more pleased that I found it.

Natalie Stenson

Got this in a random book selection box from A Box of Stories. Picked this one up first because crime fiction is probably my favourite genre. It’s no Rebus but I did really enjoy it. And it’s nice to feature a female detective for a change.

Jen Estrella

People give the worst advice about lost things. Retrace your steps. Pray to Saint Anthony. Think about where you last saw it. But that doesn't apply to the things that matter. Those are right in front of you, except they can't be found by looking for them. Only by looking at everything else.
 Rating: 3 1/2 stars -I liked this book, surprisingly. It wasn't all about the plot/whodunnit. A huge portion of it was used to introduce Roxane (the detective/PI) and her story, most likely in preparation for the next book in the series. 

I also felt nostalgic while reading this, because it reminded me so much of Sue Grafton's mysteries, except Roxane, in this case, was a more difficult character - she had a drinking problem, was dealing with her father's recent death, was invested in a number of unhealthy relationships, etc. But idk, there was something about her and her issues that captivated me. 

I enjoyed the mystery too. Though, I had a bit of difficulty remembering the names of the characters, because as I said, most chapters were focused on Roxane's narrative. This was problematic, because my reaction after the culprit was identified was "Uhm who was that again?" SMH. I wasn't thrilled that I forgot, but I was satisfied with how everything turned out, so I guess it's all good. :) 

Looking forward to reading the next book in the series!

Tayla &
The Last Place You Look by Kristen Lepionka

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The Last Place You Look by Kristen Lepionka