Review: The Last Time She Saw Him by Jane Haseldine

GoodReads Blurb – Julia Gooden remembers nothing about the worst night of her life. Thirty years ago, her nine-year-old brother Ben—the person who promised he would always protect her—was abducted from the room they shared. Try as she might to recall any clue or detail, there is a black hole where Julia’s memories of that terrible event should be.

Now a crime reporter at a Detroit newspaper, Julia tries to give others the closure she’s never found. But guilt and grief over Ben’s disappearance have left her fearful that whoever took her brother is going to come back. Nowhere seems safe—not the city, not the suburbs, not even the secluded lake town where she plans to raise her children. And then, on the anniversary of Ben’s disappearance, Julia’s worst fears are realized when her two-year-old son, Will, is snatched from his bed.

Convinced that the crimes are related, Julia tries to piece together memories from her final day with Ben. Are the sudden reminders of her brother clues that will lead her to her son’s abductor, or merely coincidence? Julia knows she has hours at best to find Will alive, but the deeper she digs, the more personal and terrifying the battle becomes, and an undying promise may be her only hope of saving herself and her son.

WARNING: I WON’T GO INTO TOO MUCH DETAIL SO THAT I DON’T SPOIL ANYTHING FOR FUTURE READERS. SO IF YOU COME ACROSS A SENTENCE THAT IS BEING PURPOSELY EVASIVE, THAT’S WHY, LOL.

I have to say that I was impressed by this story.  While it can’t claim fame to being the book that grabbed me from the beginning, once it did I was enthralled.  The subject is and always will be one that strikes a chord in readers who are parents. Is there anything worse than the though of your child just vanishing? The POV was really quite wonderfully executed. I’d go so far as to say that I’ve enjoyed the writing style of this story the best so far this year.

But, there were a few things that irked me.  I didn’t care for Julia’s husband, I found his character draining on the nerves.  I wasn’t a fan of the plot twist, in truth I found it disappointing because yes, it was a little less of what I was expecting, but I felt as though it didn’t fit with the overall story. The author did weave in some build up to it, it wasn’t completely unexpected, and even when that was happening I was thinking to myself I’d rather the author hadn’t gone down that route and included that (I found the prison scene and the person Julia visits, far to dramatic and exaggerated for my liking) but I’m sure there will be others who enjoy that.

The last few chapters were wonderfully thrilling. I don’t remember reading one as pleasurable, in the last few thrillers that I’ve read. The characters action and speaking flowed as well, it was really seamless which allowed me to lose myself in the happenings, I may have even gasped and teared up with the scene with the old gas station attendant visits the house at the end!  Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this piece, and will keep my eye out from future work from this author!

I rate this book; /5

You can purchase this Kensington Press story via Amazon here

You can also visit the author via Facebook here

 

Till next time, happy reading and buying.

Nat

 

 

 

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