Captain Patti O’Shay investigates a serial killer in post-Katrina New Orleans. His last known victim: her husband.Spindler avoids the clichéd lone wolf cop, instead introducing us to the Malone dynasty. O’Shay’s late husband was also a policeman, her nephew is her depute who himself is dating a female cop in charge of a separate investigation. The extended family and friends that make up O’Shay’s private and personal life make a refreshing change. Each family member has their own life and is a distinct character in their own right. The extensive use of italics to reveal the characters’ thoughts peels back another layer of a well-rounded cast.Very impressive is the backstory told and untold behind every family member. Often things are just alluded to or hinted at, but it shows Spindler has created complex characters. Unlike many books which start with a load of clean slates who begin to experience the plot, Spindler’s cast actually have lives pre-dating the book, past experiences and relationships that have formed their characters as they are.The interrelationships of the wider cast are written excellently. In a genre which is so heavily plot-based, Last Known Victim has a fantastic amount of character-led drama. During the many twists, the reader is as interested to see the impact on a relationship, the reaction of an individual, as to the impact on the case.The plot has been thoroughly thought through and, as the date and time stamps at the start of each chapter reveals, carefully planned without seeming at all forced or contrived. If it does get a little repetitive in parts, there are enough twists to cancel that out. Every time the reader thinks they’re a step ahead, they’ve solved the case, O’Shay and co. catch up, only to reveal that it’s yet another red herring thrown in to confuse you. It’s the original “that’s what they want you to think” scenario. No matter how clever you are, Spindler is cleverer. Is the conclusion one curve ball too many? Perhaps.Writer’s craft is only noticeable when it’s bad. Good writing style is unnoticed by the reader, too engrossed in the story to care. But Spindler’s style is so good, so exquisite, that the reader can’t help but observe the skill and care that has woven together the characters, plot and scenes so masterfully.Having said that, for some reason spaces have frequently been omitted after closing speech marks, and also before people’s names (particularly, but not only, Yvette’s). Perhaps it’s the result of abuse of a Search & Replace function, but Mira should rectify this for future prints because poor editing on the publisher’s part shouldn’t distract the reader from the author’s masterpiece. (And, as an aside, if they haven’t spoken to Coca Cola about a sponsorship deal for the volume and detail of product placement, they should!)So a little bad grammar and maybe a chapter too far with respect to the ending, but this book deserves no less than five stars. Not for perfection, but because Spindler has done more than just outline a clever plot or hammer out some characters. She really has, in Last Known Victim, told a story. A story of so many lives, complex and unique, interconnecting and their personalities blending, complementing, clashing. With style, skill and wit, Spindler invites you to open the pages and not just read, but step into another world.
I've had this book on my shelves for a while, having heard good thing about the author, and finally gor around to reading it! It has taken me a few weeks to read- not a good sign! if I am really into a book I can read it in hours or days at most.I have to say overall I was pretty disappointed. The characters were ok, but I didn't really feel much connection to any of them, and it was slow to get going.The story starts in post hurricane Katrina New Orleans when an old refrigerator is found filled with severed human hands! However not much more is mentioned about this, apart from there must now be a serial killer they nickname the Handyman. I don't recall any victims being identified from the number of hands. Then they find a body, and in the grave is the police badge of the captains murdered husband! I won't tell you everything that happens, but then it gets a bit draggy,and most of the book is going round in circles following the greiving captain and a stripper named yvette.The main problem I had with this book is the ending- I thought I knew who the killer was from about halfway through, but it took such an implausible twist in the last chapter or two that it just left me confused. It was unfortunately completely unbelievable to me what eventually happened.
What do You think about Last Known Victim (2007)?
A couple of months ago I did a profile on one of my favourite authors, Erica Spindler. And tonight, I have another review for you. Last Known Victim was not necessarily a follow on from Bone Cold, but the Malone and Killigan family are key characters. In this sense, I suppose Spindler is like Karen Rose, in that they use the same characters over again, but you don't necessarily need to read all the books in order. In this novel, we are in post-Katrina New Orleans. Captain Patti O'Shay lost her husband Sammy in the aftermath of Katrina, and has spent the years since trying to avenge her husbands death. When an old freezer containing numerous severed right hands is found, the New Orleans Police Department dubb the killer the Handyman and launch into an investigation. With not much to go on, it doesn't take long for the trail to run cold and the investigation to come to a halt, and Patti is forced to move on without truly being able to let go of her husband. Fast forward a couple of years and a victim is found, half buried with Sammy O'Shay's police ID. Time of death proves that whoever buried the girl also buried the ID, and the investigation is opened up. At the same time, a young stripper named Yvette is receiving increasingly odd notes from a customer who calls himself the Artist. Yvette is not aware that the new dancer, Brandi, is actually Detective Stacey Killigan (who's sister features prominently in See Jane Die from 2004) undercover, working on a drugs bust that is centred on Yvette's married boyfriend. Confused yet? I was. But that's what makes it so grand. A human mind came up with these elaborate plots that all seem to be intertwined. And trying to stay one step ahead is damn near impossible as these connections are brought to light. When links are made between the Handyman's victim and the club that both Yvette and Stacey/Brandi dance at, the investigations become linked. Only for Patti, it's extremely personal. Hell bent on catching her husband's killer, she joins forces with Yvette, despite strong warnings not to do so, and to determine if the Handyman and the Artist are indeed the same person. But Yvette is not always honest, and she is hiding a dark background from those around her. When holes begin to form in her story, the police are forced to question her true involvement in the case. Is she just an innocent victim, or is there more to her than meets the eye? Or is there someone else out there, more twisted and tormented than Patti could ever imagine, who is hell bent on destroying her happiness by targeting the one thing she cares about most: her family? I suppose you will have to read to find out. If my incessant rants about how brilliant Erica Spindler is have not encouraged you to pick up one of her novels (or borrow one from me!) then I don't know what will. But, I assure you, you are missing out!
—Tonile {My Cup and Chaucer}
Based 2 years after Katrina and with character from a previous book appearing, fans new and old will be sucked into this novel and be riveted. Based on finding the severed hands of victims during the clean-up of the Refrigerator graveyard, Captain O’shay is then lead to another grave containing a victim with a severed hand and the badge of her missing husband. With even more reason to catch the killer O’shay pushes the limits of the law to get them. I enjoyed this Spindler novel very much. The characters had a clear and conscious voice and their emotions lived and breathed. You followed every twist and turn until the very end and doubted if what you read was the truth. But as with any great mystery you have to read on to find out. I am glad to be a Spindler fan. I wanted to read LAST KNOWN VICTIM for a while but it took some months to acquire it. I am glad I got it.
—Miss
Set in New Orleans just after Hurricane Katrina, this fantastic tale of romantic suspense keeps you guessing right till the end. The story starts with the following find: a shallow grave containing a hand-less body and the badge of police detective [captain] Sammy O'Shay who was shot and killed during the hurricane. Fellow police captain (and Sammy's wife), Patti O'Shay is sure this is the work of the "Handyman". Meanwhile, exotic dancer Yvette Borger claims to have received cryptic, obsessive love notes signed "The Artist", but the NOPD questions her motives and credibility. When O'Shay picks up on similarities between her Handyman and Borger's Artist, the by-the-book captain finds herself bending the rules to get to the heart of the stripper's story and her husband's murder.
—Amy
