What do You think about The Last Place (2015)?
Wow. Simply wow. Laura Lippman is an amazing writer whose work just keeps getting better. If the next book in this series follows in this pattern it must be mythic, because it's hard to believe this book could be improved upon. Lippman experiments a bit with her style in this book by including passages from the killer's perspective. It makes the killer both more human and infinitely more scary! Now some generalities about the plot (with minimal spoilers I promise.) This book ties up just about all the "loose ends" of the previous six books, reaching all the way back to the first. The book starts with Tess in court ordered therapy, and by the end of the book I think she actually needs it. Tess has always been a relatable character, but by the end of this novel my heart was breaking for her. Unlike many literary PI/cop characters she reacts the way I think most people would to witnessing violence and multiple deaths, she slowly breaks down. While I consider the ending of this book to be a good one, it is not happy, and I applaud Lippman's bravery for that. Even with the sad ending I can't wait to read the next book. Which just proves that sad endings aren't always bad endings! Now for a very smaller spoiler, so stop reading if you'd like. I'm happy to announce that the killer does not turn out to be one of the minor characters. In my opinion, this is a weak plot device, and was one of the very few problems I had with In A Strange City.
—Laura
**edited 01/24/14There's nothing more satisfying than a clichéd plot that is done well enough to be elevated to something more significant.In the detective noir genre, there's nothing more chlichéd than a serial killer, and The Last Place is Lippman's obligatory serial killer book. It starts out with a scene that, with another author, might be treated as a joke. Lippman's private investigator protagonist, Tess Monaghan, at her friend Whitney's instigation, tricks a wannabe pedophile into taking his own date rape drugs and then denudes him of his hair with a few well-placed squirts of Nair. But the reason why I respect Lippman as a writer is that in her world, actions have consequences. Although Tess (and the narrator) initially present these actions as humorous, Tess quickly ends up with felony charges and court-mandated anger management therapy. Whitney, characteristically not particularly apologetic for her part in the escapade, tries to make amends by presenting Tess with what should be an easy case to solve. Of course, Whitney's case turns out to be more than it seems, and Tess is pulled into a game in which she is both the hunter and the prey for a serial killer.So why, then, is this the first Laura Lippman book I've ever given a 5 to? The only thing more chlichéd than a serial killer is a serial killer who goes after a bevy of beautiful women, starts to fixate on the detective, and provides snippets of chapters from his own viewpoint. While The Last Place is indeed all of those things, it is yet something more. It is a book about symmetry and consequences. ...Due to my disapproval of GR's new and highly subjective review deletion policy, I am no longer posting full reviews here.The rest of this review can be found on Booklikes.
—Carly
This is another Tess Monaghan novel set in Baltimore about a private investigator. Tess is asked to research how the police handled five homicides, and during this investigation she uncovers the work of a serial killer. The story interweaves past encounters that Tess had with Luisa O'Neal and ex-boyfriend Jonathan. One of my favorite lines are : You couldn't bargain or barge your way into immortality, like some desperate fleeing the Titanic, holding a child in his arms. You had to believe in something first. The only thing Tess honestly believed was that she was scared of dying." So why does Tess constantly court death? Lippman does wonders with the scenery and characters of Baltimore, and Tess's anger at life and her sense of loyality to Whitney and Luisa O'Neal.
—Debbie Maskus
