The Last Word
A Novel
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4.0 • 127 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
After posting a negative review of a horror novel, a woman staying at an isolated beach house begins to wonder if the author is a little touchy—or very, very dangerous—in this pulse-pounding novel of psychological suspense and terror from the critically acclaimed author of No Exit and Hairpin Bridge.
Emma Carpenter lives in isolation with her golden retriever Laika, house-sitting an old beachfront home on the rainy Washington coast. Her only human contact is her enigmatic old neighbor, Deek, and (via text) the house’s owner, Jules.
One day, she reads a poorly written—but gruesome—horror novel by the author H. G. Kane, and posts a one-star review that drags her into an online argument with none other than the author himself. Soon after, disturbing incidents start to occur at night. To Emma, this can’t just be a coincidence. It was strange enough for this author to bicker with her online about a lousy review; could he be stalking her, too?
As Emma digs into Kane’s life and work, she learns he has published sixteen other novels, all similarly sadistic tales of stalking and murder. But who is he? How did he find her? And what else is he capable of?
Displaying his trademark command of rapid-fire pacing, unnerving atmosphere, and razor-sharp characterization, Taylor Adams once again delivers a diabolically disturbing—and deadly—game of cat and mouse.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This outstanding psychological thriller from Adams (Hairpin Bridge) finds schoolteacher Emma Carpenter house-sitting at Strand Beach, Wash., where she avoids thinking about her problems by walking her dog along the beach and by binge-reading the never-ending supply of 99 cent self-published books she downloads from the internet. Then she reads Murder Mountain, a serial killer novel by H.G. Kane. The download site asks readers to rate the book. Emma—after making sure zero isn't an option—gives the book one star. Two hours later, she gets a reply from the author asking her to take down her review. Kane's messages become menacing after she refuses. Emma's creeping horror at being targeted by a madman increases when he arrives at her door, quoting lines from their internet exchanges. As the tension rises, spectacular plot twists open up new possibilities while effectively demolishing existing expectations. Along with the nail-biting suspense, the book provides some genuine fun by treating readers to overwrought excerpts from a unpublished manuscript about the crimes that take place at Strand Beach. Adams remains a writer to watch.
Customer Reviews
Amazing, Difficult to put down!
Amazing book, tons of twists, difficult to stop reading!
Fantastic read!
I loved this book! The one thing I hadn’t really read in any of the reviews is that it’s SCARY! There are sections of the book that genuinely were hard to read at night but so well written, a great thriller, fast paced, suspenseful and at times downright terrifying. Highly recommend
Had me on the edge of my seat!
This is one of the best books I’ve read in such a long time. I was shocked that the suspense started so early in the book because I feel like most thrillers take longer to fully build up, but this one was suspenseful almost right off the bat and did not let up. So many twists and they were all so well thought out that, as someone who guesses the outcome 99% of the time correctly, I couldn’t possibly come up with exactly what would happen or how. I loved the writing style of this book! I’ve never read anything like it and don’t think I ever will again. It’s that special. I could not put it down and I am checking out more from this author as soon as this review is posted.