The Last One Alive - H.K. Christie

She glances in the rearview mirror as the stranger walks towards her broken-down car. The wicked look on his face sends a chill up her spine and she knows he’s not here to help. She doesn’t have time to scream before she falls to the ground, and the darkening sky goes black.

When the lifeless body of a young girl is discovered at an abandoned warehouse close to Red Rose County, FBI Agent Val Costa races to investigate. Setting eyes on the victim, Val’s heart stops as she spots the jagged letter S carved into her ice-cold chest. Slowly, she runs her fingers across her own identical scar. She’s been waiting for the Bear to leave his mark again, and now he finally has.

Determined to catch the man who’s haunted her dreams for years, Val promises to end his killing spree once and for all, but when more bodies are found bearing the same deadly carving, she fears she may already be too late. And then Val receives a call that turns her blood to ice—her best friend Sally is missing, and the killer has left a note addressed to her. Follow these rules and she lives.

Desperate to find Sally, Val faces her biggest challenge yet. Will she need to defy orders and track down the Bear alone before it’s too late?

Fans of Lisa Regan, L.T. Ryan and Mary Stone won’t be able to put down this totally heart-racing crime thriller.

My Review

Last One Alive is the third book in the Val Costa series and I think the best so far. From the first page I was on the edge of my seat. Through the other four books, we have followed Val as she has helped the local police department solve murders, but all the time the shadow of the bear, the serial killer she was chasing and who abducted her before she left the FBI.

In this fourth (and final?) book, Val is once again face-to-face with the bear. He's been following her all this time and is now completely obsessed. It's clear that this is a final showdown and that only one of them is going to come out of this alive.

I loved this final conclusion to Val's story. I couldn't put it down and devoured the whole thing in just a couple of sittings. (Had I had more time, it would have been just one sitting.) A fantastic conclusion to a really great series. 

H.K. Christie

H.K. Christie is an Amazon bestselling crime novelist best known for her Martina Monroe crime thriller series. H.K.’s writing style is a gripping blend of suspense and pace. Her ability to craft complex plots creates a dynamic ebb and flow of tension that keeps readers captivated and eager for more. Inspired by true crime and social justice, she develops realistic, multidimensional characters that bridge the gap between fiction and reality. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and feisty pup, Charlie.

Murder on the Clock by Lucy Connelly

 The town of Shamrock Cove is gearing up for a grand summer festival… but the fête turns fatal when a clockmaker is killed. Can amateur sleuth Mercy McCarthy crack the case?

When Mercy McCarthy takes her beloved mother’s watch to be fixed, she’s completely charmed by the little repair store and the father-and-son duo who run it. Little does she know that the clock is ticking… when she returns, she finds the father lying unconscious amid broken glass, and her mother’s watch is missing.

The police think Mr. Flynn was attacked in a burglary gone wrong but soon suspects closer to home start coming out of the clockwork. Mercy, her sister, and their canine sidekick, master body sniffer-outer Mr. Poe, set out to gather clues and help the local detective find the killer.

Could it be the family next door to the Flynns who’ve been feuding for decades? His fiercest rival, who’s long dreamed of shutting him down? Or was his son less devoted than he seemed? As the hours tick away, another murder and the discovery of a long-buried secret changes everything…

The summer festival is fast approaching. Can Mercy solve the mystery in the nick of time, or will someone stop her clock?

A completely charming and page-turning Irish cozy mystery. Fans of Agatha Christie, Carlene O’Connor and Faith Martin will absolutely love the Mercy McCarthy series!

My Review

Murder on the Clock by Lucy Connelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I can't believe we're up to book four already, I'm really enjoying these Mercy McCarthy books. This time, Mercy stumbles across the body of the clock repairman in her village. She seems to have a knack for finding recently murdered, or in this case, very injured bodies and once she has, she can't help but try and investigate.
This time, the local detective inspector, who usually tries to put her off helping out, actually lets her join in and assist him. Partly because he's short-staffed due to flu, but also, because he's hoping that their relationship might develop into something new and exciting.
I didn't manage to solve this one at all, but thankfully Mercy was on the scene and able to get to the bottom of things. I did also really enjoy the progression of her relationship with Detective Inspector Kieran, which I'm really enjoying. A great read and I'm looking forward to more.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and given voluntarily.


View all my reviews

Lucy Connelly

Bestselling author Candace Havens has published more than 25 books. Her novels have received nominations for the RITA’s, Holt Medallion, Write Touch Reader Awards and National Reader’s Choice Awards. She is a Barbara Wilson Award winner. She is the author of the biography Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy and a contributor to several anthologies. She is also one of the nation’s leading entertainment journalists and has interviewed countless celebrities from George Clooney to Chris Pratt. Candace runs a free online writing workshop for more than 2000 writers and teaches comprehensive writing classes. She does film reviews with Hawkeye in the Morning on 96.3 KSCS, and is a former President of the Television Critics Association.