Book reviews by Mobilism's Book Review team
Aug 31st, 2012, 7:05 pm
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TITLE: The Last Victim, (Novel, a sequel is planned):
AUTHOR: Karen Robards:
GENRE: Suspence, Thriller, Romance, Paranormal
PUBLISHED: August 7, 2012
RATING: ★★★★☆

PAGE COUNT: approx 320 pages
ISBN: 978-0345535405
PURCHASE LINKS: Amazon
MOBILISM LINK: Here

Review: Dr. Charlotte Stone sees what others do not. 
A sought-after expert in criminal pathology, Charlie regularly sits face-to-face with madmen. Obsessed with learning what makes human monsters commit terrible crimes, Charlie desires little else from life—no doubt because when she was sixteen, she herself survived a serial killer’s bloodbath: A man butchered the family of Charlie’s best friend, Holly, then left the girl’s body on a seaside boardwalk one week later.
 
Because of the information Charlie gave police, the Boardwalk Killer went underground. She kept to herself her eerie post-mortem visions of Holly and her mother. And even years later, knowing her contact with ghosts might undermine her credibility as a psychological expert, Charlie tells no one about the visits she gets from the spirit world.
 
Now all-too-handsome FBI agent Tony Bartoli is telling Charlie that a teenage girl is missing, her family slaughtered. Bartoli suspects that after fifteen years, the Boardwalk Killer—or a sick copycat with his M.O.—is back. Time is running short for an innocent, kidnapped girl, and Bartoli pleads for Charlie’s help.
 
This is the one case Charlie shouldn’t go near. But she also knows that she may be the one person in the world who can stop this vicious killer. For Charlie—whose good looks disguise a world of hurt, vulnerability, and potent psychic gifts—a frantic hunt for a madman soon becomes a complex test of cunning, passions, and secrets. Aiding Dr. Stone on her quest to catch a madman is a ghostly presence with bad intentions: the fiery spirit of seductive bad boy Michael Garland who refuses to be ignored, though in his cat and mouse game they may both lose their hearts.


Dr. Charlotte Stone sees what others do not. And she sees the Boardwalk Killer coming for her.

This was a suspense, thriller, romance with a paranormal touch:

15 years before Dr. Charlie Stone escaped the Board Walk Killer she witnessed him murder her friends family & abduct her friend Holly. This left her with a driving need to understand the Serial Killer psyche and prevent more murders.
Present day, F.B.I. agents interrupt her interview of serial killer Garland; they need her insight to catch a killer they believe is the Board Walk Killer’ or a copycat.

The F.B.I. agents Bartoli, Crane, Kaminsky & Charlie urgently race to solve the crime and discover if it is the original ‘Board Walk Killer’ or a copycat.

I chose this book as the blurb intrigued me, I liked the package of suspense, paranormal & romance. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Ms Robards as I’ve never read her books before but I’m definitely glad I picked this book and can’t wait for the sequel. It was a book I didn’t want to put down, and had me rushing back to keep reading. It felt like a rollercoaster of emotions where you are laughing one minute and crying the next as you follow Charlie’s journey. There was romance, but it was conflicted also fun.

The books opens with the quote: "If Charlotte Stone hadn't drunk the Kool-Aid, she would have died” it was such a humorous way to open, and keeps you on your toes from the beginning, & ‘I see dead people’ quote later in the book which explains where some of her insights come from.

What I liked about this book:
It opens with a wonderfully humorous quote, and immediately lays the foundation for Charlie’s history & motivations.
The Characters developed with the story, just when you think you know the character they reveal some other facet of their personalities.
While Kaminsky is irritatingly obnoxious from the beginning of the book, as her character develops with the story her background is explained and she reveals a more vulnerable side.

What I didn’t like about this book:
That Charlie didn’t even question Garland’s guilt, because she read his file she took it at face value he was guilty, this didn’t strike me as worthy of her intelligence.
Although she’s a strong and motivated woman, she’s continually nauseous and having to excuse herself, and lie to explain how she was getting her clues.
And okay even I have to admit she’s a tad shallow to be obsessed by Garlands looks, while doing a clinical assessement of him she describes him as ‘hot’!

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this book, I enjoyed it and can’t wait for the sequel, I rate this book at four stars.
Aug 31st, 2012, 7:05 pm
May 31st, 2017, 4:14 pm
I loved the series and wish shed continue at least one more book with Michael and Charlie :)
May 31st, 2017, 4:14 pm