Thriller

I thought I was picking up a tossaway murder mystery, but in fact I ended up with a paranormal romance. The star is for teaching me that apparently ghost sex is a thing. ( )

Well I see that my GRs friends that read this did not like it. So I was hesitant to read it but a friend and I decided to read it together. One of the biggest drawbacks people seem to have is that the hero is a dead serial killer. I suspect that Garland is going to turn out not to be guilty of that at least. Since this series continues on with the same two characters we will find out more about his guilt or innocence.

The story was really readable. I liked the interplay between the two. The dialog was fun and story moved right along. The secondary characters were well done also. I don't really feel any heat between Charlie and the guy who is supposed to be the other side of the love triangle. He doesn't really do anything for her except she thinks he's a better option than a dead guy.

They have a sex scene during an astral projection of the heroine's. So it seems that death is just another plane of existence since he and she are both physical there. I still don't see him coming back from the dead though so don't see how that will eventually work out if indeed it does.

The suspense part of the story was weaker but was still acceptable. I think the thing that held it back for me was that because we never saw the bad guy doing anything it was not as intense as it could have been . The entire book stayed firmly in the head of the female protagonist. ( )

Fairly engaging fluff with too much sex. I had to skip 5 pages at a time of detailed sex descriptions. But the mix of paranormal, troubled pasts and cliches was entertaining. ( )

The Last Victim
3.5 Stars

While not as good as Robards' earlier works, The Last Victim is an enjoyable read despite some of its more discomforting elements.

Charlie is an intriguing heroine and her insights into the minds of serial killers makes for an excellent premise.

Although paranormal elements in mysteries and romantic suspense often add an extra dimension, they are both unnecessary and distracting in this book. That said, the actual murder mystery is compelling and there are some intense and exciting moments.

In terms of the romance, Charlie's relationship with Michael Garland is cringeworthy to say the least, and the hint at some sort of strange love-triangle with the FBI agent contributes little to the story or the characterization. Not a fan of this at all!

All in all, my issues with the character relationships has me less than enthusiastic about continuing the series. I'll definitely have to be in the mood for it.


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