I really, really enjoyed The Last Place You Look! I love a good mystery series featuring a female lead (are you seeing a theme here?) so this series has been on my radar for awhile now. I'm glad that I finally picked this one up because it was one that I didn't want to set down. Sometimes I feel like you just read a book and from the very beginning know that its going to be a book that you love. That was definitely the case for this one. From the very beginning of this book, I was intrigued and curious about what had happened to Sarah. Could she really be alive after so many years? Would Roxane be able to find her if she was? Those questions swirled in my head throughout the entire book. And let me tell you that I didn't see the end of this book coming by a mile. Wow! That's all I have to say about that. I will say that I really enjoyed Roxane as a main character. She is struggling with the grief over her father's death and also has a lot of struggles with alcohol. She felt like a real person that I could identify with as the reader not because I am like her but more because of her imperfections. I understood those imperfections and the fight to get your life back under control. I loved that Roxane never seemed to give up no matter what life was throwing at her. I'm so eager to continue on with this series and plan on doing exactly that in the new year!

Overall, I highly recommend checking out this series if you haven't yet! I really enjoyed my time with this one and cannot wait to see what further troubles Roxane finds herself in with future books. The best part is I believe that I have at least three to four other books to look forward to in this series which has me excited. I would recommend this book to fans of mysteries and suspenseful reads...especially those readers who prefer reading about a private investigator rather than from a detective's point of view. Highly recommended!

Bottom Line: This book is one of my favorite new to me series that I've found in 2020!

Disclosure: I checked this book out from my local library. Honest thoughts are my own.

RATING: 4.5 STARS
(Review Not on Blog)

I loved this book! Kristen Lepionka is the next Karin Slaughter for me in that I am already putting her on my must-read author list. I love the flawed realistic characters that I like and and am angry with at the same time. The main character Roxane is a strong female lead with a great sense of sarcasm and rawness. The story just has you racing to see how it ends, and as you get there you want it to continue on. I am glad I waited on reading this one as I could read the next novel right after. I highly recommend this book and series!

***I received an eARC from NETGALLEY***

Thank you NetGalley for the copy of The Last Place You Look by Kristen Lepionka that I read and reviewed.
All I can say is wow. This book sat on my to read like for a very long time and I can honestly say it was a very big mistake that I made because this was one of the best books I read this year. I really had no idea who the killer was until the author revealed who it was and I love it when that happens.
I loved Roxane the main character because she was so real. She could be just about anyone with anyone's problems trying to get through each day and here she is a PI trying to solve a case that once was her father's who she had some major issues with and now looks like it is related to a guy she is trying to help who is on death row and you have yourself a royal mess. This is definitely a book that is packed full of action and suspense.
I an not going to give you anymore I am just going to say the Last Place You Look is an excellent read and five out of five stars.

Great fast paced read! Lots of intrigue! Look forward to reading more by this author.

Minotaur Books and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of The Last Place You Look. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Sarah Cook disappeared the same night that her parents were murdered. Her boyfriend Brad Stockton, although he has always professed his innocence, was convicted of the murders. His sister, in a desperate attempt to keep her brother from being put to death, hires private investigator Roxane Weary to look into the case. Her life in shambles after the shooting death of her policeman father, Roxane has no choice but to take the case and try to resurrect some semblance of a life. As unexpected complications start to stand in the way of progress, will Roxane just give up or dig in even further?

I do not mind main characters with flaws, as it makes them more interesting. Roxane Weary has taken the untimely death of her father particularly hard and has turned to the bottle to forget. Her dogged pursuit of the truth, despite personal threats, shows her true character. The part of the story that I had trouble with was the side plot about Roxane's personal relationships. It had no bearing on the main plot of The Last Place You Look and honestly just detracted from it. Readers who like police procedural and mystery/thrillers will like this book and I look forward to reading more about Roxane Weary in the future.

What an excellent mystery! I couldn't wait to find out if they were going to free Brad from death row, and if the girl was actually still alive. Wow!

There are so many times when you read a book that it's just like a fairytale. Yes, we know going into it that it's fiction. But unless it's dystopian, I want my fiction to read like reality. That's what I love about this book. Roxanne is one of the most flawed characters I've ever encountered. BUT SHE'S REAL! She's struggling with her job as a PI. She's struggling with her romantic relationships and she's struggling with her drinking. She almost gives up. Several times as she is hired to try to prove a death row inmate is innocent. There is a deadline, literally and she runs into roadblock after roadblock. But she perseveres. This is a gritty and real murder-mystery. And I love that it is set in Ohio. There's always something about a story that is close to home. It means a little more when you read about locations you know and have been to.

This was a good story. I liked the twists and turns in trying to solve the true identity of the serial murderer. I had a few issues with transitions in scenes, which felt like the scene stopped abruptly and jumped to the next scene without leaving me with something to chew on and think about what will come next. I also took issue with the heroine's flaws. I kept thinking, "why can't the heroine/protagonist just not want to live in the shadow of her father or grieve his death without dealing with alcoholism herself?" I found her likeable despite some unlikeable attributes. The conclusion was satisfying without leaving anything open for a future book, but still leaving it open as a series with this character as the lead.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Loved this mystery/thriller! Meet Roxane Weary, private investigator dealing with her father's death by drowning herself in whiskey and coping with her somewhat dysfunctional family consisting of her mother and two brothers. When she is hired to find a missing girl, hopefully to save a man from death row, she begins a dedicated search but turns up few clues and finds herself being stalked as well. Turning again to liquor, she struggles to find any kind of lead even as she is warned away by the local police force. But she perseveres and finds even more than she bargained for as she uncovers secrets long buried. I'm a sucker for flawed characters and can't wait for the next Roxane Weary book!

On the lookout for the thriller of 2017? The Last Place You Look is just that. Compelling and gripping to the point of becoming unputdownable, Lepionka will make her mark on you with PI Roxane Weary. She is one complex, though wholly interesting woman whose life is a bit upside down. The mystery at hand is entirely captivating. Full of twists, turns, and excellent reveals. A man on death row could be exonerated when his sister thinks she found a break in his case close to his execution date. This is a series I'd be more than interested in keeping up with. If you appreciate Tana French, this is one very much up your alley. Do yourself a favor and check The Last Place You Look out today!

I've come to terms with the fact that I'm a sucker for books, podcasts, movies, etc where someone in prison, especially death row, is claiming their innocence. For me, that's the perfect 'what if' set up, so I could't wait to dive into this read. An added bonus is the setting...I knew so many of the streets and locations where this book takes place! From  the get-go I liked Roxane. She came across as competent and determined to do a good job despite being her own worst enemy in terms of drinking and relationship drama with both a man and a woman. The author did a fantastic job of weaving Roxane's personal life into the narrative by having her dig into her dad's old case files. This enabled us to get to know her brothers as well as her mom and really brought an extra dynamic to the story, especially as all the characters were very well developed.

I have to say, the mysteries had me completely stumped and I'm extremely happy about that. On the one hand, Brad seemed to be hiding something but nothing you could quite put your finger on and then there was the other missing girl who was found murdered from the past...could they be connected and if so does that mean the killer is still out there? So many unanswered questions and suspects equals a wonderful read for us mystery lovers! That's not to say I didn't have a couple minor issues with the story. For me, I sometimes felt that Roxane's drinking binges became a little repetitive. I understood she had a drinking problem and didn't necessarily need so many repetitive scenes of binging and blacking out; sometimes, in my opinion, less is more for readers. I also felt that Roxane's continued jumping back and forth between 2 separate relationships detracted a little from the storyline. As I said, minor issues. As for the ending, I didn't have it figured out which is always a bonus. I look forward to seeing what the author has in store for Roxane in the future.

Debut novel The Last Place You Look is the first book in the Roxane Weary series by Kristen Lepionka. Lepionka's first book definitely establishes her as a new mystery writer to watch.

The Last Place You Look follows private detective Roxane Weary as she tries to find evidence to free a man on death row. Hired by his sister, Roxane soon discovers that the girl Brad Stockton was said to have killed was not the only girl to go missing from Columbus, Ohio suburb Belmont. Belmont's police are not happy to have Roxane rooting around in their town.

The Last Place You Look is filled with twist and turns. It is impossible to put down. You need to know what is going to happen next. This gritty tale is filled with fascinating characters...none more fascinating than Roxane herself.

Excellent book. Highly recommend The Last Place You Look. I cannot wait for more from author Kristen Lepionka.

4 “I need to read more mystery/thriller” Stars

ARC via NetGalley.

Thank you, Minotaur Books!!!


I keep forgetting how much I love mysteries until I read a great book and go “OMG, I love this genre”. That happened with this debut. Yep, this is a debut, and I can only imagine how amazing the other books in this series will be.

One thing that makes a good mystery book into something great for me is the main character. Sure I want to be so into the plot that I’ll keep turning pages, desperate to learn who the bad guy truly is, but the experience only takes that extra step when the main character is fleshed out enough that I also want to know more about her story. I found that in The Last Place You Look.

Roxane (with one “n”) was a complex character. Her good heart made her instantly likable, but her addictions made me pity her and also pissed me off at times. She was clearly an intelligent woman, but her drinking problems and her relationship with one of the characters made me scream “HOW CAN YOU NOT SEE THIS ISN’T GOOD FOR YOU?” a few times. It was infuriating, but fascinating, because I liked her enough to want to stay. It’s like when you see your friend making horrible choices. Half the time, you want to slap some sense into them, and the other half, you just want to hug them and make it all go away. I felt protective of Roxane while still screaming at her for acting silly.

She wasn’t the only complex character. Her entire family was like that. Her dead father felt very much alive at times because of his influence on her and others around her. I’m still figuring out the deal with her brothers and her mother, but since this is supposed to be a series, that feeling of “I want to know more about these characters” are a good thing. Tom… Oh, Tom… I ship you and Roxane, so I’m still hoping things will go your way, because I feel you feel it, too. I want Catherine gone. Seriously. Gone. And I even shipped Joshua and Roxane, and Marisa and Roxane, which leads me to the conclusion that Roxane is pretty much shippable with anything that moves. Except Catherine.

But, yeah, enough about the characters. This is a mystery book, after all.

I loved how the main case developed into small cases and then everything came back together in the end. I could follow the leads with Roxane, which is important, because nothing pisses me off more than when a mystery books introduces so many clues and twists the reader can barely follow them. This book was smart. I felt smart reading it.

I also have to say this (and I’m not lying here): I caught the final/most important clue early on. The moment one of the characters mentioned the “situation”, I went “LOOK INTO THIS!!! WE HAVE SOMETHING HERE!”. Roxane didn’t agree with me at the time and she started looking into other clues. Here’s when things get interesting. As soon as she dismissed it, so did I. This tells me the author succeeded in distracting me by building my trust in Roxane in a way that I started following her and her conclusions without questioning other things. I was still proud of myself when the “clue” came back in the end. It gave me the opportunity to scream “I GUESSED THIS! I SAW THIS!”. Most mystery readers love to delude themselves into believing this.

The Last Place You Look was a great debut. It had a group of characters, enough tension to keep me turning pages and a smart and complex leading lady who intrigued me so much I can’t wait to see what kind of trouble she gets herself into next.

More twists and turns than the curviest back road you can image! What happened to Sarah Cook? That’s what PI Roxane Weary is charged with finding out.

Sarah disappeared fifteen years ago, the same night her parents were brutally murdered, and she hasn’t been seen since. Her boyfriend Brad Stockton was convicted of the murders and is now on death row with his execution only weeks away. Brad’s sister insists she saw Sarah at an area gas station and enlists Roxane’s help. Roxane isn’t in the best place to begin a new case because she’s still reeling from the death of her cop father. But Roxane finds herself drawn to Sarah's story, especially when she links the disappearance to one of her father’s unsolved murder cases involving another teen girl.

It looks like The Last Place You Look is the first book in a new series featuring PI Roxane Weary. This first look has left me waiting with much anticipation for what’s next for Roxane. Not only personally but professionally. I liked Roxane and found her to be a believable character. I enjoyed the deeper look at her personal life as she tried to save the lives of others.

This was one of the best thrillers I’ve read in a while, I was hooked from the opening line! The killer was indeed in the last place this reader looked. And that ladies and gentleman is what makes a great thriller - not being able to guess who did it. This book was action packed from the beginning. Fans of a great mystery will not be disappointed in this one!

Wow, this book was full of action. And while looking for the daughter of murdered parents, Roxane stumbles upon other missing girls from small town, Belmont. Coincidence? Yet, every time Roxane shows up in Belmont, she is escorted out of Belmont or simply told to leave. Something is definitely fishy in Belmont. Are they covering for the rich and famous family that owns everything in Belmont or is something else going on?

I can truthfully say that you should not start this late at night. I did stay up ALL night reading this book. It was sunrise when I finished this book. I could not put it down. I was livid when they held Roxane for over 12 hours in the Belmont jail without arresting her or anything on her fifth or sixth trip to Belmont looking for Sarah or clues to her whereabouts.

This book has so many plot twists and everywhere Roxane turns there is another clue or another body. The suspects are numerous. The action is pulsating and goose pimpling. The ending will definitely have you on the edge of your seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend this book. Roxane (with one "n") doesn't give up. She's like the Energizer bunny and I would LOVE to see more of this lady. She is one Kicka$$ woman I would not like to meet in a dark alley!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

I really enjoyed this book! A mystery that had me guessing and on the edge of my seat - this was a really well written and thought out story. I can't wait to read more by this author!

Roxane is a P/I and very messy character she has a drinking problem. She is trying to figure out two relationships one with a man her father (passed away) former partner and a girlfriend she has called on many times to help out in a pinch. Now she is asked to help prove that Brad Stockten didn't kill his girlfriend parents 15 years ago.
The mystery builds at a perfect speed as well as the character development of Roxane which readers will struggle with as she drinks her way though different bottles dealing with the death of her father and life as a PI. Money is tight so she takes a case she doesn't at first believe in but soon she finds herself trying to find the truth.
As things are relieved readers will not be shocked but it doesn't matter because the author has you believing in the characters finding readers struggling along side with the decisions each characters makes. The characters are flawed and not even close to being perfect specimens of life. Which will have readers hooked until the end of the story that will keep readers satisfied.
This is a great debut novel and a up and coming author I plan to follow.
Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy.

Absolutely top-notch crime thriller! Read it in a couple of sittings as I genuinely couldn't put it down! Packed full of great characters and plenty of red herrings, The Last Place You Look is definitely a book to watch out for. LOVED IT!

The Last Place You Look was everything I want in a summer thriller, and I really hope this one doesn't get lost among the more hyped up books of the season. This follows Roxane, a private investigator (already off to a great start for me), who gets called on to find some answers to a 15 year old crime. What initially starts off as a dead end turns out to reveal a not-so-quiet small town, answers no one was expecting, and some great romance scenes.

Roxane herself is what kept the book moving more than anything. I loved how snarky and independent she was, yet how close she could be to her brother, or the men and women in her life. I also thought it was very refreshing to see a bi-sexual main character and not have that be the main focus of the novel.

Overall, definitely a must read for thriller fans, and one I hope to see get the attention it definitely deserves!