Unfortunately this book was not for me, it was a bit slower than I would like and it just didn't hold my attention. I am sure other people will love it!

Loved, loved loved this novel. Fantastic storyline and great characters. Was a little bit confusing in the middle and seemed to cut abruptly to a few months later but soon picked back up to an exciting conclusion

If you are looking for a book that is full of twists and turns this is it! This book has it all darkness, the horrible side of people and the evil they do. I am glad this is the first in a series of books as I found Laura could benefit with more development as a character. Overall a good read.

Last Girl Gone
A Laura Chambers Novel
by J. G. Hetherton
309 pages
5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Last Girl Gone is a 309 page masterpiece with many twists ,turns and even some gore. J. G. Hetherton drew me in so much that I refused to put this book down until I read the last page. I started and finished This book all in one day.I was shocked to learn this is a debut book by this author. It Caught my attention from the very first page and i could not turn the pages fast enough. I read mystery,crime & psychological thrillers all the time and this one kept me guessing right to the end. The characters are well developed, the plot well done and fast paced. The ending was totally mind blowing. Left me in total shock ! The first thing that drew me to pick this novel up was the title, and then I read the blurb and was intrigued. I’m really glad I read it because now I have a new author to follow from my home state of N.C. I would recommend this book to all mystery and thriller lovers. Definitely looking forward to the next Laura Chambers book.
As always if you like the book you read please take the time to leave a review for the author in places like goodreads & Amazon. It does not have to be long. Just a few sentences saying you liked the book will do. Authors really appreciate every review they get !Thank you to NetGalley ,Crooked Lane Books, and J.G. Hetherton for the chance to read and review this amazing 5 star read for an honest review ! Last Girl Gone: A Laura Chambers Novel

Thank you #NetGalley for a copy of #LastGirlGone!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There was enough suspense to keep me interested and I was so anxious to see who was killing these little girls and for what reason. Part one was fast paced and the results of Laura’s actions were rather surprising. Even more surprising was finding out who the killer was... someone I never even considered. Trust me when I say I think I considered every other character thinking it had to be this person, or that person, and was 100% wrong and I’m so glad! Books that keep me guessing right up until the end are why I read books at all!

The below 4-star review was posted to Hillbilly Highways blog, Amazon, and Goodreads on 11/7/18.

Is the evil done to us irreparable? Are we doomed to pay it forward?

Last Girl Gone is an assured debut, as much a thriller as a mystery (certainly effective as the former). Young girls are starting to go missing in the small town of Hillsborough, North Carolina—just like they did decades before—and disgraced journalist Laura Chambers sees her way back out of her hometown.

It isn’t just exactly in the Hillbilly Highways wheelhouse. It is set in a small town, and it is about a women who returns to the small town from whence she came. Hetherton leans on that, but Last Girl Gone is very much a thriller.

People in Last Girl Gone make a big deal about Laura coming back to Hillsborough after she left, but the truth is that people are more likely to not give a s___. Out of sight is out of mind in a small town. That time away is just a gap in memory.

It’s an effective plot device, though. It gives Laura motivation to get out of Hillsborough. Her horrid mother highlights the central questions that undergird the book that I included at the top of my review. Decades-old kidnappings and a decades-closed stock car track remind us that Faulkner was right: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”

Let’s talk about the protagonist. This is very much Laura’s book. She left Hillsborough planning to never look back but had to slink back with her tail between her legs. The Boston Globe to the local Hillsborough paper is a steep tumble. She worked the “human outrage” beat at the Boston Globe, so she’s seen some things.

Laura starts out very unlikeable. A journalists as a protagonist may be a tough sale from the get-go. It works well for the story. Laura is unlikeable because she is willing to do whatever it takes to get out of Hillsborough and get her career back on track, and she doesn’t care who she has to hurt. She gets a lot of that beat out of her by the events of the book, but she also makes certain choices. It makes for a really strong character arc.

(Laura is also the first of three protagonists in three straight books who are younger than me. Am I getting old? No, it’s the children who are wrong.)

Last Girl Gone features multiple twists. None of those twists are truly shocking, but they are well structured, and these days I appreciate a well structured twist—one that doesn’t undermine the book that came before it—more than an entirely unexpected one.

I received a review copy of Last Girl Gone courtesy of the publisher.

I'm always looking for a new, exciting mystery/thriller series and I think I've found a winner. The author has well written, well developed characters and a great story! Reading the book description, it seems to be just another variation on a well used theme...but it's not. You'll easily lose an afternoon engrossed in the trials and tribulations of Laura Chambers. I'm looking forward to the next book!

Although Laura Chambers escaped her small North Carolina town and her decidedly unmaternal mother, she has to return in disgrace after losing her job at the Boston Globe for some undisclosed trespass. Now working at the tiny local paper, she has to fight for stories against the minimally talented mayor's son.

The body of a young girl is discovered in a field, and another is missing. As she ferrets out details of the story, she discovers a clue unnoticed by the police. Her investigation leads to another set of missing girls and the policeman who never got over those cases.

All-in-all this is an excellent serial killer thriller with some unexpected twists. I'm not sure that I liked or trusted Laura, but the story will keep you turning those pages.

This is a great novel. I hope that this leads into a new series. The book is full of twists and turns.

Journalist Laura Chambers returns home to her hated hometown in disgrace. While working for her small town paper a girl is kidnapped and killed. Another girl has gone missing. In her search for a redeeming news story, she uncovers secrets and lies.

What happened to the girls? Can Laura uncover the story and solve the case. This book is a thrill ride!

At first I found it hard to get into. But in saying that it still kept my interest … It was very easy to read and predict.

I didn't want this story to end. Investigative journalist Laura Chambers is looking for her big story. There's a serial killer she's investigating named the Kid. She's working on herself but will stop at nothing to solve a mystery.
Laura was fearless even though there was a killer loose. I was scared for her at times

I received this read through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This debut tale and first of a series about a journalist who returns home to investigate a girl who disappeared and now has turned up dead. Soon more and more girl's bodies turn up.

I would recommend this read for someone that is interested in an easy fast paced read of chilling mysteries. It is easy because it does not get the reader to wrapped up in details of the setting, but the action of plot is always moving toward the climax.

Even though I did like the story, I'm afraid that nothing really memorable or unpredictable happened.

I'm not sure if I will be continuing with this series.

Rating - between 4 and 4.5 stars!

Last Girl Gone is the series debut for the Laura Chambers Mystery series by J.G. Hetherton. You may read the synopsis for this book and pass it over thinking it's just another mystery/thriller book. I encourage you NOT to do that and actually pick up this book to read. Yes, it's a really good mystery thriller, yes it has the investigative reporter who helps crack the case open, yes it has missing children and even a few casualties, and yes it has the proverbial FBI agent. So what makes this one different and stick out for me? The author has written a fantastic storyline that really keeps you guessing till the end. And just when you think you have it figured out, the author throws in a curve or two to get you off scent. As an avid reader of this genre, there are two things that often happen with mystery/thrillers that annoy me - 1. when the ending is overly predictable and 2. when, as a reader, you figure "who did it" and still have 200 pages left to read in the book. Neither of these happen with Lasrt Girl Gone. The story starts off with an incredible bang that hooks you and the author masterfully navigates the plotline to keep the story intriguing, nail biting and suspenseful. I had a hard time putting this book down. This was an excellent debut novel for this series and I look forward to reading future books from this author.

My thanks to J.G. Hetherton and Crooked Lane Publishers for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Last Girl Gone by J.G. Heatherton
Laura Chambers Mystery #1

Debut authors are hit or miss but I do believe J.G. Heatherton has a good future if this, his debut novel, is a sample of what he can do.

I have to admit that I did not much like investigative journalist Laura Chambers and how she went about getting her story but will say she was relentless in pursuit of finding facts for her article. She had no trouble using people to get what she wanted and sometimes it did create trouble for her and for others.

At times I found myself skipping ahead trying to find out what would happen but if I had not done so I do believe that the serial murderer would have been a huge surprise. I am a person that reads the end of a book first then find out how the story unravels or is narrated and if it holds my interest then it is deemed a very good story. And, this was a good book though I felt it was a bit slow at times.

I am definitely interested in finding out what Laura will do in the future. Will she stay in Hillsborough? Will she go back to the big city? Will she solve another case in town or somewhere nearby? Will she and FBI agent Timinski work together in the future? I guess that since I am curious and have questions that require books in this series the author has done his job in creating a character I am willing to invest more time with.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars

Last Girl Gone by J.G. Hetherton is the first book of the new Laura Chambers Mystery series. Laura Chambers is a journalist that had to return to her hometown of Hillsborough, North Carolina to take a job at the small town paper after being first from her job in Boston. With nothing but fluff pieces available Laura is just waiting for something worthwhile to write.

Suddenly the small town experiences a tragedy when the body of a young girl is found in a field having been washed and posed and another girl has gone missing yet to be found. Laura begs to be able to be the one to write the front page story and is given a deadline to go out and find out more about the girls.

Last Girl Gone was one of those books that on the surface will check all the boxes for thriller fans. The writing is solid and easy to read, the characters good, the setting and a crime to draw in readers.But then we come to the pacing which to me was a rather slow burn and that will make some happy but I’m not a huge fan myself. Sure there was action and twists but also areas that drag after a very slow start so in the end this one just turned out to be an OK read for me that lacked the promised “pulse pounding”.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I can’t believe this was a debut novel! Last Girl Gone was such a powerful start to what I understand will be a new series. JG Hetherton has done a magnificent job of weaving together a nail biting plot that keeps twisting until the end. Because the final twist was similar to a different book that I read recently; I figure it out. But, that didn’t lessen the effect nor the impact.

What a terrific debut! The basic plot line- a disgraced journalist starts over by investigating kidnappings and murders-is not new but Laura is a welcome fresh heroine for the genre. Hillsborough, North Carolina might seem sleepy, especially after Boston, but there's a current running underneath and a creep out there. Why did the girls disappear- they weren't runaways- and why are girls turning up dead again? There are some good twists here and you shouldn't trust anyone. Thanks to net galley for the ARC. Classically difficult to review because of spoilers but recommend to fans of the genre and look forward to the next one.

This is the first book in a new series starring investigative journalist Laura Chambers. This book takes off from the beginning and never lets up. The prologue grabs your attention and sets your mind spinning. Descriptive imagery embeds you in this story and brings it to life. The author does a great job developing the characters and providing plenty of back story.

Laura Chambers is a disgraced journalist who finds herself back in her hometown working for the local rag. She skims and scrapes as she searches for a newsworthy story in this sleepy little town. Laura finally catches a big break and lands a front page story when the body of a missing girl is discovered. However, another little girl is still missing. Laura uses one of her sources to pull herself deeper into the investigation. She soon discovers that these crimes have been happening for decades, and they might all have a common denominator.

Laura receives a threatening phone call. The man on the other end of the line assures Laura that he is watching her every move and keeping tabs on her, and Laura begins to fear for her own safety. The investigation picks up steam when law enforcement receives a package related to the missing girl, and they want to use Laura and her paper to try to draw the killer out. Laura uses her investigative skills to crack the code they have been sent, and she is soon hot on the trail of the killer. When she finally tracks the killer down, Laura's world is once again turned upside down.

Faced with the ramifications of her actions, Laura can't shake the feeling that certain details just don't add up. Although the dust has settled and the case is all but forgotten by everyone else, Laura pushes forward to find the missing pieces and find those ultimately responsible. There are many twists and turns along the way, and a huge twist towards the end, leading up to a shocking conclusion that brings the story full circle.

I would recommend this book to fans of thrillers and suspense. I received this as a free ARC from Crooked Lane Books on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Full of twists and turns that I never saw coming, I could not put this book down. There were so many things to love about this book, yet so many things that bothered me.

This book's main character, Laura Chambers, is yet another flawed female role, still dealing with events from her childhood. This makes her an easy target. Her choices throughout the book reflect her childhood, and place her in serious trouble at times. This, along with the fact that she consistently used many supporting characters made her hard to like at times. One major aspect of her life is built upon in the beginning of the book. The resolution of this aspect was a complete let down though. The author leads you to believe that something earth shattering happen, and then gives only a little glimpse into what happened.

The author developed all the characters perfectly, but I could not get attached to any of the accessory characters. From the moment an accessory character was introduced you knew that they were not going to stick around for long, so why bother with them. One character is seen in the beginning of the book, then disappears about half way through, then comes back exactly when Laura needs him. This character plays a major part in the resolution of the book, yet he is written into the beginning like he was a nobody. Another side character had so much potential, and still does for future Laura Chambers books.

This book has turns that no one would see. The moment you think the book is going to end there is more to the story. This fact alone made me not want to put the book down, unfortunately there were times I had to. The ending of the book was great. All loose ends were tied up and I had very few questions left unanswered.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books, the author, J.G. Hetherton, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review

I absolutely love it when a book is able to catch me off guard. It doesn't happen often, but when it does it just adds to the thrill, and this book managed to do just that. I was even more shocked to find out this was the author's debut novel, and I cannot wait to read more.

Overall, this was a great story. The only real downside is that I disliked most of the characters, though I think it was intended to be that way. I was never sure if Laura's behavior was truly altruistic or in the pursuit of a good story. The other characters appeared tainted by small town politics. That being said, the novel was still a great read I would definitely recommend giving this a read.