Do you remember being a teenager, just about to graduate, world at your fingertips? That's where Crisp is, until one wrong move that lands him in jail, missing his graduation and the opportunity to give the valedictory speech. What ensues in the next days is a series of not well thought out decisions, and an adventure filled with danger, drug dealers and a path to his father that left the family when Crisp was young. I found this book to be well written and relatable, as any parent with youth this age could.

I loved A Map of the Dark, but this book fell so so short of that one to me. I was bored, didn't identify with the characters as well, and didn't really enjoy the plot overall.

This was not the book for me. It was so frustrating that I just didn’t get into it. I know scenarios like this occur but I didn’t really want to read about it. This reminds me a lot of Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing. It is a lesson for all but not what I want to read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is the 2nd in a series that looks like it's going to follow a group of law enforcement personnel.... I say that because in the 1st book in the series, I thought the FBI character was the lead....that the series would build around. But in this 2nd in the series, the police detective is the lead character, & others in the 1st book are also 'around'..... I actually really like this way that the series is taking this structure/direction....I like that the familiar characters continue to make contributions to the story....& will be very curious to see how Ellis builds/organizes the 3rd in the series! I really like this 'police procedural' that takes place in NYC, the modern use of cell phones/texts/e-tech in the work day of these professionals in their search for whoever they're after, & yet still the actual feet on the ground/eyes on the scene gets it's due too. Ellis does a real good job of creating the scene for the reader, you almost feel like you're right there! I also like how the impact of events outside the workday is seen in the lives of the characters. It was a read that I had a hard time putting down, staying up late into the night to read!
I received this e-galley from Mulholland Books via NetGalley, giving me the opportunity to read it & offer my own fair/honest review.

I liked this novel. I thought it would be something like Karen Ellis’s prior novel “A Map of the Dark”. Although one of the characters from “A Map of the Dark” was present in this nove, Lexi Cole, this book was different. This novel wasn’t about the detectives who worked on missing children disappearances. This story was about the young adults who were reported missing. Titus Crisp Crespo and Glynnie Dreyfus are very different. While Glynnie is the daughter of wealthy parents, Titus was raised by a single mother Katya Spielman & his Russian-American grandparents, just graduated from public high school,& on the way to Princeton. Glynnie is spoiled, lacks ambition, and is rebellious. She too graduated from high school (private school, of course) with no interest in going to college. She’s your typical spoiled rich girl. Both get involved in a situation with a criminal gun dealer Dante Green. Glynnie suddenly decides she wants to buy a gun, so they end up in a dangerous situation with the gun dealer & his lackeys. Glynnie meets with her marijuana dealer Janjak (JJ) LeFleur, a homeless 12 year old living in a squat, whose parents were deported to Haiti while JJ was in school. Together, the 3 kids travel to Dante’s apartment to buy Glynnie’s gun. Here’s where the going gets rough. Dante’s lackey attempts to rape Glynnie, & would have succeeded had she not shot him dead. All three kids escape from Dante’s hold & run off. The remainder of the novel consists of Glynnie & Titus’s experiences as they attempt to avoid capture by both Dante and the detectives looking for them.
I was enraptured by this story. The writing was down-to-earth & honest. The plot line was unique and realistic. There were also the subplots: Lexi worried about the disappearance of his long time love Adam after their argument & wondered if Adam left him; JJ was trying to hide from social services who would put him back in foster care if they found him; Titus was afraid Dante would find him & kill him; he also feared his scholarship to Princeton would be withdrawn when officials discovered what happened to him “that night”; Glynnie pondered her actions in getting the 2 boys into the mess she created by her own reckless selfishness.
I liked the ending. However, it ended so suddenly. I read the final paragraph. Instead of another chapter, I was staring at the page of “Acknowledgments”. It took me a few seconds to realize the story had ended. So I guess I’d call it a surprise ending. Despite this, I really enjoyed this novel in “The Searchers” series. Great read!
Thank you, NetGalley & Mulholland Books for the opportunity to read & review this wonderful novel.

What I liked about the first book was taken a little too far in the second book. The characters having separate sections without much crossover. I still liked the book, but not as well. Same rating, but while I considered the last book a high 4, this is a little lower 4. I liked that we got to know Lex more, but not enough. I also liked the bit of Elsa from the first book and really wished they would work together again. Det. Finley was interesting and I hope to see more of her as well.

Disappointed by this installment of the Searchers after reading book 1. I found this book to be lacking as a mystery and a thriller. This book was more of a drama and really was missing the intrigue and suspense of the first book. I was Lex was in this book and that we found out more about him but was really not finding myself caring too much about the missing young adults in this book. Their woe is me attitude didn't bring out any empathy for their situation, except for JJ who definitely was a sympathetic character. Crisp and Glynnie were spoiled kids who should have been gratul for what they had instead of looking for trouble. I am undecided as to whether I will read the next installment or not.
Received a free copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily reviewing the book.

This second-in-series was every bit as engaging as the first - despite a much slower start and the relegation of one of my favorite characters (Elsa, who was THE major detective in book one) to an exceptionally minor side role... It took me longer to connect to the characters this time; Saki is, by design and personality, not an easy character to engage with, nor is Glynnie. But Crisp and JJ were delightful and heart-breaking and I found their unfolding tales to be all too believable and real. It made some of the reading difficult, but in a good, emotionally-charged, way.

I still find Lex (the major consistent player in the two books) a difficult character. I'm not sure if I like him - or feel much of anything at all for him, frankly. He feels like the least well-developed of the major players, and is still a bit of an enigma to me. I'm curious to see if Ellis will continue to draw him out in further titles, and will definitely pick them up because the writing and plot development here are really well presented. And I quite like the way she presents the stories in quasi-real time; it makes the pacing feel slick and fleet and keeps me on the edge of my seat throughout. A great combination, that, especially when paired with such dynamic (generally) characters - even when I don't love them (hello, Glynnie) I can't help but be drawn in to their drama...

Titus Crespo, who is nicknamed Crisp, is a mixed-race high school senior, valedictorian of his class and headed to Princeton. He is unfairly ticketed by a jerk of a policeman and Crisp reacts immaturely, compounding his problems. Upset about possibly having derailed his future, he makes a few more bad decisions and just keeps getting in deeper and deeper trouble. The story started off kind of slow for me but then picked up as the tension and danger built. I liked how the author really developed multiple characters: Crisp, his acquaintance Glynnie, JJ the homeless 12-year-old drug dealer, and Lex Cole, the detective assigned to find Crisp when his mother reports him missing. Getting to know the characters and their backgrounds, families, troubles, etc. makes a book more enjoyable for me.

Though this is the second in a series, I had not read the first one but found it worked just fine as a stand-alone.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free e-ARC of this book.

LAST NIGHT is a true literary thriller. The writing is excellent and the situation is so plausible that it will make every parent's heart ache. Crisp Crespo is a good boy - valedictorian of his high school class at Stuyvestant in New York, a scholarship to Princeton - Crisp is on top of the world. But when the color of his skin causes him to be a police target for a trumped up charge, Crisp is angry and his anger causes him to make some very bad decisions. Beautifully rendered characters and writing that places you right at the scene, LAST NIGHT is just fantastic.

This is the second in a series by Karen Ellis. While I was excited to read this and spend more time with Elsa from the first book she was hardly a part of this novel. Don’t get me wrong, this one was good and I could hardly put it down but I was a bit disappointed to not have it go in the direction I was expecting. This book mainly focuses on Lex, the NYC cop from the first book, and his world. We learn more about his back story and abut about the workings of a city police officer but the story is mostly about a couple of very recent high school graduates, one white and one perceived as black, and how every decision has far reaching ramifications. Thanks to #netgalley for the opportunity to read #thelastnight.

Last Night brings back Detective Lex Cole from A Map of the Dark. In this installment, Crisp and Glynnie, two recent high school grads go missing together one night. Glynnie ends up leading Crisp, valedictorian of his senior class and future Princeton student, into a trouble filled night with drugs, guns, a murder, and the possibility of meeting his long lost father. As Lex slowly unravels the events of the night to find both teenagers, both mothers are hoping he find their child alive and well.

I love it when I can travel through a book. Again like in A Map of the Dark, the author's descriptions are on point adding to the suspense and enjoyment to the reader. I could easily picture the entire story in my head, as it took me from Glynnie's expensive brownstone, to the abandoned warehouse they travel to buy drugs and then to the projects for the gun deal.

This is the second in the Searchers series, and although I had read the first one, you could read this as a stand alone and not have any confusion or missing information.

I received an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Not for me. The story felt disjointed and confusing with too many characters. There was also an undercurrent of social commentary that didn't really work..

Holy cow this book made me so frustrated. Princeton bound Titus Crespo “Crisp” as he is nicknamed, is smart, a good boy and responsible. One cop changes Crisp’s whole life. The situations he gets into in Last Night seems so far fetched. It goes to show that smarts doesn’t always give you the ability to know when to speak up and get the crap out of somewhere you don’t feel comfortable.

Glynnie Dryfus, 18 years old is portrayed as a stereotypical rich girl who thinks she rules the world and her brain doesn’t think through any situation she gets herself in. She drags Crisp into a dangerous situation all because “she wants a gun” and has the ability to get on no matter where she has to go to get it. It’s that simple- she wants something she’s going to get it no matter the outcome. Sadly, Crisp is the one that pays for it.
The one line in the book that sums this whole story up is from Detective Lex Cole, when Detective Elsa tells him to think like a teenager, “Don’t think at all. Act and react. Think later.” This is that story.
Even with that said the characters are not as shallowly written as they are in person. Author Karen Ellis rolls out a good story that is filled with danger, examples of police profiling and teen angst.
I wish I had known this was book 2 of The Searchers before I read it. Would’ve loved to have read book 1 first.

I give this book 3 stars not because of the writing but because of the stereotyping and dimwit moves of a very spoiled girl.

Thanks, Netgalley for the opportunity to read Last Night in lieu of my honest review.

I enjoyed the provoking intensity of the socioeconomic & racial issues! Love the theme of how the decisions we make affect every part of our lives! However, I felt that they should have been delved into deeper in the novel. Like her other book, this is slow during the first half, but picks up in the second half. I was hoping for more from Elsa’s character from the first novel, unfortunately it was all about Lex. He seemed likeable from his description in the first book. However, here---he was insecure and whiny!?! Thus I really just had a difficult time connecting with him in this book thus bringing down my enjoyment of the entire novel!

I rated this book 3 out of 5 stars. The book seemed to focus more on the issues between Lex and his partner without really delving into the core socioeconomic & racial issues of Crisp and Glynnie! Maybe I would have enjoyed the book more if it was marketed differently.

Thank you to Mullholland Books and Netgalley for providing an ARC for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC..

This is the second book in Karen Ellis’s Searchers series but can be read as a stand-alone..
This is a well written book but I found it to be rather slow. It didn’t really grab and hold my attention. Character development could have been stronger, particularly for the female deceive (Saki Finley) who is introduced in this book. There are socioeconomic and racial inequalities that are introduced but are somewhat lost in the telling of the teenage struggles of finding a place in the world and dealing with consequences of poor decisions. I found most of the characters to be rather unlikeable and didn’t really connect with any of them, which is important for me to truly enjoy reading.

Titus "Crisp" Cresp is almost too good to be true - a bright, capable, motivated high school senior from the inner city who's headed to Princeton in a few short weeks. Then he stumbles into a part of New York where nice wealthy upper east side girls girls like Glinnie, a classmate who talked him into accompanying her, rarely venture..A drug buy goes wrong, a gun goes off, and a gang member bleeds to death in front of the youngsters, who are briefly imprisoned before an intrepid city cop and his temporary partner, a woman who specializes in finding endangered children, rescue them. A predictable, unimaginative mystery with few thrills, no child, and not much to tax the readers intellectual capabilities.

Thank you NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion.
This book shows you just how bigotry is so rampant in our society. How attitudes can change just by walking across the street. An intelligent African American teenager who is the valedictorian of his high school and who has been accepted to the major ivy leagues with full scholarships. He was told to come over to the police officer while he was on his bike. Apparently he violated a law with his bike and the cop said became belligerent with the officer and was arrested. All was a lie.
They did not allow him to call his mom because he was eighteen so she had no idea where he was. He missed his graduation. And possibly jeopardize the possibility of the scholarship.
Crisp constantly gets this type of reaction from society even though he is a smart, polite kid. He comes from a great family, a respected family. When will the hatred stop?
Stop judging the book by the cover.

3 stars

I was somewhat disapointed in this book. I felt it was not as good as s. Ellis' previous novel.

It is about a young man, getting ready to graduate, in fact he is the valedctorian of his class. He is half black and half white being raised by his white mom and his two Russian grandparents. He lives in the Brighton Beach neighborhood, unlike other kids of his background.

Goes with a friend to make a weed buy one night. Harmless enough, right? Not when you're black.

This story contrasts the racial profiling with the way in which a white kid would have been treated in the same situation. It is an interesting study, but was too spare on the action for my tastes.

The book is well written and plotted, but t moved too slowly for me. I will read others of Ms. Ellis' books of course. I was just disappointed in this one.

I want to thank NetGalley and Mulholland Books for forwarding to me a copy of this for me to read and review.

I really enjoyed this book, Ellis takes us on an adventure with three teenagers. Crisp, is bi-racial who has lived his life with his white mother going to the best public school and becoming valedictorian of his class. Glynnie, is a rich white girl who thinks going to the buy weed in Red Hook is an adventure. She doesn't understand danger and thinks her money will get her out of anything. Then there is JJ, a young undocumented Haitian boy whose parents were deported and he ran away from an abusive foster home. He sells weed to keep himself fed and his goal is to attend school and get into a good high school.

Glynnie's arrogance, privileged and sheltered life lead them into a dangerous situation that has a major impact on their lives. Crisp's mother makes some profound and enlightening commentary on race and racial profiling etc while waiting for her son to be found. The cops who are looking for the teens, Lex, a recovered addict who got in a fight with his boyfriend right before he got called in on this case, and Saki who no one in her precinct understands and may be on the autism spectrum with the way she is so concrete and doesn't understand social norms really help round this book out.

I love the characters the very relevant topics and the interesting unraveling of this story through the eyes of all involved. There is another book in this series but this can be read as a stand alone although I liked it so much I'm going to find the first and dive in. Can't wait for more from this author and this series.