LAST NIGHT by Karen Ellis
Last night I read until 4 a.m., a most rare occurrence, but Karen Ellis' LAST NIGHT was that compelling, with good kids, bad choices, and so much danger.
I liked Crisp from the first, so much to be proud of, so much hard work about to pay off for him, and then . . . I don’t like to include spoilers, but from bad rap to bad decisions, through dangers and insults, Crisp maintains his sense of honor and his concern for others, especially his mom and grandparents, whom he does not want to disappoint. He uses that good brain of his also, to solve problems and make plans, except for when he gets caught up in the craziness that is “being a teenager.”
Taking responsibility for one’s mistakes is a hard lesson but a most valuable one. Realizing you’re not in it alone is good lesson, but it’s harder when life has taught that the police can’t always be trusted. I didn’t want the book to end, and I’m still replaying parts in my mind.
These adventurous wanderings also gave an interesting “tour” of New York City, the parts not so well known to casual visitors and described so well I felt I was there.
I was especially surprised at the complexity of applying to public high schools, having studied and worked always in schools that based enrollment primarily on residence within a certain boundary. That Crisp is sincere in his offer to help JJ navigate high school applications made me love and respect him even more.
Now I need to get a copy of Ellis’ A MAP OF THE DARK, and I hope there will be many more books from this excellent writer.

Dark and twisty. My kind of read.Social and socioeconomic issues are at the heart of thriller, issues that make your heart hurt. Thought provoking and intense. I hope Karen Ellis continues with this series.
#lastnight
#netgalley

Another interesting book about choices and what making the wrong (or right) ones can do to you, your future, your family and friends. Overall, this is a rather sad thing and a reminder that in America, most children either see too much real life before the age of twelve or not near enough. It's hard to make wise choices without any facts. We need to do better.

2.5 stars
While Last Night explores socio-economic and racial lines, at its core, it is a story about a couple of teenagers and the choices they make to lead them down a dangerous path. The problem is those choices aren't really explained other than to say that teenagers don't think like adults, which doesn't really explain anything. As far as the mystery or police procedural aspects, this one leaves something to be desired on both counts. We're spoon-fed Crisp and Glynnie's journey of bad decisions while the missing persons cases for them are on again, off again, and it all comes together rather slowly for the first half of the book. Things do pick up in the second half and we get a little more on the procedural side of things, but for those who read book one and are hoping for more of Elsa, those glimpses are few and far between. We do get plenty of Lex, who I liked in the first book, but here, he comes across as whiny and insecure. I get it, there are relationship problems and he doesn't know where he stands with Adam, but sometimes, less is more. The number of times the lack of text messages from Adam was mentioned quickly grew tedious. We're also introduced to Saki as she and Lex work together to find both Glynnie and Crisp. Saki had the potential to be a great character, but she isn't given much in the way of personality. We're told that she's 'on the spectrum', but other than a lack of social cues, we aren't given much else about her. While the blurb calls this one a sequel, it works as a standalone, and I feel like those who aren't familiar with the first book may enjoy it more than I did. For me, Lex was just too different than what I saw in book one, and too much of the story just doesn't ring true.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mulholland Books for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review. This is the sequel to A Map of the Dark, which I thought was a pretty good mystery. This one just didn't get it for me. It was not as good as the first one. The author gave so much background information about Elsa in the previous book, but she is barely mentioned in this book. This book is about her partner Lex Cole. The mystery was seemed silly and unbelievable to me. It just wasn't my favorite.

Surprising second book in THE SEARCHERS series

Okay - this book totally surprised me. I read the first book A MAP OF THE DARK featuring Special Agent Elsa Myers, FBI Child Abduction Rapid Deployment division. I enjoyed her character in that story and assumed (and you know what they say about that) that she would be the protagonist in this second book. Silly me. In fact, the protagonist in this book is NYPD Detective Lex Cole and he works with NYPD Detective Saki Finley (who is on the autism spectrum) on a case of two totally different older teenagers.

Titus "Crisp" Crespo is half Russian-half African American, is valedictorian of his graduating class, and intends on going to Princeton.

Glynnie Dreyfus has rich parents and no direction in her life.

And these two totally different teens disappear at the same time.

The story tells just how much your life can get screwed up in one night. I liked book one but loved this book. The author did a wonderful job with character development on all the characters. I loved the progression of the story. And I appreciated the detailed ending.

Oh, and Elsa makes a couple of very brief appearances in this book.

I received this book from Mulholland Books through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.

Thank you for providing me with a copy of book 1 and 2 in this series. I will make sure to publish my updated review on my Goodreads profile once I am able to finish both books.

I didn’t really care for this book. Found the storyline overly dramatic and unrealistic in a great many ways. It dragged in a lot of parts too, using pages and pages for what should have been a paragraph or two at most. I also found the characters were almost ALL unlikeable. Just not a good read for me.

Having read the fantastic reviews for Karen Ellis’ first book A Map of the Dark, I was hoping to be blown away by her second book, Last Night, in The Searchers series. But it was hard to read as a stand alone and it wasn’t as captivating as I thought it’d be. Many crime novels can stand alone and keep me interested, but this was rather slow and not as many plot twists as I was hoping for.

This is a story of two young people in New York, both of different race and privilege. Crips, a half white and black 19-year-old who is valedictorian of his high school’s graduating class, is on his way to Princeton in the fall. The day before he is to address his graduating class, he makes one bad decision after another. He is unfairly ticketed for riding his bike on the sidewalk and rather than take it, he erupts into anger and is then thrown into jail and misses his graduation. Enter Glynnie, a smart and sassy rich girl, who sees Crisp playing basketball in the cage on the roof of the jail when he gets arrested. In hopes of not wanting Gynnie thinking badly of him, Crisp stops by her house once he is released from jail and tries to explain why he was arrested. Their story unravels from there and we’re shown the differences of the two characters, one of privilege and money, one of disadvantage and scraping by. Then we’re faced with how one night, 24-hours, can change one person’s life forever. Lex is the officer in charge of finding out what happened to Crisp. He’s distracted and not alert, he keeps worrying about whether his boyfriend is cheating on him or has left him. The forced character development of Lex’s drug addition problems, and issues with his relationship, cloud the plot and moving the story forward. The backstory of Lex seems so forced and not necessary.

The themes of addiction, misunderstandings, assumptions and even weakness made this a well-rounded book. But it was very slow and discombobulated at times. I feel this was a major let down after having read such great reviews of Karen Ellis’ first book. If you were looking to get the second book in Ellis’ series The Searchers, I think you’d want to skip this one.

Thank you to Mulholland Books and NetGalley for his ARC.

I received a free e-copy of Last Night which is the second installment in the Searcher series by Karen Ellis from NetGalley for my honest review. This book can be read as a stand-alone.

This book is a story of two teenagers, Crisp and Glynnie. Crisp is a good kid, he does well in school and is heading to Princeton in the fall. One day, while on his way home, he is racially targeted by a police officer and he ends up in jail for the night.

Then all the trouble begins with a lot of bad decisions. The next day Crisp and Glynnie go missing. Glynnies parents and Crisp's mom report their children missing and Detective Lex Cole and Detective Saki Finley work together to locate the kids before it's too late.

This was a good book that had the potential of being great but the suspense just wasn't there. The author did discuss many important social and cultural topics such as addiction, racism, abuse, and inequality.

A story that shows how fast reckless decisions can change your life forever. Crisp is about to graduate and give the valedictorian speech the next day. He's sailing along on his bike reflecting on a future at Princeton, full scholarship, he is euphoric. And in the next few minutes a racist cop, a quick tempered response and his life suddenly crashes. Glynnie just finished high school barely. Her mom has decided one way or another Glynnie will go to her alma mater. Glynnie is rebelling on everything, wild and reckless hateing her family, her privilege and her life. JJ a 12 year old orphan who got lost in a broken system and is trying to survive in a abandoned building in the projects. When these three teens meet the bad decisions of one drags them all into a situation they may not live to regret. Detective Lex Cole catches a new case of a missing African American teen, Crisp who's single parent mom insists would never just not come home. Detective Saki Finley catches a missing teen case of a girl named Glynnie who's from a rich white family. Together the detectives try to piece the last movements of the missing kids. I thank NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC this is my honest review. I enjoyed this book!

Last Night by Karen Ellis
Last Night (The Searchers, #2)
by Karen Ellis
M 50x66
Lou Jacobs's review Feb 26, 2019 · edit
really liked it

Rather than a mystery this narrative provides a compelling portrait of the self actualization of the three main protagonists. Pivotal is the story of 19 year old Titus "Crisp" Crespo ... a product of a mixed and broken marriage , raised by his white mother and Russian grandparents and considers himself black. ... who has a bright future. He is graduating, the valedictorian of his class and accepted to Princeton for the fall. The downward spiral abruptly begins on the last day of school. While riding his bicycle home he is confronted by a racist cop who unfairly tries to ticket him for riding on the sidewalk .... or more likely DWB (driving while black). Unfortunately Crisp looses it and handles the situation poorly ... out of anger , rather than tactfully. He is not only ticketed but jailed .. and misses his graduation ceremony and speech. Over the course of the next 24 hours he continues to make poor choices and decisions. They appear to initiate with his connection with his white and rich friend, Glynnie.
Glynnie is the antithesis of Crisp ... white, rich , privileged and rebellious. Although she has just finished high school there are no plans for college. She is both rebellious in dress and attitude. She goads Crisp into accompanying her to visit her weed dealer .. and then with all in tow an excursion into the seedy Red Hook district to buy a gun. Nothing good is going to come out of this situation. And, events devolve into a possible rape, kidnapping, and inadvertently killing of one the gun dealer's "crew".
The third main protagonist is NYPD Detective Alexie "Lex" Cole... who is charged with investigating the missing Crisp and Glynnie. Lex, a former drug addict, is saddled with lack of sleep over his concern with a probable break-up with his partner, Adam and his continual compulsion and interest in drugs. Nonetheless he successfully continues his investigation and uncovers the convoluted
events.
Ellis provides an interwoven tapestry in her storyline that explores the various obstacles and possible complicated outcomes presented to adults of different race, gender and socioeconomic status.
Thanks to NetGalley and Mulholland Books for providing an ARC of this compelling "slice of life" novel in exchange for an honest review.

Karen Ellis hit this one out of the ball park. The protagonists are vulnerable and extremely sympathetic, their support systems are rock solid and the police are persons those that make us honor the profession. Crisp, Glynnie and JJ are, despite making bad decisions, kids you want to see get the kind of help that will make their lives turn out fine. Lex and Saki whom we know from other novels by Karen Ellis are caring cops who see beyond the obvious even in Brooklyn. And the detail and color of life in NYC come through on every page.

Last Night was a fast, satisfying read, one I am happy to recommend to friends and family. Karen Ellis is an author to watch for.

I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Karen Ellis, and Mulholland Books in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

Another fast read in this series and another great book in this series and by this author. The timeline is very fast, over about a week (as is the timeline of the previous book), so, though while the point of view switches back and forth between Lex and Saki (the cops working the case) and Crisp and Gwynnie (the missing teens/young adults) and sometimes between days (the previous day and the "current' day), the pace of the story moves fairly quickly as we learn what is going on and how everything ties together. There is a lot of strong language in this book, more than in the first book. The setting is again NYC, moving all over the city and more the less touristy places that many readers less familiar with the city would be aware of. However, the main character is not Elsa, the FBI agent from the first book but, instead, Lex, the male cop Elsa worked with in the first book (though Elsa does make several appearances). We also learn more of Lex's background from his childhood growing up in Russia and personal demons to his present-day fight with his boyfriend and how those relationship struggles may be trickling down to affect his work.

There is lots of commentary on racism and socioeconomic status in NYC (and big cities in general) as we follow Crisp (one of the missing teens) through these few days and his thought processes as he struggles with the situations he finds himself in and how they could affect his future, at Princeton and beyond, as well as his relationship with his white Russian mother and grandparents and the previously nonexistent relationship with his African American father and the stereotypes others place on him (and others) simply by looking at him and in the situations he finds himself in with the other teens. There are also comments from the opposite point of view, from Gwynnie and her privileged upbringing and how her carelessness as a result place the three teens (Crisp, JJ, and Gwynnie) in precarious situations that could have long-standing disastrous consequences for their futures. By the end of the book, we see a reversal of the situations in which Gwynnie and Crisp at the beginning of the book come across each other and how those perceptions (both at the beginning and the end of the book) shape their thoughts and their actions as well.

I really enjoyed the writing and how the author ties things together, while also leaving possibilities open at the end of the book, for all the characters in the story, the adults and the teens/young adults alike. This book is full of vivid descriptions of places, the action, and the people and, like the previous book, deals with some dark subjects, though not in an overly descriptive manner that would make the reader (at least me) too uncomfortable. I'm enjoying getting to know these characters and look forward to seeing what comes with other books the author releases in this series and the evolving relationships between Elsa, David, Lex, Saki, etc.

Content: Strong language (F bombs) throughout and descriptions of murder, drug dealing, etc.

I really liked how the story started with focus on Glynnie and Crisp. Their relationship buds in an unusual way and it was interesting reading about them side by side in the same chapters. I appreciated how the chapters showcased both points of view without clunky headers or devoting an entirely new chapter just to change point of view. It was interesting seeing their side of the story first, as opposed to following the detective first.

I wanted to get to know Lex a bit more. He seemed to have an interesting life but the story rarely followed him home, which is what I appreciate in my detective stories. He did have some family drama with his brother and mainly with his boyfriend Adam, but other than that I didn’t feel like his story dug deep enough for me to really get to know him.

The case itself wasn’t as mysterious or thrilling as I expected, mainly because both points of view are shared from beginning to end. Crisp and Glynnie would further their story and the next chapter would show Lex and his team working to catch up. I liked the cat and mouse feel but because I knew what the missing kids were up to it didn’t have as much tension as more traditional thrillers or mysteries do.

Overall this was a good read. I liked the pace and it was interesting to follow both sides of the case at once. While the alternating points of view sort of gave away the tension, there were unexpected twists and interesting characters. I wish it dug into the detective’s point of view more as this is what I most remember enjoying about book one, but after reading this I am interested in the next installment.

He was a good boy, a well versed student, valedictorian of his class, about to have his graduation ceremony, and had hopes to go on to Princeton next year, he could quote from mind sentences of authors, ones of philosophical and literary significance. One bicycle ride on a pavement and an altercation with an officer of the law, a bad one, initiated him into a series of tragedies.
Taking the show are young ones in complex situations, life changing ones, and trying to survive and manoeuvre through it, with all the inner-city pit falls and disadvantages and finding a way out.

Solid writing with nicely put together storytelling with all the necessary elements, dialogue, scenes, pace, conflict, and memorable likeable believable characters.

Dreams askew all in course of one night in the inner-city concrete labyrinth, with one bad turn after another, intersections, crossroads, unrequited love in this New York Tale with mistakes and falls and essentially finding oneself against a storm, with some time for mercy one hopes all in one helluva night and days that follow it.

Crisp, a biracial teenager is missing. What he didn’t know about his past, haunts him and therefore he made some bad choices. Lex is the detective tracking him and he has a few problems with the past as well. This book is thought provoking and deals with the consequences of bad decisions. This is the 2nd book in The Searchers series but could be read as a stand alone. Thanks to Mulholland Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This starts out as a stunningly impressive display of teenage emotion, bringing together three kids -- Crisp, the biracial overachiever; Glynnie, the privileged white wild child, and JJ, the street kid doing whatever it takes to survive -- on a night of reckless camaraderie that turns into a really bad time when adult criminals get involved. The cops looking, at first separately, into the disappearances of Crisp and Glynnie, have their own compelling stories, but for some reason the book gets bogged down about two thirds of the way through, in what was up till then a taut thriller of intertwining narratives. I'm not sure if it has more to do with the muddle of Crisp's dad knowing Dante, or with the absolute ludicrousness of the up-till-then sympathetic Detective Lex Cole freaking out about his boyfriend's whereabouts, but it feels like the story spins out of control, at least tone-wise. It's a little bit like the disorienting feeling of having to go back to one's responsible daily life after a night-long bender, where you kind of hate everyone and just want the day to be over with so you can finally get some sleep. Somewhat fitting given the events of the book, but not the most pleasant reading experience.

I was actually pretty surprised to dislike Lex after his awesome role in the first book, <a href="http://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2019/02/22/a-map-of-the-dark-the-searchers-1-by-karen-ellis/">A Map Of The Dark</a>. Some jealousy is understandable, but his reaction at the end was just petty. I'm hoping the next book features Det Saki Findlay and dives into how her unusual mind works. And I'm really, really glad that the book ends the way it does, because it would have absolutely broken my heart if <font color="#ffffff">any of those kids had been damaged beyond repair</font>. Karen Ellis is really good at getting you to care about the kids who are the main focus of this series, and I can't wait to read more of her stuff.

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

This was my first novel from Karen Ellis and I liked it! It was written in a way that kept my attention, I really liked the characters, and I wanted to see where they ended up, so I didn't want to stop reading.

You know, it's a thriller, of sorts, but not one of the latest trendy ones where there are 16 plot twists and you're basically just finishing it to be finished. This was a methodical police drama, and I liked it. I look forward to reading more from the same author.

Solid 3 1/2 stars.

A teen aged girl is sunbathing topless and smoking dope on the deck on the roof of her parents’ Brooklyn home. She notices a boy she knows playing with a basketball on the roof of the Brooklyn House of Detention and begins a conversation with him. The next day, after his release on bond for a negligible offense (basically being half black in a wealthy neighborhood) they get together and “hang out”. This, of course, involves more dope and a stop to visit her 12 year old dealer. Ultimately this leads to her deciding she wanted to buy a gun and JJ, the 12 year old, takes her to his distributor who also happens to be a gun dealer. I won’t go further into the plot because of spoilers, but this is a complexly plotted narrative in which most of the characters (the protagonists and Police who are searching for them) have side stories and complications that will keep the reader intrigued and reading! Thanks to Net Galley and Mulholland Books for an ARC for an honest review.