Member Reviews
I may have been totally freaking out for the chance to get to read this! I absolutely loved The Last Mrs Parrish so I was thrilled to get the opportunity to read this new book! Thank you thank you thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review!!! This didn’t disappoint! Another score and I have no doubt that this book is gonna be seen around the pool this summer! It’s the perfect summer thriller! I couldn’t put this down!
Such a let down. I loved The Last Mrs. Parrish so I couldn’t wait to read The Last Time I Saw You. The characters are BORING, ridiculously wealthy, spoiled brats. The last quarter of the book was decent but it wasn’t worth everything that came before it. I will wait for more reviews before picking up another book by this duo.
Okay.........so let's sort this one out.
The Last Time I Saw You opens with a dying woman. She's face down on a marble floor. Gotta be some money involved here. We feel the life slowly seeping out of her. The circumstances around this tragic scene have yet to be revealed. The light fades and so does our victim.
Enter Dr. Kate English, a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon, who sits in complete shock upon hearing about the death of her mother., Lily Michaels. She and Lily were so close. Her father, Dr. Harrison Michaels, is lost without his wife's presence and returns to his practice after the funeral. Lily was his world.
Kate, on the other hand, is unable to set her own life back in motion as the mother of young Annabelle and the wife of architect, Simon. She's taken time off from her shared practice with her father and has become more reclusive at home. Something just doesn't seem right in regard to her mother's death. If this was a burglary gone wrong, nothing was taken. The only evidence is a broken window.
To add to her worries, Simon and Kate had been separated for a while and he's only recently moved back in. It appears that Simon has a roving eye. Simon also can't stop the financial bleeding in his architect business. Simon Says: Can ya lend me a dime?
The stage revolves and an ol' friend from the past shows up for Lily's funeral. Blaire Barrington and Kate were inseparable as teenagers. They had a falling out when Blaire spoke up and told Kate that she shouldn't be marrying Simon. He wasn't good enough for her. Decked out in bridesmaid dress attire, Blaire leaves the wedding party and the two have never spoken since. But Lily's death forms a point of reunion and forgiveness for both women. Blaire decides to stay at Kate's to provide comfort to her and to sift through events leading up to Lily's death.
Now here's where Liv Constantine (actually two sister writers under one name) ladle on the creepy sauce. Kate begins to receive threatening texts containing eerie nursery rhymes. Dead mice and birds find their way into the master bedroom. And it appears that someone is watching Kate's every move.The more that things start going down hill, the more Valium rolls out.
The Last Time I Saw You is a munchy little mystery. But, at times, it's a check-off-the-necessary-ingredients type of read. We've got a slew of suspects and a slew of daily weird events packed tight on every page. You'll see it coming, but the coming will just have a change of costume this time. The wrap-up is thick with explanations to make sure that no loose ends dangle. It's a lot to sift through. As I've always said, take this one out for a test drive yourselves. It's received quite the reviews. It's perfect for a weekend read as it does entertain.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Harper Collins and to Liv Constantine for the opportunity.
I’m just going to get right into it. This was such a disappointment. I enjoyed Liv Constantine’s debut novel and thought that the second was going to be just as impressive, but the storyline dragged and the characters were boring. I thought that maybe the beginning was just a bit slow, but it became a chore to keep reading. If you haven’t read this yet then you may want to stop reading this review here, but I felt that her best friend’s involvement was so obvious that it became distracting to the point that it took away from the enjoyment of the novel. If you’re on the fence about reading this one, I would skip it. There are far better thrillers out there.
I really liked how fast paced this was. It jumped right in. But I kept waiting for a big plot twist and while I thought the mystery was tied up I guess I was expecting there to be more.
Thank you very much to Harper Collins Publishing for the wish granted and an ARC of The Last Time I saw You.
Let me start by saying how excited I was to read this book. I read the Last Mrs. Parrish (based off of Reese Witherspoons book club) and I loved it. This book didn't disappoint at all! This was a great follow up by the Constantine sisters. There are a lot of twist and turns, so that I was able to get and others I was not. I read this book in two days!
Kate English has a life that anyone would envy; a beautiful daughter, a successful husband, two parents who have always been there for her and she is, also, the heiress to a multi-million dollar fortune. However, all that glitters is not always gold.
Kate has had her share of ups and downs through her life. Her high-school boyfriend was killed in a wreck that was her fault; she hasn’t spoken to her (former) best-friend, Blaire, since she tried to persuade Kate to not to get married (on the day of her wedding) and now she is reeling from the brutal murder of her mother, Lily. Kate has no idea what to think of the way her life has turned out and she can’t imagine anyone wanting to harm her mother. She decides to reach out to Blaire to let her know about Lily’s murder. Blair, who always thought of Lily has her own mother, drops everything and comes to Kate’s side.
Shortly after Lily’s funeral, Kate begins to receive threatening messages. They come in different forms- a text message, an email, a dead animal and slowly Kate begins to completely unravel. She doesn’t feel like she can trust anyone. Everyone seems to have a reason to have threatened Kate and murdered her mother; including her own father. But, is Kate simply overreacting? She’s had mental breakdowns before. Is she just so overwhelmed that she has no idea what she is doing?
Blaire, is an esteemed author of crime novels. When she begins to suspect that the police are not doing enough to protect Kate, she decides to take the matter into her own hands and begins to investigate. What she uncovers is a list of suspects and motives who would make anyone seem guilty. But, who really did it and why are they continuing to torment Kate?
Liv Constantine encompasses two talented authors (but we knew that already from their previous novel, The Wife Between us). I was hooked on the Last Time I Saw You after reading the first page. I simply could not put this novel down and finished it in one day. I especially loved the multiple viewpoints that the Constantine’s offered their readers; it allowed for a deeper look into what was happening to Kate both mentally and physically but also how far Blaire was willing to take her investigation.
While I did have an idea as to who murdered Lily, I also was left pleasantly surprised as to the other twists that came up along the way. There were countless times that I was left feeling uncomfortable because I was beginning to doubt was Kate was experiencing. The culminating event left me in awe as all of the characters secrets came tumbling out.
Overall, I thought this was a masterfully told story that kept me on the edge of my seat. I look forward to reading the next work by Liv Constantine and will definitely be recommending this to my friends and family.
Thank you to Liv Constantine, Harper Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel.
Thanks #Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for granting my wish to read this book.
I devoured the Last Mrs. Parrish and couldn't wait to read this follow up.
This book is bound to be one of the best psychological thrillers of 2019. It's a creepy murder mystery with so much more including hidden secrets, lies, marriage, betrayals, mother-daughter relationships, unreliable narrators. Unexpected Twists and turns galore, great pace, and carefully developed characters.
I won't give anything away, but this amazing novel is a must read and perfect choice for a book club. Happy reading!
The Constantine sisters have done it again! Another outstanding psychological thriller from the dynamic duo. The Last Time I Saw you is fast-paced with a whole lot of unexpected twists. Nothing is as it first seems. I highly recommend this to all fans of this genre. 5 well-deserved stars!
Many thanks to Netgalley, Harper and Liv Constantine for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Liv Constantine’s new book “The Last Time I Saw You” is a page turner.
Dr. Kate English lost her true love in college but now has what seems to have a charmed life, a successful career, a long marriage and a beloved daughter. Her world is shattered by the murder of her mother one night. Kate is understandably heartbroken and reeling so when her friend Blair who she has been estranged from since college reaches out Kate forgets their differences and the years that have passed.
Blair is now a successful, well known author with a handsome husband who is her co-author and eager to return to show how far she has come to those who rejected her all those years before.
Blair decides to put her amateur sleuthing skills to the test when Kate begins to receive threatening tests, messages and “ gifts”
I recognized things were not what they seemed with several of the characters because I do read so many thrillers but I
Was completely wrong about motive and the author steered you in the wrong direction so subtly the twist was a true ooooh! Moment. This is a tale filled with tension, suspense and throughly satisfying.
Thank you to #netgalley, #harpercollins and #livconstanine for this ARC and the opportunity to share my thoughts on this book.
“ The Last Time I Saw You” will be released on May 7, 2019 and is available for pre-order now.
I LOVED The Last Mrs. Parrish so much and was so grateful to get The Last Time I Saw You. It did NOT disappoint. While I was able to guess a few of the twists and turns, there were many that I wasn't able to guess. Blaire's character was one of my favorites I have read in a long time. Without giving anything away, read this book!
This book transcended my initial expectations. I felt engrossed and fascinated by the lives and tribulations of the main characters, while simultaneously judging some of their choices. I highly recommend this book!
The best word to describe "The Las Time I Saw You" is addictive! I couldn't put it down. Liv Constantine mixes the tension filled psychological thriller and enhances the experience with fantastic character development.
In the aftermath of the brutal murder of Kate English's mother, it looks like she is next. You will want to console Kate as she is slowly unraveling. Everyone around her, her father, her husband, her best friends and the household staff, all look like they could be suspects. Are they conspiring to drive her crazy? Could one of them really killed her mother?
A must read this spring.
I was looking forward to reading this after enjoying The Last Mrs. Parrish. In the same vein as Parrish, The Last Time I Saw You is twisty, psychological, and suspenseful. It is a quick and enjoyable enough read(I finished in a day), but I was hoping for a little more. Worth reading if you're into the genre, but I wouldn't rush out to buy it.
This was a quick read but I kept waiting for the twist to make it a worthwhile one. That twist never came. The biggest problem I had with the book however was the constant exposition. I'm not sure the authors writing under this nom de plume have ever heard the phrase "show, don't tell."
I was really into this book for about the first 3/4ths, and then the ending struck me as disappointing. I enjoyed the fast pace, and the who-done-it suspense throughout. The narration switched between Kate, who had just lost her mother in an unsolved murder, and her estranged best friend Blaire. Having narration from two points of view is always fun for me in books like this. Be careful who you trust!
This delightfully addictive novel starts out, after the prologue, rather dignified and then takes a sharp turn into creepy. It keeps the reader on their toes, wondering who is the killer, how do they know so much about Kate and which is she going to lose first, her sanity or her life? My only real disappointment was the secret Lily had been keeping. Talk about tying everything up in a big bow. It was all just a bit too convenient for me. But, I did love the ending. This would be a great beach read or perfect choice for a book club.
A page turning thriller with a great twisting plot and an ending you never see coming.i highly recommend.