Dysfunctional is the key word describing the characters in this story. Everyone was not functioning as a normal human being should. There was not one person I really liked. Don't get me wrong. I liked the story, just not how everybody acted out in the worst possible way.

This was a great thriller with twists & turns which kept me guessing from beginning to end. When Kelsey goes to pick her daughter up from her daycare & finds her daughter wasn't there, nor was she registered Kelsey gets concerned. Her husband is also missing and she has no idea what's going on. Detective Paul Ryan has suspicions that something is going on and works on the case. I can't wait for more thrillers from this author!

3 1/2 STARS!

Twisted mind games! With her second thriller J.M. Winchester sets the scene for uncovering hidden secrets. The layout of this book was a tad confusing as it switched back and forth between several points of view without clarification and had a couple of story lines playing out at once, but without true definition. I think the premise of the book had potential, but sadly fell fairly flat of achieving greatness. Detective Ryan's back story in particular could have been spellbinding .. yet wasn't. You will be intrigued, and you'll want to know what happens until the end.

Kelsey Jennings daughter isn't at daycare when she goes to pick her up, and they claim she never was. Her husband won't answer his cellphone, and the school he's supposedly a teacher at claims he never showed up for the school year. Nothing is as it seems, and Detective Paul Ryan is going to have his job cut out for him unraveling the secrets and lies.

This book is suited for someone that enjoys a story line with lots of twists.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

Whew! I feel like I just got off a roller coaster and my head is still spinning.

This story is told from several points of view. The main part of the story involves a missing husband and child and the police detective, Paul Ryan, who is investigating the case. Ryan is not sure about the wife, Kelsey. Is she telling the truth or is there more to this story?

As the novel develops, there are more lies piled on top of other lies until Det. Ryan isn't sure which way to turn.

This is a bit of a crazy thriller outlining a parent's worst nightmare. The story could have given way to a great page turner but the random plot twists make it unbelievable. The case in the story is so poorly handled - some of it borders on nonsensical. Despite all of that, Winchester's writing is solid making me want to read more of this author.

This was a twisty little story, it was a fast read and one that kept me flipping the pages. But I'm a little done with stories about cops that are doing whatever they want (love that rules or pesky things called LAWS just don't apply to them). I also guessed many of the twists before they arrived but I did enjoy the dialogue and I really loved the chapter set up - each one is listed with a date so the story unfolds very quickly over just a few days (with a few chapters being from the past). It was a good, quick, well-written read

This was a fantastic psychological thriller! I couldn't put it down and it kept me guessing until the very end. The characterization was also really well done. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone how enjoyed well-paced psychological thrillers.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my God!!!I'm shook to the core right now.It was head- spinning rollercoaster ride.It got me hooked from the beginning till the end.It is a face paced thriller with a multiple shocking twists.I had to pause at few moments to catch up all the details.The story is well- written and keeps the reader guessing.I'd highly recommend this book to those who love fast-paced psychological thriller.

Thanks to @netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Last One to Lie by J.M. Winchester Who knew? Who knows? Who's last? Unique psychological thriller, told from three circuitous points of view from one detective and identical twin sisters. There are different degrees of crazy going on and am still stunned by the outcome.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Kelsey has just moved to a new town and hasn't quite gotten everything.figured out yet. She drops her daughter off at her new day care so she can take a bit of time to herself in hopes of feeling more at ease about this new venture. When Kelsey goes back to the day care to pick up her daughter she is not there. Not only isn't she there they have no record of the young child ever being there. Things go from bad to worse when she can reach her husband, he isn't answering his phone and his new job says he never showed up to take the job. The police are called in and they aren't sure what is going on, is this woman crazy or is what she saying true. If what she is saying is the truth that means they could be dealing with a parental abduction. Detective Paul Ryan is on the case but if he is truthful he doesn't know what to think of Kelsey and her tale. Follow along as Detective Ryan tries to uncover the truth and separates fact from fiction. Is Kelsey being honest? If so will he be able to help her find her child before it's to late.

I’D KILLED TWO PEOPLE AT TWELVE YEARS OLD, BUT NEVER IN MY LIFE HAD I WANTED TO STAB AGAIN UNTIL THAT MOMENT.
That is one sentence in this twisted, page turning, crazy to the bone, thriller. It will take you places that you never thought about or wanted to think about going.

This is really a good book if you like thrillers as much as I do. The only problem I had with it was I did figure out one of the main parts way to soon. To me it was so obvious. But still, it’s a pager turning book.

Told from two and sometimes three points of view and a couple of timelines. One is from the victim. One from the detective. It’s like reading two stories in one also. The detective, Paul Ryan, wants to get to the bottom of what happened to Kelsey’s child and what happened to his sister 15 years before. Could Kelsey possibly know what happened in both instances or is she an innocent victim in all that happens in this story. Will she get her daughter back and have the life she has always wanted. Is her husband lying about things or is something more cynical going on. This book will take you on the biggest ride of your life. You will keep reading to find out who is who, who did what and why things happened that way. Just when you think you have it figured out another twist is thrown in. You will want someone to find closure and someone to pay for things that happen. But at what cost.

Thank you #NetGalley, #J.M.Winchester, #Thomas&Mercer for this ARC. I was in no way compensated for this review. It is my own.

I gave it 4 stars and a huge recommendation.

A psychological thriller that really delivers. This book was impossible to put down and I read it in sitting. The characters were well developed, the plot line was tight and the ending was terrific.

This is a solid thriller with many, many twists. So many that I can only really tell you the beginning part of the plot. Kelsey discovers that her husband and daughter are missing. More alarming than that, the daycare where she left her child has no record of her and her husband’s job says he never started work their either. Enter a detective with his own demons trying to work it all out and find out if Kelsey is crazy or if her family is really gone.

This book was incredibly creative and inventive and entertaining. My only complaint is that it has multiple narrators, but none of the chapters have titles to let you know who is narrating now. In this story, for spoilery reasons I can’t divulge, it’s especially important to be able to tell the characters apart. Without chapter titles, I did not find each first-person narrator’s voice distinctive enough to know who was speaking immediately - sometimes it took me several pages to figure out who it was. I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I had a better sense immediately of who was talking. Hopefully this can be fixed in the published release because the plot is very fun and the many twists are enjoyable, and the book ends in a much different way than you would ever expect.

This was a solid 3.5 thriller, rounded up because it would probably be a 4 in the finished edition when you know immediately who is speaking. I’ll definitely pick up another book by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and J. M. Winchester for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Twisty is an understatement...this book kept me guessing until the end!

Kelsey Jennings goes to pick up her daughter from day care, but the day care has no record of her. The book follows Kelsey's journey to piece her life back together as she tries to find her daughter and her husband, who is also missing. It's hard to say much more than that without getting into spoilers, as this book has many tricks up its sleeve. Expect to be taken on a twisty journey full of secrets, lies, and many unsavory characters.

This was a fast and enjoyable read - a good thriller for a rainy day on the couch (or any day in the age of COVID social distancing).

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer for providing an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A really good psychological thriller with lots of twists. The only problem with the book is the reader has to figure out which POV he is reading for every chapter.

After reading a few lines we can deduce which POV it is. But sometimes it is a bit confusing. Other than that the book was real good with perfect ending.

Having read the earlier ‘All the lovely Pieces” I knew to expect a complicated , twisty Thriller, and wow, does this one deliver! Kelsey, husband Malcolm and their new baby transfer to a new city for a job opportunity and suddenly, the baby, Mikayla and Malcolm go missing. Frantic and distressed, Kelsey calls the police. It goes downhill from there. Not knowing what to believe, we have doubts, but we don’t know the full story. Winchester’s crafty writing is not apparent until two thirds through - when I was even more shocked and confused. I sort of rooted for her, As did Paul, the detective assigned to the case, both of us letting feelings and circumstances cloud our judgement. Then the crazy begins and I wasn’t expecting what happened, and happened, and happened. What a ride!

I loved it, I hated it, I loved it...
Whew so much going on in this book.
Definitely keeps you guessing as some of the chapters you don't know who's talking. Great suspense...and I ended up loving it.

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for an early release of this book.

EXCERPT: I've always given my sister the benefit of the doubt. When everyone else thought she was insane, psychotic, dangerous, I chose to believe that she was a troubled, damaged kid trying to survive horrific circumstances, who just needed love and guidance to see that she could let her guard down and accept good things into her life. I believed she killed those foster parents to save us.

Now I believe what everyone else said about her.

They say twins share a soul. I think, in our case, I got the full one and my sister got none.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: Moving to a new city was supposed to be a fresh start for her family. Now it’s a nightmare.

Her little girl was supposed to be at day care when Kelsey arrived to pick her up. But they have no record of her daughter ever being there. And to make matters worse, her husband is missing too—he won’t pick up his phone, and the school he supposedly works at says he never accepted their job offer.

Detective Paul Ryan knows something’s up with Kelsey’s story. Kelsey’s husband might be involved in their daughter’s disappearance, but the deeper the detective digs, the more inconsistencies he finds.

As Detective Ryan tries to uncover the truth, what he finds are more deeply buried secrets that someone clearly never wanted found.

MY THOUGHTS: Last One to Lie by J.M. Winchester is a total mindf**k. The concept is brilliant. I admit, I really wasn't impressed over the first half of the book. I liked it, but didn't think it was anything special, no different to dozens of other books of this genre I have read. You know, one of those 'move along folks, nothing to see here' reads. In fact at one point I even wondered if I was going to continue reading it. I was tired, I thought I knew where it was going, so why bother...but I am so glad I did, because now I feel like that kid in the Exorcist, you know the one whose head spins around?

The story is told from three points of view, Kelsey - whose husband and child are missing, Detective Paul Ryan who thinks this case is an absolute pain in the ass, and a third person whose identity isn't revealed until late in the book. This works well, my only gripe being that you have to work out for yourself just whose POV you are reading. Probably just me getting lazy in my old age.

There are a couple of glitches, too, with the timeline. But nothing too serious, just a little contradiction here and there that nonetheless irked me a little.

All in all, this is a good read, almost great, but not quite.

Will I read more from this author? Definitely!

****

#LastOneToLie #NetGalley

'I wish I could arrest people for being a waste of space.'

THE AUTHOR: J.M. Winchester is the dark alter ego of an author who usually writes Happily Ever Afters. Her fascination with the workings of an evil mind compelled her to start writing psychological thrillers and All The Lovely Pieces is her debut novel in this genre. Originally from the east coast of Canada, she now lives in Alberta with her husband and son. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, International Thriller Writers and FAVA.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Thomas & Mercer for providing a digital ARC of Last One To Lie by J.M. Winchester for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my profile page on Goodreads.com or the 'about' page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

The premise was compelling in an odd sort of "that's new" kind of way but sometimes bizarre is just that. It's not intriguing as much as the "what if" game gone terribly wrong. The idea that a child would not be at the daycare and then there is no record of that child did have me thirsty to find out how the author could pull it off... but throwing in a terrible romance, a twin, and a cop that has no redeeming qualities made this one very hard to finish.

There were moments when I was sucked in, especially in the beginning when you have no clue what's going on but wanted to so badly. The tension was pretty good, so I give the author credit there, but there were jumps in POVs and too many weird sexual twists that I had no expected. The main character was not sympathetic to me, which is so common now I almost expect it sadly, but when it comes to a missing child you should feel for the mother. She went from anxious to cra-cra too fast and the grounded qualities that could have held some sympathy disappeared. Then there was the cop character that I didn't like. I know cops are not in favor right now but I give them more credit than this author in terms of capability and intelligence. Portraying him as a misogynist was boring and irritating and I wished he had more dimension. The hardest thing to understand was the mess of sub-plots that were meant to confuse but ended up just being noise.

(spoiler hints) I also found so many holes in this story. Why was the main character avoiding her twin? Why would the cop risk his career to sleep with someone he doesn't trust? Why did the publisher not red-flag the twin thing?

My Review:

Wow, wow, wow!!!!! I absolutely loved this book and was so sad when it ended. This book could definitely be made into a movie. This was the first book I read by this author and it sure did not disappoint.

This book was about a woman who went to pick up her young daughter from day care and found out she’s not there nor was she ever there. Of course she tried calling her husband but he’s no where to be found either. Is this woman going mad? Did her husband run off with the daughter? Are they ever going to be found? You find these answers and a lot more by the end of the book.

I want to start off by saying that I hated the main character Kelsey and the author definitely intended this. You knew even at the very beginning of the book that there was something wrong with this woman and that she was hiding many secrets. She refused to help in the investigation of her daughter and did not seem to know very much of what was going on. You will find out later on though why this was and that brings me to what I loved about this book. That twist at the end was a whopper. It made the whole book for me. I would have never guessed that in a million years. I have to say this is one of the few books that through me for that big of a loop. What I thought was going on was no where near what really happened. This is what made this book so great.

Between the plot, characters and all the twists in this book it made it an easy and fast read. I would definitely recommend it and happily give it 5 Hearts❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️