What a lovely book if somewhat sad in places. Cecily was a lovely character as was her husband who stood by her even when her decisions were not that great. Cecily had a child when very young and was forced to give her up for adoption. She thought about her all the time and eventually she received a letter from Marnie, her daughter which led her to Kefalonia. The book is about the Nightingale family and how they lives are so different but they are very close. Cecily’s three daughters did not know about her having a child very young until she returned from her week away. The story then goes through the motions of the family trying to come to terms with the news and the meeting of the sister they never knew about but they were happy to treat her well. However, Marnie was not a particularly likeable person who was very blunt in her attitude. I did so want the story to end well but I guess that being estranged from a big family and trying to fit in cannot be easy as Marnie’s childhood was nothing like the way Cecily brought up her girls. A trip to London for Cecily and her husband became the make or break trip and they are realised that their lives will go on as they had in the past albeit one who wanted that and one who did not. A great book which I have no hesitation in recommending and will read more of Imogen Clark in the future Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to have read this

Wow. I loved this story, made you glad you were not a pregant teenager in the 1960's. The mother and baby home was kind. I think Cecily 's father was a very modern man. Norman her husband was amazing. I did not like Marnie, she had a huge chip on her shoulder and was too controlling. Her birth mother did the right thing at the time. I loved how the book covered the subject from everyones point. A must read

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review of the story.

The Last Piece - is the last piece in life the family, is it the mothers need for information, child's need to fit in somewhere?

The story comes through two timelines es. 1968, when an unwed, pregnant teenager felt powerless over her own destiny.

And, then jumps to oday, walking us through four daughters and their parents discovering how secrets, an adoption, twins and a single sibling, a broken marriage highlights the last piece in relationships.

This is an evenly paced story with a few happy endings, a few disappointing endings and insight into how young, unwed teens were managed in a decade gone by. I highly recommend this book.

This was an interesting story about secrets, family life and relationships. The tale slowly unravels and the impact of the secret on the family members is well explored from their different perspectives. I found the ending somewhat abrupt but believe it to be true to life where there aren’t always happy endings.

Felicity's mother has gone to Greece. Normally she helps watch felicity's son Hugo. I liked Felicity but lost interest in the story overall

After receiving some news, a woman takes an impulsive trip to Greece. When she comes home, her family will have to deal with the outcome of the journey and where it leads them. Author Imogen Clark tries hard to build the emotions but lets down character development in her latest novel, The Last Piece.

On an ordinary day, Cecily Nightingale gets a letter and plans a trip to Greece without consulting her daughters. She’s waited for this letter for 50 years. Now that it’s arrived, she’s not going to let anything stop her from making the journey from her home in Northern England to the Mediterranean.

Her husband, Norman, supports Cecily’s travel, but daughters Felicity, Julia, and Lily are shocked. Their mother has never mentioned going to Greece or knowing anyone there. Why the rush to go, they wonder. What could be there?

Cecily hopes the answer is “everything.” Fifty years earlier, as a teen mother, Cecily was forced to give up her newborn for adoption. Every day since then, she’s wondered what happened to her firstborn child. Now a letter has come, inviting her to a yoga retreat to meet her, and Cecily isn’t going to waste another minute.

The meeting doesn’t go quite as planned, though. Cecily meets Marnie Stone, the daughter she gave up, but Marnie is closed and stand-offish. Although she tries to reassure Marnie she would never have given her up if she had a choice, Marnie doesn’t seem convinced. After finding out that Marnie lives in London for most of the year, Cecily comes home exhausted but a little encouraged. Maybe living in the same country will give her the opportunity to see her oldest child again and introduce Marnie to her half-sisters.

Felicity, Julia, and Lily greet the news with varying reactions. Felicity, the oldest of the Nightingale girls—or so she thought, anyway—is indignant. How dare this woman try to barge in on their lives after all this time? Julia is skeptical. Why would Marnie insist that their mother come all the way to Greece? Lily, the family peacemaker, tries to encourage her sisters to keep an open mind.

Then Marnie reaches out to Cecily again; this time, she wants to visit Cecily and the rest of the Nightingale family at home. Cecily goes out of her way to make accommodations for her daughter, both physical and emotional, but Marnie still can’t seem to open up. Instead, her introduction to the family makes everyone question their place in it and with one another.

Author Imogen Clark brings to light a sad but true fact: in the 1970s, many pregnant teens in England were sent to Mother and Baby homes where they would live before they delivered. Weeks after giving birth, the girls would give up their babies for adoption and be expected to return to their lives with their families as if nothing had changed. With this idea as the backdrop of the book, the sections from Cecily’s point of view as a teen in the home are certainly the strongest and most compelling.

Less so are the other sections written from the other daughters’ points of view. Readers are given just enough information from each of them to start asking questions, but those questions are never resolved. The lack of completion of these subplots also plagues character development in the book. None of the daughters feel like three-dimensional people.

The biggest mystery of all is Marnie. Although she’s the one who initiated the interactions between herself and the Nightingales family, her behavior toward them is a mystery. Not enough information is ever given as to why she feels so much hostility toward Cecily, Norman, and her half-sisters. Even after Cecily’s impassioned recollection of what led to Marnie’s adoption in the first place, the woman seems unmoved. She doesn’t, in fact, act her age, and that makes it much harder to suspend disbelief that her reactions would be realistic.

Clark offers resources in her author’s note on where curious readers can find real-life accounts of women who gave up their children in the homes as well as the children who were adopted through them. Those might offer more engaging stories that hold together from start to finish. Readers wanting to read a women’s fiction book set in England that doesn’t revolve around London, this might be a good pick. Otherwise, I recommend readers Borrow The Last Piece.

A book with a very lovely cover.
Cecily is the mother of three adult girls all with their own lives and consequent problems. When she takes off with no warning on a journey to Kefalonia, they are amazed at this sudden spontaneity. Her husband Norman , who knows the full story is calm and strong throughout it all.
I have to say that Marnie was most unlikeable, maybe her childhood had led to that. A bit too much angst in certain parts, but on the whole a very readable book.
As to the ending, which many reviewers have criticised, I'm not sure what else the author could have done.
Thanks to NetGalley for a review copy of this book.

While I enjoyed getting to read thru Cecily’s struggles with her decades ago decision I didn’t really enjoy her children. The ending was rather abrupt and more should have been resolved with her daughters’ lives. Sofía was a good character however. A good book club discussion selection.

"The Last Place" is written by "Imogen Clark" Where I received from Net Gallery to read and give a review of this book! First off,this is a really great read. Starting right off,it gives you the big mystery on the mom just up and took off on a trip,leaving her three adult girls wondering about their mom and asking their dad why! Dad tries to play off the mystery and that just makes his three girls wonder why and thinking all sorts of terrible things about their mom,their parents marriage and all the while each adult girl has their own personal problems to take care of..The mom is off to Greece to take care of a situation that happened so many years ago,a secret she has kept from her family that she will have to finally reveal to them. As you read,you feel the family connection between them all and that you feel and get to know each character as the story progresses.. It really to me,started to have action in part 3 of the book and gave the plot of the story action. I really enjoyed this story of a close family but even as close as any family is,we are human and some have more secrets then others! The thing of all of that is once you reveal that secret, will you still love me and not think less of me? Very well done in describing Greece...you feel like you are right there! First time reader of this author but I am going to read more of her books! If this is your first read of this author and you enjoyed this story,do like me,read another of her stories!!

This is a beautifully crafted study of a family, of relationships across the generations and explores the idea of nature vs nurture and what it is to be a mother. There is a very strong cast of female characters, all with different experiences of motherhood as well as being a daughter and a wife. However, one of my favourite characters is Norman, who is supportive, calm and kind, allowing Cecily the space she needs to come to terms with what has happened to her. It is a lovely study of a different time too - the reader questions how differently this story might have turned out now. Great characters, well structured plot and I'm glad that Imogen Clark didn't go for a cliched ending. I will definitely be looking for more of her books - I loved this.

*This is a no-spoiler review.
I thought this novel quite charming. It was set in Yorkshire where the Nightengale family reveals their lives. It is a story about Cecily and Norman Nightengale and their three grown children. It casts a spotlight on each of their different lives. The characters have a lot of depth and we care about them as we read the story, even if the story contains an abrasive and unlikeable character.
There is a surprise at the end of this thought-provoking family-type drama. I was surprised by the ending and thought it was a good emotional narrative. I think more of this author's novels should be read.

Thank you so much @LakeUnionAuthors / @AmazonPublishing & @NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 28 July 2020)

SYNOPSIS | The Nightingale family is unsure what is going on when they found out that their mother (Cecily) has taken an unexpected & spontaneous trip to a Greek island (Kefalonia) without any warning or explanation.

WHAT I LIKED:
- the writing was really easy to read
- each of the Nightingale daughters had their own trials, tribulations & aspirations
- the flashback section (Part 3) to Cecily's teenage years was my favourite

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- the ending felt extremely abrupt and there wasn't really any closure or finality to any of the characters stories
- I really didn't enjoy Marnie as a character and don't understand her motivations or what she was hoping to achieve
- the story felt 100 pages too long

A lovely book following two parts of same family. Cecily was 15 and madly in love with Ralph when she found out she was pregnant she told her parents Ralph told her he would marry her but his family weren’t having his life ruined and although cecilys parents would have supported her maybe she was too young for such responsibility
So cecily had the baby a girl and six weeks later her beautiful daughter was adopted and cecily had no way of contacting her
50 years later cecily and Norman had 3 beautiful daughters and 6 grandsons when cecily relieves a request from her eldest daughter to meet in kefalonia so cecily flies out to meet marnie
Will she be welcomed with loving arms she has never once forgot her first born she hopes that finally she will get her wish for her four daughters to meet and embrace their eldest sibling

Love the suspense, the story line and the way it was written. Very well done and very good quality. I don't normally like books like this, but I would definetly read another one of Imogen Clark's books!

Thank you for the fun story!

The writing is done well and characters are full, but the story line fell short. Not because of the not happily ever after ending, but because of the underdeveloped end. The ending was just not satisfying and too many lose strings in the subplots were not well rounded.

Thank you net galley for allowing me to review this book. I really enjoyed this book. The book tells the story of the Nightingale family and their mom’s odd adventure! If you have a chance, please give it a read!!!!

This is an interesting and very readable book about Cecily, wife of Norman and mother of three grown up daughters, who suddenly takes a trip to Kefalonia on her own. I enjoyed the secrets and family drama, and the relationships between the three sisters. The dialogue was realistic and I liked the family parties. Cecily is an appealing character in a very difficult situation and I wanted everything to be okay for her. I don’t want to give any spoilers so I’ll keep this short. The ending was unexpected!

Cecily and Norman seem to have a good life with their 3 daughters and grands and yet Cecily abruptly takes a trip alone without giving her daughters a clue and Norman is strangely mum. I enjoyed the book and finding out what the last piece of the puzzle was, and yet the story, while early on elaborated on the 3 girl’s lives, left their stories unfinished in my mind. I would like to have had a bit more closure.

A fascinating story about modern families and the secrets that we keep from those we love the most. Loved this one!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

I was hoping for a bit of a different ending, but overall it wrapped up nicely. I actually wish it was a bit longer- I'd like to see how three of the girls are getting on with their lives.