This is a book about the Sacramento heat driving people to terrible things

I enjoyed this immensely because it took place locally & that’s always fun. I also appreciated the exploration of the simultaneous desire to be visible and connected in a parasocial manner, and to hide from the world.

Thank you so much Netgalley & Lake Union Publishing for the eArc!

What a ride! I loved Jane Doe and Problem Child, so I was definitely excited for the chance to read this! I have to admit, I missed the sociopath main character a bit in this one, but overall it was REALLY good! Stone is definitely an author I will continue to follow!

DNF - did not finish. I did not connect with the writing style/plot and decided to put this one down. Thank you, NetGalley and publisher for the early copy.

First things first: I was invited to read this book by the author of another thriller I had read previously. I was excited to read this book because it sounded amazing and I was really curious and, well, if you are specifically asked to give this one a go - how can you say no, right?
So, I read this book and at first, I have to admit, it sounded amazing. It promised me everything I want for a thriller - a serial killer, family drama, secrets. told in a dual point of view; everything I could hope and wish for.
The execution of this, though? Not much to my taste.
I think my main issue with the book was the far too similar voices of Lauren and Donna. They're mother and daughter, yes, but not the same person and to me, it did not feel like they had anything special to their writing. Had it not been for the different names surrounding the characters, it would have been impossible to tell which woman is narrating at the moment. That was a huge let-down for me
The plot was what you expect from a thriller - I wish I could say it was magnificantally executed, but it wasn't. It was okay. It was a thriller; it added it fair share of mystery - but it wasn't a thriller that is going to stand out for me. I have read my fair share of thrillers and some I do remember vividly because they really knocked me off my feet, others were forgotten as soon they were finished and a third group of thrillers just slipps through.
For me, this one was such a slip-through. I'll probably remember the fact that it is written in a dual point of view and that there was some family drama going on, but it's not a thriller I'll be picking up a second time because I want to return to this story. I might pick it up after a couple of years because I might've forgotten I already read it and maybe I'll have different point of view then.
For now, it's an average thriller, which is nothing bad - thriller is a broad genre and in my opinion it's difficult to adapt to every reader's taste and create something truely marvellous and breathtaking.

I received a free ARC by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.
Review of this novel will be posted soon.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

This book was a slow burner, and would make a great winner read. I thought that the book was a little draggy in places at the beginning but the overall storyline was really good and the character development was good as well. There were lots of twists and turns and the action at the end of the book was really well done, it had me on the edge of my seat.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author but it will definitely not be the last I will be checking out more books by her.

I hate to be this person but this book was just agonizingly slow for the me and it seemed that all the things were wrapped up in the last couple pages. Unfortunately i skipped several pages just to find out what happened. Maybe im not the right target audience but it felt like something was missing.

The story is told from from two perspectives, Lauren's in the present day and Donna's in the mid-1980s. I felt that the characters were beautifully written and felt very real to me as if they are not just characters but humans. But the point is that I didn't like the story line as much as I liked the characters. I felt as if something was missing.

I'd heard a lot about this author so was looking forward to diving in to this one.
However, it just never delivered. It was way too slow for me, and by the time things happened right at the end, I was no longer invested in any of the characters.
This book was probably not a good one to start with, as it hasn't given me a good impression of Stone's work, but I will still read Jane Doe as that seems to have been received better.
I need a plot to grip me, and from the blurb it sounded right up my street. It needed much more twists to engage me. It was barely even a family drama, and certainly not a thriller.
I'm sorry for not enjoying it, I wanted to love it.

I love Victoria Helen Stone so much! She became an auto buy author for me after I read Jane Doe. This one did not disappoint either. If you want a page turner that will keep you up way past your bedtime this one is for you!

I really liked Jane Doe, felt okay about the next installment False Step, and feel somewhat the same about this one. This is a slow burner, and not something that grabbed my attention. This is more of a family drama read rather than a suspenseful read such as Jane Doe. I think my expectations for this author were put up pretty high after reading such an awesome story like Jane Doe that nothing else by this author is really living up to it for me. Her writing is great, so I can't fault her for that, but this just wasn't what I was expecting and had a hard time wanting to finish it.

I've been hearing about this author for a while and was so excited to finally get to read an advanced copy of one of her books. But I was so disappointed. I had such a hard time getting into this book. The first 80% was very boring for me. The last 20% however was exciting and action packed and it let me see how much I might enjoy her other books. A big downside for me was how often words taking the Lord's name in vain were used. It was a bit excessive. Overall, not a book I would recommend to my friends.

Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Stone's previous two books Jane Doe and Problem Child (for those who are fans of the Sweet Pea series they're in a similar style) so, I was itching to read this one when I saw it pop up. This is a mixed bag for me, while I enjoyed the last half of it I did find the start to drag a little and found myself almost giving up. I'm glad I didn't because the last 50% was much better paced and gave a nice few twists to keep you thinking. An enjoyable read but I can't help thinking if I hadn't read her first two I may have rated it higher as I was expecting more.

I loved Stone's previous two books Jane Doe and Problem Child (for those who are fans of the Sweet Pea series they're in a similar style) so, I was itching to read this one when I saw it pop up. This is a mixed bag for me, while I enjoyed the last half of it I did find the start to drag a little and found myself almost giving up. I'm glad I didn't because the last 50% was much better paced and gave a nice few twists to keep you thinking. An enjoyable read but I can't help thinking if I hadn't read her first two I may have rated it higher as I was expecting more.

Lauren has thought that she new what happened in the past when her father was falsely accused of murder and then released after the "true killer" confessed. After her grandmother has a stroke Lauren buys gramma's house and starts to rehab. She discovers a piece of the puzzle but does she really know who did it. The truth is not as obvious as it seems.

This book was slow to start going back and forth between the past and the present. But is deliberately a slow build as the story plays out. All is definitely as it appears.

Victoria Helen Stone does it again! The Last One Home is a fantastic thriller with great characters--I love that everyone has their dark side. The plot zips along and I read the whole book in one sitting, always the sign of a good read!

I'm a little torn on how to review this one. On one hand it was really good. The mystery was interesting. The back in forth between Lauren in the present and Donna in the past was great. And the reveal was shocking.
On the other hand, the characters were unlikable. The pacing was very slow. I found myself skimming pages a few times.
Overall this one is a decent mystery that is an okay read.

This story is a thriller + women story.

The story follow Lauren and her strangled relationship with her mom and her relationship with her dad and grandma, also follows Donna's (Lauren's mom) during her youth year, also the story that lead to the actual events.


The "drama" goes on a strange way because I am not sure if I liked it or not, it feels like the story goes slow until we are almost done reading and realize how much happens on the story.


This also reminds me about what moms says about how they do things for their kids and how they could never understand...

I like it, give it a shot.

I wanted to really love this one, but it moved slower than I like. Told from 2 POV's Lauren and her mother, Donna from when she was pregnant with Lauren. It was enough to keep me interested, but I am honestly not sure that I would have kept going had I not been given an ARC. As it neared the end, I was definitely rewarded, as a lot was revealed, I just wish it had moved faster. Good storyline, though!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Victoria Helen Stone and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC!

Lauren is estranged from her mother. She does not want to have anything to do with her because she believes that it is her false testimony that put her dad in prison for years. Now exonerated, he lives a good life with his new wife and family and has a good relationship with Lauren as well.

Lauren has been gifted a ranch house by her grandmother and she is presently renovating this and is very happy in her surroundings. When her mother contacts her after years, Lauren is reluctant to even talk to her but against her judgement she does indicating to her that she does not want past history dug up and dissected again.

Disaster strikes when the man she was in love with, indicates that it is all over and that she was just a casual love affair but that it is now history. Demolishing walls in anger, she comes across proof of what her mother said all along was true - her father was actually a murderer and her grandmother was complicit in the murder.

The story of tracking the lives of Lauren, her mother, her grandmother (scheming and vicious), and her father (irresolute and easily influenced) and unravelling strands of a decade old story is very well told in this suspense detection read.