THE LAST ONE HOME is a twisty tale that really sucked me in. Lauren was raised by her erratic and angry mother until her father is released from prison after another inmate confesses to the murder that sent Lauren's father to prison. After that, Lauren goes to live with her father and her grandmother on the family homestead and her life improves immeasurable. But now, all grown up and still struggling to find her place in the world, Lauren is called home by her grandmother, who deeds her the house. Lauren is thrilled until the confessing prisoner , a known serial killer, makes contact in a very personal way. This starts Lauren down a path of discovery she never could anticipated. Alternating between Lauren's modern-day voice, and that of her mother when she was pregnant, Stone does a stunning job of unspooling a fantastic novel of suspense. I loved JANE DOE and THE LAST ONE HOME is equally compelling.

I’m sorry to say that I’ve DNF this book at 30%. The storyline is too slow for me and not my cup of tea. I could not be able to finish it.

An amazing book about the family we are given and the ones we make. With a bit of suspense thrown in for fun. Definitely one to add to your list.

I loved Jane Doe so I had was thrilled when I was able to read this ARC however, it was not her best work. I did finish reading the book but at parts had to really push myself through it.

This book was the first one for me from Victoria Helen Stone. I love that it was told in dual POV and timeframe--though that made it a little slow to start for me.

We start in 1985 when Donna realizes she is pregnant after an affair with a married man, Michael, that was supposed to be casual. Michael he promises to divorce his wife and take care of Donna and the baby. Even though there was an alleged affair with a waitress and continued broken promises, Donna tries to give him a chance. A newspaper article puts things into place and Donna accuses Michael of murder.

Lauren's Dad (Michael) was exonerated for the murder and she moved in with him and her grandmother at age 10. Now in the present, Lauren has gone through a break up and seizes the opportunity to move into this home on her Dad's land and renovate it to match her style and needs. It is apparent that Lauren's relationship with her mother to be strained because Donna had never admitted that she was wrong for accusing Michael after his exoneration.

It is a bumpy ride as we learn more about what happened all those years ago--was Donna just bitter about things and accused Michael or murder to get back at him? Are the renovations the right thing to do? What will she find?

Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A good and interesting read!

I would recommend this to everyone who loves a good story with captivating characters! Definitely a good read!

Slow Burn Family Mystery With Explosive Twist. Let's get a common criticism dealt with up front: No, this is NOT a Jane Doe novel. That dispensed with, this *IS* a great example of Stone's ability to tell more than one type of story in more than one way. What we get here is a compelling slow burn family mystery involving killers, rapists, mistresses, and one confused kid. Told in dual timelines from the modern era and the 80s, we see mom and daughter explore their situations and come to startling revelations - though neither is quite prepared for the explosive revelation at the end of the tale. This picks up some of the creepier elements of Christopher Rice's Blood Music while spinning an engrossing gothic - in the classic sense of the word, involving a foreboding building - mystery all its own. Very much recommended.

I was so excited to read the newest Victoria Helen Stone book, and the first chapter didn't disappoint me - much.

Why did I get the impression, as I was plodding through the remaining chapters, that this was an old manuscript that was dusted off and given a quick edit to take advantage of the demand for new titles during these COVID Times?

The main character, Lauren, comes across as vapid and directionless, and she really only grew a spine towards the end of the story. The plot went in so many directions at once, but then seemed to retrace its steps and even repeat itself. I was often baffled, and even a bit bored.

The two narrators, Lauren Abrams and her wild-cat, ungovernable mother, Donna, could not have been more different. Lauren was downright "wishy-washy" - never able to make up her own mind and afraid of discovering the truth, whereas Donna came out with both guns blazing and took no prisoners. Or at least she did, until she got pregnant with Lauren and then her hormones took over and all of her badass instincts kept being over-ruled and misdirected by the gutless and equally faithless Michael (Lauren's father). Promises, promises! Seriously, Donna?

What a cast of dull, improbable and go nowhere characters. Even Donna had me rolling my eyes from time to time. You're guessing I was disappointed in this one right? YOU'D make a great detective! (Lauren was a bust!) How on earth did Lauren solve the mystery of who killed that poor girl - oops, oh yes, I forgot, Lauren got a confession, right from the horse's mouth. So there! I did guess the shenanigans involving the serial killer, but, that, too, was another convoluted story line.

The writing is still good (I give high marks for good grammar!) but after a while I just prayed for a mercifully swift ending. Once you've read one of the Jane novels, indecisive heroines from this author just don't cut it for you anymore. I'm rating this one a 3.4 out of 5 because the author can write a decent sentence.
My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My thanks to Netgalley for my copy of The Last One Home.
This book starts off as a family drama and takes quite a while to pick up speed. However, as it does so it becomes more and more chilling. Being told as a time spaced narrative by Lauren in the present, and her mother Donna in the past. gives the reader an insight as to what may or may not have happened. I tried to make a guess as to the outcome and was partially there but wasn't quite prepared for what we learn at the conclusion.

I was so excited to read this book, because I am an unrepentant superfan of Victoria Helen Stone’s Jane Doe. Stone is one of those authors whose tone always resonates with me and whose writing usually always keeps me interested, with lots of fun description, unlikable but interesting female characters, great narrative voices, and sneaky feminist humor.

So I was a little (ok, very) bummed that I didn’t love this one. The premise is a good one: Lauren is moving back to the family home after a fractured and complex family history during which her mother accused her father of confessing to murder, and got him wrongfully (maybe?) imprisoned. Cool premise and lots of interesting ways the story could go from there, but the story didn’t take advantage of many of them and the first half was very slow. Not much happened except for a lot of pensiveness from Lauren about her family, whether her father may have been guilty and what her mother’s role was. The simultaneous flashback narrative from her mother was also quite slow.

Things picked up considerably in about the last 25% of the book, but like my friend Susan who I read this with pointed out in her review, before that point I too was very frustrated with both Lauren and her mother and their propensities to let men get away with murder. Neither character was too strong or easy to identify with, and they both kept giving horrible men a ridiculous number of chances to be jerky, which was a bummer for me because I usually find Stone’s work to be very fun and feminist.

This book wasn’t a waste because I always enjoy Stone’s writing style and voice, but it wasn’t as awesome as some of her others. I would have really preferred a faster pace, more plot/action in the first half, and more character development of some key characters. Having said this, I still love Stone and Jane Doe 4 life.

I really enjoyed reading this with Javier and Susan who both had some great thoughts and insights so be sure to check out their reviews too!

Thanks to Lake Union Publishing, NetGalley and Victoria Helen Stone for the advance copy!

Lauren is called back to her childhood home which is full of wonderful memories of her father (Michael) and grandmother. Unfortunately, Lauren's life wasn't always so rosey. When she was very young, her mother Donna testified that Michael confessed to a murder. He was incarcerated until Lauren was 10 years old, at which point he was exonerated as the real killer came forward. Over the years, Lauren and Michael built a solid relationship while Lauren slowly pulled away from her lying mother.

Years later she is back in her grandmother's house and her mom has resurfaced, warning her about that side of the family and the peril ahead. Lauren is sure her mom is cuckoo for cocopuffs, or is she?

The story unfolds through present and past narration from Lauren and Donna's perspective. We are pulled into the time when Donna was pregnant and her relationship with Michael, which was far from perfect. Both Donna and Lauren were weak women who let the men in their life take advantage of them, and they left me so frustrated.

This was a fast easy read, but it was missing something for me. When I reflect on the story, not much happened until the end, and then so much happened but then it felt too rushed.

Thank you Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I feel so disappointed right now. This was not what I was expecting from this author at all. Maybe the fact that I come from reading one of the best thrillers I've read this year did not help either. Where I was expecting more of a thriller I found a family drama so slow-burning, that for a moment I thought the flame had extinguished. And when I say slow I mean slooow.

As usual lately with this type of books there's a dual timeline. In the present storyline we follow Lauren, who just moved to her grandma's home after she suffered a stroke. She didn't meet her father and his side of the family till she was 10 yo, because he was in prison for murder. And the one who sent him to prison was Donna, Lauren's mother, and her testimony.

In the past line it's 1985, and Donna just found out she's pregnant. Her boyfriend Michael is married and, despite his promises of leaving his wife, the divorce never happens, so when Donna accuses him of murder, everyone thinks she's just resentful.

I found both main characters pretty annoying. Lauren seemed more worried about live-streaming her house renovations to make her ex-boyfriend jealous (for a moment I thought I was watching a Property Brothers episode), and Donna was blind to how Michael was a complete piece of sh*t despite all his wrongdoings. The past line was so repetitive I felt I was reading the same scene over and over: Michael cheated or lied, Donna got angry, Michael said sorry and promised it would never happen again and Donna would relent and forgive him. Really? Wake up, girl!

There were some side plots introduced early on that I hoped would help to move things forward, but they were not used to their full potential and were solved in a lackluster way almost at the end.

It is not till the last 10% that the action picks up the pace, leading to an ending that felt a bit rushed, specially if we consider how many pages of nothingness came before.

Although not her best work, I'll still keep an eye out for the author's next books, specially if it's a follow up on Jane, my favorite sociopath!

Another fun buddy read with Susan and Christina.

Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

THE LAST ONE HOME
BY VICTORIA HELEN STONE

This is the first book that I have read from this acclaimed author who is well known for her Jane Doe series that a lot of people liked so I thought I would give her a try. I didn't like this slow moving tale about a man named Michael who we hear the story narrated by both his daughter Lauren and her mother Donna moving back and forth in time alternating in time periods and Donna voice and Lauren's. This was not a thriller and the story only picked up momentum during the last ten percent on my Kindle.

During Donna's rants she comes across as a really unlikable character with coarse language which I did not care for. She is Michael's mistress who knowingly cheats with him behind his wife's back and gets pregnant with Lauren. She pressures him constantly to divorce his wife which he is dragging his feet.

Michael's mother Elizabeth who also comes across as unlikable provides a cabin for Donna to live in on her property which is a big ranch with a lot of land. Elizabeth accepts this arrangement while knowing that Michael's wife knows nothing about Donna.

Michael comes across as a weak and lying serial cheater as Donna follows him many times and catches him yet in lie after lie exposing him as a person not to be trusted. She discovers that a young waitress at a dive bar has gone missing and she thinks that he is responsible for her death and has him put away in prison until a serial killer takes responsibility for the young waitresses's death.

Lauren is 35 year's old and has always believed that her mother Donna lied about her father's involvement in the death of the waitress and Lauren has been estranged from her mother for a few years. After Michael's mother Elizabeth has had a stroke, Elizabeth who is Lauren's grandmother offers to sell Lauren the ranch for a fraction of what it is worth. Lauren has always believed in her father;s innocence and thought that her mother tried to poison her mind against her father and her grandmother. Donna has maintained that she only wanted to keep Lauren safe.

This was a very flat and not even a slow burning thriller. I wanted to really like this story and I thought that if I kept reading it that it would get better. With the author being a bestselling one I had high hopes for this but the last ten percent was the only time that the action picked up and even that was not enough to redeem this story. I will not be recommending this one as a thriller because it simply didn't captivate my attention and I am glad it was short and happy that I finished it. I have learned that I need to be more discerning when I request Titles unless I know of the author and have loved their previous work or else I am likely to find myself in this situation where a DNF isn't an option. I feel obligated to keep reading something that doesn't appeal to me because I am obligated to write an informed review. I am sorry that I didn't like this but maybe other people will. I wish the author every best wish for success with this regardless.

Publication Date: March 23, 2021

Thank you to Net Galley, Victoria Helen Stone and Lake Union Publishing for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#TheLastOneHome #VictoriaHelenStone #LakeUnionPublishing #NetGalley

I've read and enjoyed every novel that Victoria Helen Stone has published since her massively successful thriller, Jane Doe, but The Last One Home is just ok to me. It's more of a slow burn family drama than a dark thriller that I'm used to reading from this author. The story focuses on Lauren Abrams in the present, with another POV being a newly pregnant party girl Donna in the past. Lauren's grandmother sells her house to her at a very discounted rate because she's beginning to be too old to live there without help any longer. While she begins to renovate the house, she starts figuring out some family secrets that have changed their family's lives. As the two point of views carry out their lives, it eventually leads to one significant dilemma and it involves Lauren's father. Lauren's father was accused by her mother for being involved in a murder. A murder that eventually led to another serial killer's confession. A murder that Lauren's father eventually has been acquitted for. What does that mean for Lauren and what will Lauren uncover as she continues to find out more about her family?

Honestly, I feel terrible even saying anything negative about this story as Victoria Helen Stone is one of my favorite authors ever. The Last One Home is just a bit different from what I've read by her and it just didn't work out for me. I've bumped the rating to 3 stars out of respect for the author's previous works that I've loved. I will still read more by the author when additional stories are released.

Lauren Abrams wants nothing to do with her damaged mother, whose spurious testimony sent Lauren’s father to prison for murder years ago. After a serial killer’s confession to the crime restored justice.

This book was complete fire!
WoW! So amazing from start to finish.
It had me hanging on the edge of my seat through the entire ride.
Absolutely amazing writing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for a digital ARC of The Last One Home in exchange for my honest review. This book was such a page turner. I was completely blown away as the story progressed and the entire plot was, in my opinion, unique. When Lauren returns to her family home after her grandma falls ill, she is surprised that her grandma is willing to pass the house to her. Lauren's mom's testimony put her Dad in prison for murder, only to find that the testimony was a lie...someone else had committed the crime. We find that sometimes families will do anything to protect the things, and people, that they love, sometimes in extreme ways. Highly recommended.

This is a back and forth story between Lauren and Donna.
A lot of Youtube, Instagram stalking...it was a little less than thriller and I felt a little lost.
I did enjoy the life of Donna back in the 80s.
Overall, this book just didn't work for me. I didn't connect with the characters or the overall story line.

Thanks to Netgalley for my advanced ebook copy.

So well written a thriller that kept me up late reading.A book with twists and turns that kept me guessing till the last page.Will be recommending.#netgalley #lakeunionpublishing

Lauren was raised by her mother who is adamant that her grandmother and father are bad people with bad motives. Lauren moves in with her ailing grandmother to help with her massive home with the promise of receiving the home after her grandmother passing. We see a lot of back and forth progressions in this novel of Lauren in the present day and her grandmother in the past, which gets a bit confusing at times. There is a lot of great depth in this novel with character development and plot lines. It draws the reader in and makes them want to keep turning pages. The ending seemed fairly predictable, but it was an overall good book. Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing this eARC in exchange for my honest review. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was such a good thriller had me in suspense at all the plot twists and changes. Once again i did not see any of the twists coming. Which to me is the sign of a great read.
Looking forward to more from this wonderful author