Member Reviews
Her Last Breath is about Caroline Thraxton's death. She was ruled to have died of health complications, but her sister gets a message that says otherwise. This sends Deirdre on a mission to find out what really happened to her sister.
The book jumps back and forth between Deirdre's POV and Theo's (Caroline's husband) POV. I enjoyed both sides of the story and loved some of the character development that happened throughout.
Overall I enjoyed this book and read it pretty quickly. There were parts where I felt like I didn't really know what was going on... but I think it was intended that way so that you didn't have any ideas of what might have actually happened to Caroline.
I have loved this author's previous works so I was really excited to read Her Last Breath. While the story was enjoyable and kept me reading, it did fall short of my high expectations.
After her sister suddenly dies, Deirdre receives a mysterious message from her sister telling her that Deirdre needs to investigate Caroline's husband Theo. The story told in alternating POV between Deirdre and Theo keeps things moving but does have a lot of plot holes. By the end of the book most of the motives seem so far fetched it really took away from the story.
I did overall like this book but I enjoyed her first series better. If you are looking for a quick, intense read I would recommend Her Last Breath.
Wow! What a fast paced, gripping thriller. Her Last Breath by Hilary Davidson is a well thought out psychological thriller about a sister who wants to find out the truth about how her sister died. Caro’s death was ruled the result of an undiagnosed heart condition. But Deirdre doesn’t buy it. She knows it’s unlikely and vows to get to the bottom of it. Especially after she receives an email from Osiris Vault telling her she has a private message from her dead sister. Caro wrote to Deirdre warning her “If you’re reading this, I’m already dead…my death won’t be an accident” that her husband Theo is responsible. That it is Deirdre’s job to prove it and “bring him to justice”. Deirdre embarks on an investigation of her own. What she finds are shocking secrets and a web of lies. Her sisters in-laws, are not the family they appear to be. To outsiders they appear to be a successful wealthy family that runs a huge hotel business. They donate to charity and are well respected by the community. But Deirdre uncovers dark secrets and begins to question who really killed her sister.
This is the first book I have read by Hilary Davidson and I absolutely loved it. Immediately on the first page I was intrigued and invested in finding out how Caro died. So many twists and turns and I was blindsided by a major plot twist towards the end. This is a stay-up-all-night, edge of your seat thriller that you definitely need to read. Thank you NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer publishing and Hilary Davidson for my electronic arc of Her Last Breath, in exchange for my honest review.
I've enjoyed Hilary Davidson's books in the past so was extremely pleased that I could read this one.
When her beloved sister Caroline dies suddenly, Deirdre is heartbroken. However, her sorrow turns to bone-chilling confusion when she receives a message Caroline sent days earlier warning that her death would be no accident.
This book started with a bang and I was as invested as Deirdre in finding out what happened to Caroline. I wanted to see all the skeletons popping out of everybody's closets.
However, the book is unable to sustain the same tension and plot movement as I had hoped. The characters who start off strong end up being just figureheads. I wasn't a fan of the way the story moved forward either. It was a tad bit farfetched.
With better-developed characters and a lore realistic plot, the book could have been really good.
This just fell short for me.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
What a ride this novel was. Suspenseful and a page turner for sure. "Her Last Breath" is a great novel by Hilary Davidson. Plus, I totally loved the cover of this novel!
Caroline, a socialite and wife of billionaire, Theo Thraxton, dies while on a jog. Apparently she had a undiagnosed heart condition so the police rule it to be natural causes.
On the day of her funeral, her sister, Diedre, receives an email from Caroline. Caroline says her death will be no accident and Theo is to blame. She asks Diedre to expose the truth.
I enjoyed this book, despite it's flaws. It's told from both Diedre and Theo's perspectives. I actually felt bad for Theo, even though I kept telling myself that Caroline obviously didn't trust him. Diedre comes off as super naive. She is a horrible "detective". We also have a tiny bit of back story about her and how she is estranged from her father and wasn't particularly close to her sister.
The entire Thraxton family is absolutely nuts, especially the patriarch, Theo's father. Although we don't know Caroline, we learn about her throughout the story and she didn't come off as very likeable to me. Her only redeeming quality was her love for her son. For a woman who seemed to have everything planned out, she wasn't very smart.
Overall, it was an entertaining read but the characters could have been better and the overall story was just ok.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the advanced copy of this book!
Her Last Breath is a decent thriller about a seriously dysfunctional group of people. We begin with Deidre, who we meet as she enters the funeral of her sister Caroline. The two weren't close for years, but lately they've mended fences and grown closer. At the funeral, we meet Caroline's husband Theo Thraxton, Jr., her father-in-law Theodore Sr., her sister-in-law Juliet, her young son Teddy, and her father. The Traxtons are a hotel dynasty. Theodore, Sr. runs the company, and both Caroline and Juliet work there. They are hugely successful and rich. Deidre is definitely an outlier. She has a menial job with a delivery service and lives in a miniscule basement apartment. Her mother is deceased, and she is estranged from her father. As Deidre is leaving the funeral service, she receives a shocking email. It's from her deceased sister, and it states that no matter what it looks like, her death will not be an accident, and she wants Deidre to bring her murderer to justice.
What follows is a complex mystery told in alternating chapters by Deidre and Caroline's husband, Theo. Theo has an exceedingly dark back story that involves drugs and an ex-wife no one in Caroline's life knew anything about. The story is well-plotted and reads quickly. Theo's story is particularly intriguing. Unfortunately, it's all just a little over the top, which takes away a bit from the book overall.
My thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was a Prime First Read (or what ever it's called). So thankful it was free. I normally read anywhere from 3 - 5 books a week. I have been trying for two days and am only on Chapter 20 (there's over 50). It does make for a great sleeping pill. The past two nights I've fallen asleep after reading only a few pages. I have too many other books waiting to be read for me to spend anymore time on this one. At the beginning of the book are pages of glorious reviews from many other authors. I wonder if it a "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" review. Me? I'm giving up.
Absolutely thrilling drama with 2 black sheep from 2 different families, yet lives are intertwined due to one they both love. You think you have got it figured out, yet, you don’t. This book was a quick read that kept my interest right from the beginning. I feel that there wasn’t only a thrilling mystery, but the power of forgiveness and who we really call family, were evident. I love when a book has me second, third and fourth guessing on who “did it” this book hit the nail on the head.
If you're looking for an easy read thriller that is entertaining, this is your book. It was a bit slow to start-the character set up and initial scene dragged a bit, but overall the book proceeded at a good clip. The plot was fairly predictable and the killer was easy to pick out. Loved how the author weaved in the pandemic instead of glossing over it and the way she made New York a character of it's own. The book didn't have me at the edge of my seat the whole time, but sometimes, you need a good beach or on the go read that is easy to jump in and out of.
This one just didn’t work for me, and I put it down just after 20%. The characters all seemed really one dimensional, the plot was slow moving, and it was just hard to keep going. Not the book for me.
I was not able to put this book down. I did like the alternating point of views between characters. However, I found the characters to be very shallow! I appreciated the opportunity by Net Galley to read this book.
At most, I can rate this a three. I didn't find it particularly enjoyable, but it wasn't absolutely god awful. I'm sure there is an audience for it, it just wasn't me. While the premise is sound and beginning is intriguing, it quickly spiraled into the realm of ridiculous for me.
So this is a bit tough. The first third to one half was good and had me hooked. I took a break to read another book and when I came back to it, the story just kinda faded. There was too much going on that it was trying to pack in there with different plots/storylines and I felt it fell short. The main character Diedre was pretty one dimensional and ridiculously annoying as a character. Some of it you could attribute to how she was brought up but there’s a point there’s no excuse for the way she was, like she was trying to fit into a stereotype into the book so it was overdone “tough girl” that it ended up well on the other side. This was mentioned in another review and I agree, there should be trigger warnings for self harm, drug addiction, and sexual assault that didn’t really add to the story so much as drew away from it and did them a disservice. Instead the “tough girl” didn’t want to press charges or do anything about it because of her constant worry of being seen as a victim, which sure, could happen, but this was never resolved which could lead a reader in similar thoughts that they shouldn’t report to avoid being seen as weak or a victim. I don’t know, just didn’t sit well with how it was laid out and much of it didn’t add much to the story. Nonetheless, this is a quick read, with a few good lines about therapy, anger management, and the type of person you are presenting yourself as to your child.
Thanks Netgalley and publisher for opportunity to read this arc and provide my honest feedback.
I had high hopes for this book--the synopsis sounded perfect for me. Unfortunately, I didn't get hooked and honestly it dragged on for me. The back and forth point of views just didn't seem cohesive and I just couldn't get into it.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Her Last Breath by Hilary Davidson is one of those books that gets your attention right from the first page and doesn't let go! When Deirdre's sister Caroline dies she receives and an email saying if anything ever happened to her it wouldn't be an accident and her husband was to blame. Even though they weren't as close as they once were, Deirdre knows she needs to confront Theo and find out what was really going on. Just when I thought I had it figured out there was a twist and then another one! This book will keep you guessing!
What a crazy thriller! The story of a grief stricken sister trying to discover the truth of what has befallen her sibling unfolds into a wild and unpredictable ride. A great read!
Thank you so much for this book! It drew me in from the beginning and kept me wondering until the end. It was hard to put down and I really enjoyed it. At first I hated the husband and by the end I felt so sorry for him. He was the biggest victim of all the characters.
The premise of this book was really good and it had me intrigued for a little while in the beginning but then it kind of feel apart. There was a lot going on plotwise with the book as well as character wise. It felt scrambled and all over the place at times. The plot would become too exaggerated and the characters were stereotypes. Unfortunately Diedre as a main character was not likeable at all. Also there should be a trigger warning for self harm and abuse and sexual assault in this book. All three of these were used inappropriately in book for the purpose of trying to give characters depth but instead were just disappointing and offensive.
While I did not enjoy this book I do think there are those out there who may as it was a quick action packed thriller. Just not my cup of tea.
Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
While the first chapters seemed promising,it soon turned into a boring read.
It's told in two POVs, Deirdre's and Theo's: The first one is a bland character that often mentions how much she "kicks ass"(the amount of times I had to read that----)when in reality my fish "kicks more ass" than her. Theo was okay I guess... At first I thought his chapters were unnecessary and removed the whole mystery from the plot but in the end I realized he had the most decent chapters and storyline.
Nothing important and interesting seemed to happen for the majority of the book except for the last 10-12% where the mystery is solved and we're all saved yay.. I didn't care for the twists,the plot or the rest of the characters in general 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️