So I thought I wouldn't like this book at first because sometimes Scotland Yard books can be a bit slow for me and I was pleasantly surprised with this one. The writing was amazing, very intimate and in depth. The pace of the book was great; it slowed down and sped up in all the right parts. If you need a good cozy thriller, I definitely think this is a book to read.

Austin Grant is approaching his retirement at Scotland Yard and what better way to go out on a bang than with a multi-continent serial killer? Starting in London two murders occur where the victims have no connection minus a Roman numeral carved into their foreheads. Baffled on the connection, Grant gets a call from New York city that a similar M.O. has been seen there. In NYC he meets Detective John Frankel and the two create a unique friendship attempting to solve the mysterious case. Frankel is bitter from a failed marriage and focusing solely on work turns into a man that forms a person starting a budding relationship with Grant's daughter.

Thank you to Scott Shepherd, Penzler Publishers, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4057941989
Blog link: www.instagram.com/whataginger.reads (review will be in "story highlights" under the "reviews" section

The prologue starts off as a slow burn, as you are introduced to some of the characters, but it really takes off once Grant travels to NYC and meets Frankel. From that moment on, I couldn’t put the book down. I thought the plot was great, with multiple twists and turns that kept you guessing until the end. And due to the transatlantic nature of the case, both Grant and Frankel get their “fish out of water” moments, with humorous results.

Grant, Frankel, and Rachel are the three characters who receive the most attention, and they all shine in their own ways. Grant is exactly what you would expect from a Scotland Yard Commander who is towards the end of his career, dry British humor and all. Frankel likewise is the typical New York Detective, sarcastic and quick-witted. The two play off each other extremely well, and I’m glad that the author didn’t go the usual “two cops don’t get along at first and slowly begin to respect each other as the case goes on” route. There is mutual respect from the start, and although they come from different sides of the Atlantic, the two characters are very similar. Rachel is a great addition as well, giving the book a strong female presence to offset the two male characters. She plays off both men well, and the budding romance between her and Detective Frankel feels organic, especially as the two attempt to keep their affair a secret from her father. However, it is not as if she is just there to be a love interest. She plays an important role in the story, and is an integral part of the investigation.

I thought the writing style was great. The dialogue between characters was fantastic, and the descriptions were incredibly detailed, so it was easy to imagine the gruesome ways in which the Commandment Killer murdered his victims. Shepard also did a great job showcasing the differences between the two cities in which the story takes place.

I enjoyed the ending, and the author put enough red herrings into the story to keep you guessing who the killer was until the very end. I would definitely read a sequel or more books by this author, and I hope that he continues with these characters in some way.

I enjoy novels and movies about serial killers who follow a theme and about detectives trying to catch them. As you probably can figure out, this book's murder theme is based on the ten commandments.
Great writing, great suspense, great outcome. At the end, I said to myself, "oh yeah, I should have figured this out." I hope Scott Shepherd writes more! If I could give this more than five stars, I would. Thanks to NetGalley and Mysterious Press for giving me this suspenseful read.
Side note: I think I'll go rewatch the movie Se7en and see how the killer carried out his theme.

My first criteria for a book to earn a five-star rating is that it must hold my interest so much so that I hate to put it down or can’t wait to get back to it. My second is that there must be no eye rolls from me. And, of course, the story must have a good flow, good writing, a good plot, and a good ending (love the ending). The Last Commandment wins a five-star rating for sure.

It’s about a killer who carefully chooses his victims for each of the commandments. He slits their throats and then adds the Roman numeral of the particular commandment into the forehead of the dead body. At each crime scene he leaves a clue as to who the next victim will be.

Included in solving the mystery are Austin Grant, a Commander with the London Police, his daughter, Rachel, his brother, Everett, and John Frankel, an NYPD detective who is also involved. Most of the murders take place around London, but several take place around New York.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Last Commandment. I enjoyed it immensely. Well done, Mr. Shepherd. Well done.

A serial killer that works both sides of the Atlantic and draws together a NYPD detective and a soon to be retired Scotland Yard commander in this alluring tale with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing until the very end.

Someone is using the Ten Commandments as his personal hit list right at Christmas time and there seems to be no stopping him. Commander Austin Grant was not looking forward to New Year retirement anyway, but he sure didn’t expect ending his career with a sadistic killer with an agenda and who seems to be making it personal.

Make sure you put this book on your to read list because the ending alone is worth it. I rest my case.

4 solid stars

I really enjoyed this interesting twist on a serial killer case, with a Scotland Yard commander & an NYPD detective teaming up to apprehend the criminal. The touches of family drama on the side nicely round out the story & provide a good amount of character development.

[What I liked:]

•The action starts right away, gritty & amusing & intriguing. (The first victim described on page is an absolute ahole!)

•The serial killer concept, with religiously inspired crimes, is really interesting (the main reason I wanted to read this book). It reminds me a bit of the real life Bible John case, but the book concept is still unique from that.

•The prose is smooth & easy to follow, and the pacing felt good to me. And there are some pretty quotable lines.

•There are some fun twists, but they were set up so it’s not deus ex machina. I more or less figured out the main mystery about 70% in, but that didn’t ruin the story at all because it was so fun & exciting to see how it all played out! All the nice little nuances & details I couldn’t have predicted kept it interesting, with a tiny bit of uncertainty in the back of my mind.

•I genuinely liked & cared about all 3 main characters, & was intrigued by several others, so I was pretty invested in the story the whole time.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•At times I questioned how realistic certain plot points were, but this is most likely due to my ignorance of how international crime cases are handled. (Would Scotland Yard really send an about to retire commander to help the NYPD on a massive case, based just on one phone call from a NYC detective? Maybe so; as I said, I’m ignorant of how it all works.)

•The confession scene felt unrealistic. Granted I’m not Catholic, but would a priest seriously hear that kind of confession, not blink an eye, & say “go in peace”? With no advice or penance assigned?

•The ending is awesome & fitting & well built up too—and kinda melodramatic, but I’ll give it a pass because it was so exciting & fitting.

CW: sexual assault, somewhat graphic murders described & on page violence

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]