A thrilling and tense plot set in the beautiful Lapland. When Alex is told that his sister has died he travels to Lapland to bring his sisters body home. While there he meets Agatha the chief of police. Together they investigate the disappearance of three women. With twists turns and some gruesome scenes this is another superb read from Jo!
Many thanks for my advanced copy.

The Last To Disappear’ is the latest book by Jo Spain.

When young London professional Alex Evans is informed that his sister’s body has been pulled from an icy lake in Northern Lapland, he assumes his irresponsible sister accidentally drowned. He travels to the wealthy winter resort where Vicky worked as a tour-guide and meets Agatha Koskinen, the detective in charge. Agatha is a no-nonsense single mother of three who already thinks there’s more to Vicky’s case than meets the eye. As the two form an unlikely alliance, Alex also begins to suspect the small town where his sister lived and died is harbouring secrets. It’s not long before he learns that three other women have gone missing from the area in the past and that his sister may have left him a message.

The latest book by Jo Spain is a dark and intense story set against the backdrop of the snowy slopes of Koppe, Lapland and this makes for atmospheric and chilling reading.

The story begins with the tragic death of Vicky Evans, a young woman who was found drowned. Detective Agatha Koskinen has been called in to solve the case. When Alex Evans finds out the sudden death of his sister, he lives England and finds himself becoming Agatha’s sidekick as he’s determined to find his sister’s killer. In doing this, Alex has to delve into his sister’s life and learn a side to her that as a brother, he never wanted to know. Whilst Agatha is trying to find Vicky’s killer, there’s still the unsolved disappearances of the three women who disappeared over the years.

The story is written in the past and present tense, the present tense is the investigation of Vicky’s death whilst the past tense is set in 1998, at the time of the first disappearance.

For fans of Nordic-Noir, this book ticks all the boxes. It’s gritty, claustrophobic and filled with suspicious characters. The story is beautifully descriptive from the chilling and eerie landscape that sets the tone perfectly in this thriller. What’s interesting about the story is the location which is Lapland, the homeland connected to Santa Claus and even though it’s described as a winter wonderland, this book is a far from a wonderland!

Agatha is an interesting detective determined to find the killer all whilst dealing with her own personal problems. Alex feels guilty about having an estranged relationship with Vicky and hopes finding the killer and bringing them to justice will ease his conscience.

Intense from the first page and wonderfully atmospheric, Jo has delivered a chilling thriller that made for gripping reading. Packed with drama, twists and turns ‘The Last To Disappear’ made for exciting reading.

You can buy ‘The Last To Disappear’ from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops.

3,5 ⭐️


Last year, Jo Spain’s previous book, The Perfect Lie, completely blew my mind away with its clever twists and its “one sitting read” quality, being a clear 5 ⭐️ for me. I was hoping hew new release, The Last To Disappear, would hook me up the same way but, although entertaining overall, it didn’t quite reach the same level as her previous one.

A body is found in Lake Inari, Lapland. It is Vicky Evans, a British girl who was working in a resort over there. Her brother Alex will travel to Finland to bring her sister’s body home and, at the same time, try to find some answers about her death with the help of the Chief of Police, Agatha Koskinen. Soon, the surface of this idyllic winter wonderland will start to crack bringing to light the town’s long time buried secrets.

On paper, this one had everything for me to absolutely love it. The premise sounded amazing and the setting couldn’t be better (you already know about my love of cold remote settings), so you’ll be wondering…where was the problem then?

Well, in my opinion, the story was a bit all over the place with two many side plots that distracted from the main one. There’re present and past timelines, Vicky’s death investigation, the other missing girls’ one, Agatha’s personal issues…Too much for me to actually become truly engaged with the main mystery.

I also had a bit of a hard time warming up to Alex. His lack of trust and underlying anger were a bit hard to understand at first for me. Agatha, on the contrary, I liked right from the start. Her resilience in such a difficult environment and with a pretty hard personal situation was to be applauded. Some of the twists in this part of the story were the most shocking ones for me.

The ending didn’t leave any loose ends, culminating in a really tense scene, but I would have liked a little more connection between all the different plots.

Entertaining story in a beautiful setting that got a little bit lost in between everything it wanted to tell.

Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is what I can call a real edge of the seta, nailbiting and twisty thriller!

A definite 5 stars for this book from me, and I wish to read more books like these this year! Next book from this author - I will be on it immediately!

I loved the layered, deep characters with a lot of going on, layers being peeled back one by one. They were relatable and likeable - which is something I always enjoy!
The plot was interesting, the location amazing and I am struggling to mention something I did not enjoy!
The solution was clever, possible and believable and not as simple as I might have expected initially. Love that.

One gripe though, I think the book cover was not very much related to the book itself and could have been much better themed around about anything actually mentioned in the book, like the geographical location, which, once again, was awesome!

Thanks, NetGalley for the ARC!

I really enjoyed the last to disappear. It was fast paced, and I was dragged into reading 'just one more chapter'.
The ending wasn't obvious either, which I liked.

A luxury resort. Three missing women. One body.

A woman’s body is pulled from an icy lake in Northern Lapland. When Alex, a wealthy London professional, is informed that it is his sister Vicky, he believes his irresponsible sister accidentally drowned. He flies to the resort where she worked as a guide and meets the detective in charge, Agatha Koskinen. Alex soon begins to suspect that Vicky’s death wasn’t an accident and when he founds out that three other women have mysteriously disappeared in the area, the dark secrets in the town can’t stay hidden forever.

Jo has done it again! An absolute page-turner and full of so many twists and turns that you just can’t put the book down. I absolutely loved The Perfect Lie and I guarantee The Last To Disappear is going to be another hugely popular book.

The setting for the book in one of the most remote and barren parts of the world is perfect for this story and really adds to the level of suspense and tension. The characters are so well written. My favourite is Agatha- she’s one cool policewoman with her own dark past to contend with. It’s an intense story and definitely had the anxiety levels heightened on several occasions.

The sub-plot set twenty years in the past is equally as entertaining and gripping as the main story. Spain is able to weave all the strands together to create an addictive and thoroughly entertaining story!

The Last to Disappear is out now! Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books for the arc.

When Alex hears his sister has died in Finland he flies out there with the intention of bringing her body home. It appears it wasn’t accidental so he stays in the hope of finding out what happened.
He isn’t happy in his job despite it being well paid and he begins to evaluate his own life as well as learning more about his sister

I really enjoyed this book and found the characters interesting.

A few women missing in a small town in Lapland. One of them found drowned in a lake. Her brother and local police woman trying to find connections in those similar cases.
This book was ok but not the favourite of the same author's books.

The Last to Disappear is, for me, the perfect psychological thriller with its spot-on pacing, cleverly done characters and a superbly plotted, fascinating mystery that doesn't require the reader to suspend their disbelief.

The story has a large addictive quality and the chilly setting just adds to the overarching feeling admirably. The characters and their interrelationships and the mystery's hints and nudges keep you turning those pages until the denouement which is good too. I can rely on Jo Spain to offer a great story and this has been delivered in spades.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from Quercus Books via NetGalley at my request, and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

Koppe, Lapland: snow, reindeer, in short the Christmas card perfect landscape. Or the dark, unknown home of a predator?
Koppe is the perfect setting for the new, guaranteed, best-seller from Jo Spain. The Evans family have just received the tragic news that their daughter Vicky has been found dead in the town and her brother has traveled to the town for the unenviable task of collecting his sister's body. Once he arrives, Alex meets the local police chief, one Agatha Koskinen.
Agatha soon explains to Alex that she does not believe that Vicky's death was an accident and has launched a murder investigation. It's not long before the locals and Vicky's former colleagues are telling Alex their own theories about murder - in fact about a series of murders and a possible serial killer in the town.
The setting works perfectly for the storyline - with Koppe being at once both beautiful, but also having a dark and dangerous side. And Spain uses the location to perfection, slowly building up the ante as the weather changes and our heroes battle to survive from the elements and the human dangers alike.
I started this book just before going to bed. Telling myself that , "I'll just read a few pages",.... and three hours later, I was reading the final page! I raced through the story. I loved how each character was fleshed out with their own concerns and backstory, making them more 'real' and adding to the overall excitement and pace of the story.

This was a good read, not quite as I had expected but I enjoyed it none the less.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

No-one can evoke a setting like Jo Spain. Whether her characters are basking in sunny climates, or like 'The Last to Disappear', enveloped in the snowy beauty of Lapland, I always feel utterly there with them and their stories.

The Last to Disappear' is a standalone novel. We meet Alex , a successful entrepreneur, whose world is turned upside down when his sister's body is found in an icy lake in Lapland. Alex and his sister Vicky have drifted apart over time, but he is compelled to go and find out what happened to her.

When he arrives in Lapland, he meets the local police chief Agatha, a strong character who has her own personal demons to deal with. The two clash, as Alex is convinced that the small-town police station staff will not have the skills to find out what might have happened; Agatha is certain that she'll be capable of a solid investigation. Alex's enquiries find that other women have also gone missing from the town over the years, could there be a killer hiding in their midst?

There is also a gripping sub-plot set 20 years earlier featuring Katya, a young wife in the same town who finds she is pregnant by her married lover and who plans on running away with her baby to start afresh.

I was completely captivated by the story, enjoying the developing relationship between Alex and Agatha as well as both characters finding out more about themselves along the way. The twists in the tale got me every time, and the links between the older storyline and the contemporary one completely caught me unawares.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read

In Jo Spain’s newest book she takes us to Lapland. The body of a young woman was found. She worked as a tour guide there. Vicky lived an unusual live. Traveling and working around the globe. She lived careless and free and sometimes asking for money from her parents or her brother Alex. Alex was annoyed by her lifestyle and had not been in contact with her for month. Now she is dead and he feels guilty. He travels to Lapland to identify her body. He thinks she probably drowned. But it turns out she was murdered. He meets the local detective, Agatha, and he is not sure that she can solve the crime. The town is quite small and hardly experiences murder cases. It turns out that Agatha is a capable detective. But there have been more women missing in a period of time. Is there a serial killer on the loose? Are these disappearing connected?

I am a huge fan of Jo Spain and she failed not to deliver an entertaining new thriller. The setting is unique and eerie. The characters are all very realistic. The story is told in two timelines and both kept me invested. There are some twists and a lot of topics are touched. I liked the cold an eerie setting and I liked Agatha. I don’t think this is the best book from this author but it still is a captivating thriller with a tangled and twisted story.

Set in Lapland, the home of Santa Claus, this was an unlikely setting for a serial killer, if that is what Agatha, Chief of Police, is searching for! Unexplained disappearances of three women prior to Vicky being found in the lake. Alex has come to reclaim his sister's body and to find out what happened to her. He was estranged from her and feels the guilt. He is an angry man.
Everyone in this community seems to have their secrets and there is much distrust.
Alex does not believe Angela is old enough or experienced enough to solve the death of his sister at first. As she allows his involvement in searching for the truth rather than him cause problems conducting his own case he realises her commitment and capability.
The story is complex, the story lines many and set over two time lines, the first being the disappearance of Kaya in 1998, this is a clever interesting read. The different characters and their histories add to the intrigue.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Jo Spain/Quercus Books for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Oh I do love to be able to write a five star review but I love reading a five star book even more. Really enjoyed this latest offering for a very talented author with so many good books under her belt now.
Set in Northern Lapland the atmospheric surroundings with an ‘everyone knows everyone’s business’ vibe just adds to the thrills. I loved Agatha the lead detective and whilst I thought I was going to hate Alex the victim's rather I ended up not wanting him to lease.
Can’t wait for more from this writer who is firmly on my favourite authors list.

EXCERPT: The surface. She needs to get to the surface. The thought crowds everything else out.

Survival instinct kicks in, over the fear, the denial, the incomprehension.

Her legs kick, her arms flail, seeking the hole through which she fell, the break in the ice.

Up, up, and her head is clear and she's gasping for air.

The sudden intake of oxygen brings an explosion of adrenaline and now she knows what she has to do.

One. Fight the debilitating throbbing that could force her back under.

Two. Get out of the water and back onto the ice.

Three. Find safe ground.

She's lucky; this registers somewhere in the back of her brain. Some people go in and never find their way out. The last thing they see is a sheet of impenetrable ice, the promise of light on the other side. She has been trained for this. She, at least, has a chance.

Her hand throws itself onto the frozen surface, the section that hasn't cracked, and splays there like a safety anchor.

She sees a figure; remembers who it is. She calls for help. At least, she thinks she does. Her mouth opens, but she's not sure any sound is coming out. There's so much to say.

You're wrong. It doesn't matter. I won't tell anybody.

The figure just watches. There's no offer of help. And now, the person is walking away.

The woman in the lake sees crimson splashed on the white snow that covers most of the ice, thick snow that lured her to the thinnest, most dangerous part of the lake. It's so distractingly beautiful, red on white, that she almost forgets it's her blood that's been spilled. That the ragged line that trails towards the broken ice must have dripped from her exposed wound as she tried to run to safety.

Her hand reaches and slips and reaches and slips but finds nothing.

She tries to scream. It's beyond her. The pounding inside her head and the stabbing sensation of the freezing water has stolen her voice.

Who'd hear anyway?

She's alone, trapped in a frozen lake, nothing but birch trees and forest animals for miles; a whole lot of white nothingness.

She's not perfect. She's done a lot of stupid things. Things she regrets.

But she doesn't deserve this.

She didn't see this coming.

ABOUT 'THE LAST TO DISAPPEAR': A small town. A frozen lake. Three missing women. One body.

When young London professional Alex Evans is informed that his sister's body has been pulled from an icy lake in Northern Lapland, he assumes his irresponsible sister accidentally drowned. He travels to the wealthy winter resort where Vicky worked as a tour-guide and meets Agatha Koskinen, the detective in charge. Agatha is a no-nonsense single mother of three who already thinks there's more to Vicky's case than meets the eye.

As the two form an unlikely alliance, Alex also begins to suspect the small town where his sister lived and died is harbouring secrets. It's not long before he learns that three other women have gone missing from the area in the past and that his sister may have left him a message.

On the surface, Koppe, Lapland is a winter wonderland. But in this remote, frozen place, death seems only ever a heartbeat away.

MY THOUGHTS: Jo Spain writes - I read.

The Last to Disappear is chilling in more ways than one. Set in Lapland, the icy home of Santa Claus, this is not a story of Christmas cheer and good will. Elves are mentioned but not evident. There is plenty of ice and snow, and more ice and snow - did I mention that I read The Last to Disappear wrapped in a warm and snuggly blanket in front of the fire? - and the cold-blooded abandonment of a woman either drowning or dying of hypothermia.

Jo Spain has written a tense, intense and atmospheric thriller that is both ingenious and compelling. I don't know that I fancy reindeer pizza or blood pancakes though.

The investigation of Vicky Evans death is complicated by three unsolved missing women cases which may or may not be related. After all, it was blind luck that ice-fisherman Elon found her body beneath the ice at his fishing hole. Who knows how many other bodies are down there?

Her characters are complex but relatable. Alex, Vicky's brother, feels guilty that he has cut himself off from his sister and angry that so few resources are available to investigate Vicky's death. Agatha, Police Chief, is in a complicated family situation. The supporting cast is excellent - Patric, the ex-police chief; Miika, husband of one of the missing women; Niamh, friend and workmate of the murdered woman, and many others.

The story is told over two timelines, 1998 from the point of view of Kaya, one of the missing women, and November 2019 from the points of view of Alex and Agatha.

I couldn't believe that this book was almost 400 pages. It certainly didn't feel like it. I raced through it, inhaled it, and loved every word.

A note to Jo Spain: can you please set your next book somewhere warm, tropical even. I swear I have chilblains after reading this. The South Pacific is very nice, particularly Rarotonga, Aitutaki . . . and if you would like help researching the location, I volunteer.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#TheLasttoDisappear #NetGalley

I: @jospainauthor @quercusbooks

T: @SpainJoanne @QuercusBooks

#contemporaryfiction #crime #mystery #psychologicalthriller #suspense #thriller

THE AUTHOR: Jo Spain is the author of the bestselling Inspector Tom Reynolds series and several international No. 1 bestselling standalone novels. Her first book, With Our Blessing, was a finalist in the 2015 Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller.
Jo, a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, writes TV screenplays full-time. Her first crime series was broadcast on RTE in 2018 and she's currently involved in a number of TV developments including adaptations of her own novels. In 2021, she co-wrote Harry Wild, starring Jane Seymour, with the Emmy award-winning David Logan (airing 2022).
Jo lives in Dublin with her husband and four young children. In her spare time (she has four children, there is no spare time really) she likes to read. Her favourite authors include Pierre Lemaitre, Jo Nesbo, Liane Moriarty, Fred Vargas and Jodi Picoult. She also watches TV obsessively.
Jo thinks up her plots on long runs in the woods. Her husband sleeps with one eye open. (I can see why!)

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Quercus Books via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Last to Disappear by Jo Spain for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage.

When Alex receives a call that his mum has suffered a heart attack, he rushes home, but he wasn't prepared for the reason she had the heart attack. The body of his nomadic sister Vicky has been found in a lake in Lapland after an assumed accident but due to his Mothers situation and his Dad not wanting to leave her side, Alex is tasked with bringing her body home. When he arrives he is met by lead detective Agatha who is not convinced that Vicky's death was an accident and she, along with Alex doing some amateur police work alongside, is determined to find out what happened.

Loved the setting of this one. Lapland usually gets you thinking about Father Christmas and happy families visiting him, but this put a whole new spin on it. Using a past and present narrative and from a few different perspectives, the story unravels well and, amongst a cast of very well drawn characters, I really liked Agatha and would definitely read more about her.

One of the places I absolutely must visit once in my life is Lapland, possibly at Christmas. Me and my family have been talking for years about spending a Christmas holiday there and visit the Christmas village, see the Northern Lights, and go on a sled ride. Hopefully, one day we will do it. In the meantime, Jo Spain’s new novel took me right there in Lapland, in the fictional village of Koppe, where the economy is driven by the tourists that every year fill the hotels. However, London lobbyist Alex Evans is not there on holiday, but he has arrived to take home the body of his younger sister Vicky who was working as a travel guide in one of the hotels of the village and who was found in the frozen lake. Alex assumed that Vicky’s death was an accident, but Agatha Koskinen, the detective in charge of the investigation, reveals that Vicky was killed, so Alex decides to remain and team up with Agatha in solving the case.

I loved everything about this novel: the plot, the characters, the setting. The story is very well-written and full of twists and surprises. Before Vicky, three women had disappeared and they were never found and the entire village suspects of the lonely grumpy man whose wife was the first to disappear. Are the disappearances of the three women connected to Vicky’s death? Or was Vicky involved in something else? The list of suspects is long and, of course, I didn’t figure out the right one.

I loved the two protagonists of the story, Alex and Agatha. When we first meet Alex is leaving a party with a woman. Next thing he knows, his father calls him to inform him that his sister is dead and he is on his way to Finland. Gripped by guilt and grief and not trusting that Agatha can do her job, Alex starts investigating Vicky’s death. As the story progresses, we learn more about his complex relationship with Vicky and he becomes less arrogant and more agreeable. Agatha is an excellent detective. She is smart and determined and she doesn’t let Alex undermine her. However, she has her own complicated personal life to deal with and a past that haunts her.

The setting is incredible. I was engrossed in the atmospheric and beautiful descriptions of the village of Koppe that plays a big part in the story. The descriptions are so well-written that I could imagine them as I was reading and the freezing cold, the frozen lake, the darkness helped to increase the suspense of the story.

If you are looking for a chilling and addictive read, then pick up The Last to Disappear… you won’t regret it!

Last To Disappear is the fifth novel by Irish author, Jo Spain. When Alex Evans travels from London to Finland in November 2019, he’s expecting to collect the body of his sister, Vicky, apparently missing six weeks and drowned in a lake. But he quickly learns that his often-reckless younger sister had not died accidentally: Vicky had been murdered.

Koppe is a popular winter village for Santa tourism, skiing, ice climbing and luxury car racing on the frozen lake, and Vicky was working for the local lodge as a guide. She was last seen with an American tourist on a night out, but her disappearance rang no real alarm bells as her fellow guides assumed she had simply moved on. Until an ice fisherman discovered her body.

Alex is less than impressed that the young local police chief, Agatha Koskinen is in charge of the case, with just two junior officers to assist. A single mother of three in her thirties: surely this requires someone with more experience? Needless, to say, they rather get off on the wrong foot, neither sharing all they know, but needing to come to an understanding if Alex’s actions are not to interfere with Agatha’s investigation.

Vicky’s friend and fellow guide, Niamh Doyle suggests to Alex that the police might be less thorough than necessary to avoid any negative publicity that might have an adverse effect on tourism income. She also implies that some in the community seem to enjoy immunity due to their status, and that a certain reindeer farmer should be the prime suspect due to his history.

When Alex demands to know more about this Miika Virtanen, Agatha shares information on three women who have gone missing over the last twenty-one years, the first of those being Miika’s wife, Kaya. Could this huge man, with a history of violence, be responsible for his sister’s death? Vicky’s unsent cryptic message to Alex suggests another direction. The other guides, too, suggest different suspects and motives.

As Alex also deals with his guilt at being unavailable when his sister needed him, and his concern for his mother’s recovery from the heart attack precipitated by the shocking news about his sister, Agatha tries not to be distracted by reported sightings in town of the person who represents a threat to her young family. Her team of two officers, for all their apparent inexperience, show a diligence that brings positive results.

Using several narrators in a dual timeline format, Spain gives the reader a tightly-plotted thriller, with a generous helping of red herrings, distractions and twists leading up to a nail-biting climax. The story is so cleverly told that even the most astute reader is unlikely to deduce the perpetrator. She populates the story with a set of characters credible for their very human flaws, and she easily conveys the feel of an Arctic village in winter. A gripping Nordic murder mystery.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Quercus.

Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Alexa sister is killed.on Finland and he goes there to find out the real story. His mother had a heart attack when he heard the news so he needs answers

3.5 stars

This book was a little better than average. It had a unique setting and it sort of held my interest. I think the face that I didn't love it may have had more to do with my interest in reading more than the book itself.