The Last Word#NetGalley#
By: Gerri Lewis
Reviewed By: I Love to Read
Winter Snow a professional obituary writer in a quaint New England town encounters trouble when she's summoned to write a woman's obituary by the end of the week. The end-of-the-week deadline spurs Winter into investigating the unusual request. As in . . . who knows when they're to die. It turns out this client is living on borrowed time due to her deadly occupation, of blackmailing clients. Winter plunges into finding answers and instead discovers more and more questions. When murders occur, she's no longer chasing questions but trying to solve murders while running for her life.
This is a fun book with quirky characters set in a beautiful part of the country. Despite the murders, it has a down-home vibe that draws the reader in.
Thank you, Publisher and #Netgalley# offering it for review in exchange for an honest review.

What a read! Couldn't wait to see what happens, had to keep reading...
Believable characters and plot. Very well written. This was a great escape from the world for a bit.

I liked this book but I just couldn't get into the story. I didn't like the writing style but overall the story was good.

Obituary writer, Winter Snow, gets a phone call from a local charity benefactor wanting an obituary written... for herself... with a deadline just a few days away. Why does this woman want her obituary written so quickly? Mrs. Arlington won't say. It seems the woman has been keeping a lot of secrets for a very long time. Secrets someone doesn't want her to tell.

Let me start by saying I believe Gerri Lewis is a pseudonym for another author. I'm not sure who, but I can say with a pretty high level of confidence that a book like this can't be a debut. It's very polished and really seems like something that was written by a veteran author.

I really enjoyed the characters in this book. Winter is a very interesting character with a backstory we haven't even begun to delve into. Her uncle Richard and neighbor Horace are great characters, especially Horace who is a charming man in his 80's who isn't afraid to volunteer his services for anything. There's a love interest in police officer Kip Michaels and his partner Tom is quite the character as well. I really look forward to vicariously drinking a beer on the deck overlooking the lake with this cast again.

The investigation was well-done. Winter does a lot of poking around and takes some risks but doesn't verge over the TDTL line but maybe once or twice (seriously, who goes to a crime scene and leaves their keys on the dashboard of their car?) There were lots of clues and several crimes that have a pretty clever resolution, a unique twist that I didn't see coming.

Overall, this is a solid "debut" (still not buying that) and I look forward to reading more in the series!

Thank you to the author (whoever he/she may be), the publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

This new series center around Winter Snow, who writes obituaries, and lives in a small town in Connecticut. Winter's dream is to move back to a dream job in New York. Meanwhile, she earns a living by writing obits for newspapers and for people who request a solid telling of their lives. Winter is summoned to the home of one of the wealthiest and mysterious residents of her community. This lady wants her obit finished "by Friday". She gives no reason and Winter accepts the job. Meanwhile, a storm brews and Winter worries about the lady in the mansion. Winter returns to the mansion and finds her unconscious. Many characters enter the story--two policemen--one who may be corrupt, a missing house hold worker, and Winter's family. Winter works hard to solve the mystery of the death and puts herself in danger. The ending of the story, sets the reader up for the next installment. At times, the author seemed to be very busy pulling all the "trails" in the story together and things were a bit over done. But, was enjoyable...Thanks to NetGalley for the arc.

This was a fun mystery about an Obituary writer, Winter, accepting a job for a very much living client. And then just as oddly, that client mysteriously ends up dead. Winter somehow ends up in the middle of the investigation and eagerly took on her own investigating to keep her name clear.

I really enjoyed this storyline and loved Winters character. Her attitude and thought process made her seem like an extremely relatable person. Unlike other books I’ve read when these “average” MCs put all the pieces together miraculously. I think the way this written and told through Winters eyes made the twists and connections less predictable and that much more enjoyable to read.

I gave this book 4 stars! Fun story, good ending! I think my only critique would be that in the beginning when there’s “world building” some parts were a little over-descriptive. Once the flow was established, that took a back seat though.

Overall- fun and engaging. I would definitely read more from Gerri Lewis!

This was an interesting start to a new series. Winter writes obituaries for a living, the series is set in Ridgefield, Connecticut, a plus for this Connecticut resident, and it all ties into the story for many reasons. When Winter is asked to write an obituary for a very well known but reclusive woman, the question is why, because the lady still lives! All Mrs Roth Arlington will do is provide some information and tell Snow she only has three days to deliver. Unfortunately before she can, the lady actually turns up dead. Now with the help of her Uncle, an elderly neighbor, her friend, a local reporter, and the original officers called to the scene Snow will have to use her wits as she tries to figure out who killed her client and why. An interesting story with lots of twists and turns. Thank you to #NetGalley and #CrookedLaneBooks for a chance to read.

Winter Snow, an obituary writer, is hired by Leocadia Arlington to write her obituary. The odd part about this job is that Mrs. Arlington is still alive, but also wants the obituary written by the end of the week. What's worse? Winter finds Mrs. Arlington at the bottom of the stairs after a fall...or was it a push? When the police find Winter in the house with poor Mrs. Arlington, she becomes a suspect. Winter needs to clear her name, so she begins to investigate with her Uncle Richard, their elderly neighbor, Horace, Mrs. Arlington's puppy, Diva, and her best friend and writer, Scoop.

I enjoyed this cozy. The obituary writer was a new spin on cozies that I've never read previously. The story was written well but left a few questions unanswered. I loved Winter's friends, especially Scoop and the octogenarian neighbor, Horace...he was hilarious. I would read from Gerri Lewis again. 3.5/5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Winter Snow is a sought after obituary writer in Connecticut. She’s had some interesting gigs, but never one were sore to write their obituary on a short deadline and with urgency.

With the subject being a well known philanthropist, Winter is intrigued. when the woman is found dead, wInter becomes the prime suspect. Knowing she didn’t kill anyone, Winter decides to do a little sleuthing o Cher own. Can Winter clear her name, or will she be writing obituaries from prison, if the killer doesn’t get to her first?

The first in a new cozy series, this one will have you adding another series to your MUST READ list! Lake life, small town, likable protagonist, solid mystery, and red herrings to keep you guessing? It’s all in here!

I thought it was ok. I found the story interesting, especially the reasoning behind it all. I did think somethings were repeated too often, which I found annoying. I didn’t like the heroine too much, I liked the side characters much better, they were more interesting. #TheLastWord #NetGalley

amateur-sleuth, Connecticut, cozy-mystery, family, family-dynamics, first-in-series, local-law-enforcement, new-series, newspapers, puppy, read, relationships, relatives, reporter, rural, small-business, small-town****

Winter Snow is a freelance obituary writer for the local paper in a small town in Connecticut. She meets an elderly local philanthropist who wants her obit dictated ASAP and then Winter is the one to find her near death (and winds up taking the puppy home), a decidedly misogynist cop, and activates her groupies of friends and relatives to help her solve the crime and ...
Better than most first efforts and I know that the rest in series will be even beter!
I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

This was an interesting debut to a new series. I found the concept of an obituary writer to be quite different. At times I wondered how she could make a living doing that. I enjoyed the characters in the book. However, for some reason I had a hard time visualizing the setting. There are some twists and turns and it is not forthright. Overall, it is a good read and I look forward to the next one.

The Last Word by Gerri Lewis introduces us to Winter Snow, a professional obituary writer. Sure, it might seem like an odd job, but it pays the bills and Winter really enjoys it! She's hoping to move from Ridgefield, CT, where she grew up, to New York City where she can write some bigger obituaries, so when wealthy but rather reclusive Leocadia Arlington requests that Winter write her obituary by Friday, Winter is not only intrigued but also all in because she knows the obituary will help her pad her resume. To her surprise, Arlington doesn't seem ill, making Winter wonder why the rush on the obituary. When Arlington dies suddenly, Winter knows something is up and with the help of her uncle, elderly neighbor and a new cop in town (though he's less than thrilled with her involvement), Winter starts to unravel what actually happened.

The book has some nice twists and turns that are unexpected and a few that might not be totally believable, it was a lot of fun to read. Winter was a great character and I love the other folks on her team. The dirty cop was pretty annoying, and I'm not sure how his role in everything was unseen by anyone. But that being said, the good far outweighs the not as believable and I'd definitely read more about Winter and her adventures!

This in an interesting series debut with a freelance obituary writer as a main character. Okay, that's truly a ludicrous idea, but it does open the door to some great plot possibilities. Like when someone needs a "rush obituary" and then does indeed die by the due date.

Winter, the writer, has her own Scooby gang--an uncle, a neighbor, a reporter friend, and a soon-to-be-giant dog. Winter sets about solving the murder (and the next one that happens, too), drawing on help from her pals as needed. It's pretty complicated solution, but there's no lack of things happening, that's for sure.

The obviously crooked cop is a weak point for me, and the phones and other electronics shenanigans fall a bit flat for me. But there are intriguing hints with depth here, like the train room and the cars loaded with happy families, somehow related to Winter's own tragic past. I'm pretty dang sure Winter won't be moving to NYC, and I'm interested in seeing what she gets up to next in Ridgefield.

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read "The Last Word" in exchange for my honest review.

Winter Snow from Ridgefield, Connecticut is an obituary writer. She's hired by Mrs. Roth Arlington, a philanthropist to urgently write her obituary. She needs it by Friday. A tropical storm is coming and Winter can't reach Mrs. Arlington. She heads over to her mansion and no one answers the door. She sees a dog (Diva) on the other side of the window who leads her into following her to a door that is open. Mrs. Arlington is found at the bottom of a staircase in a coma. Did she trip over something and fall down the stairs or was she pushed? If only Diva could speak.

Winter hears a noise and the sound of a door closing. Someone had been hiding in the house. Winter meets police officers Kip Michaels and Tom Bellini. Soon they learn that Mrs. Arlington's key holder Burton Hemlocker is also dead. Everyone ignores some major clues that the reader will catch onto straight away. Who is Brittany to Mrs. Arlington and why is she now missing?

Winter is in danger because of her snooping someone is watching her and following her. She then meets Mark Goodwin whom she agrees to meet at the Arlington mansion and she really doesn't think that decision through and puts herself in great danger. Winter makes many questionable, not very well thought out choices in the book.

Why is a Book Club file that was there on the desk now missing? Tom exhibits rather bizarre behaviour throughout the book. He doesn't act much like a police officer would. The biggest question is why is he lying?

When everyone goes on the rescue, no one thinks to call 911 or to get some sort of back-up in case things go wrong.

What I liked the best about this book is the way suspense and tension are written. The reader will feel like they are there with Winter when she's searching a room or walking through the house hoping that she doesn't run into the wrong person. Diva and Max (the German Shepherd) steal many of the scenes in the book and they are a wonderful addition to the storyline.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC!

I always love a good cozy and this one was a perfect read for a stormy summer day/night. I greatly enjoyed Lewis' writing style. The stakes of the story's murder were pretty low, but I loved how the feel of the town and the dirty secrets of its inhabitants were incorporated in. Winter was a smart amatuer sleuth and I loved her relationships with her uncles and the town around her. As I am assuming this is the first in a cozy series, I look forward to catching up with her, Kip, Diva and the rest of Ridgefield in the next installment. Overall a solid, feel-good cozy that kept me reading.

It must take a creative mind or even a satirical one to come up with an obituary writer as the main character. While you might think this is some sort of perverse sense of humor, the development of the character gives a rather insightful view of what such a job entails.

I’ve made a lot of this obit writing, and a lot revolves around it, but the author uses this idea to begin to draw us a picture of the characters. This really is a good story with all the elements of a cozy…small town near water, handsome cop, and an amateur sleuth.

Somehow this didn’t seem ordinary though. The more I read, the faster I read. I didn’t put this down for long. There was so much interaction between characters that it created a good solid plot and made you uncertain of who the bad guys or girls might be. Fun read. Definitely worth the time.

I enjoyed reading this book and I loved the plot and the characters. The plot was well written and I enjoyed reading the mystery of this book. The characters were well developed and they definitely added to the plot of the book.

Winter Snow is an obit writer. Sure, it's a strange job, but she does it to provide comfort for those left behind. The thing is, she normally doesn't get requests for obituaries for people who are still alive! It looks pretty suss when the old lady ends up dead. Winter needs to uncover the killer before she ends up being the next victim!

Super cute and cozy! I love Winter, Uncle Richard, and the great cast of secondary characters. I hope this turns into a series. I would love to read more from this author and more about this town!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

New author for me. Loved reading this book. Looking forward to the next book in the series. Hope you enjoy it too.