After Twyla’s musician father died, her mother finds Jesus and a church…and a new stepfather. When Elvis dies, Twyla, so sheltered and restricted for so long, runs away to pay her respects. Eventually landing in Nashville, she’s dazzled by the rhinestones and lights. She finds a job and meets a guy. When Chet turns out to not be the man she thought he was, Twyla does something that will impact the rest of her life. After writing a song about it and singing it once in an empty bar, she hears it on the radio! How?? Who??

A story about living, loving, and losing.

Twyla, Twyla, Twyla. What a read!!! Between being in her brain and Struthers, I felt increasingly frustrated and had to fight the urge so many times to just skip to the end to see how it all shaked out. Which shows what a great writer Caroline Frost is by creating all these emotions and taking the reader on a ride of a few ups and many downs. In a way it was reminiscent of Where the Crawdads Sing, but in 1970s Texas and Tennessee and so much more. I can’t say much else without giving anything away, but wow.

*Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest reviews.

Would recommend for fans of…
🎶 Mary Jane
🎶 Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen
🎶 The Villa

In my continuing journey to read more historical fiction, I picked up The Last Verse, a 1970s Nashville set mystery, that follows Twyla, a sheltered girl from a deeply religious family who heads to Nashville to chase her dreams of becoming a singer, until she becomes involved in a shocking crime.

There are a lot of 1970s music industry novels on the market right now and I think The Last Verse did an excellent job of standing out from the crowd, while also having some similarities to fan favorites like Mary Jane and Daisy Jones. The country music setting also added a unique flair to the story, and I think any fans of the genre or Nashville residents will like all of the references Caroline Frost includes.

I did struggle with a few elements of The Last Verse, namely the pacing. The beginning is extremely character driven, with lots of background on Twyla to lay the groundwork for all of her choices later in the novel. Because of this the mystery doesn’t start in earnest until about halfway through the book. This isn’t a problem and I think fans of mysteries that prioritize characters over plot would really enjoy the start, but for those (like myself) that prefer a more plot-driven mystery, it feels a tad slow.

This was my first book by Caroline Frost and I’m definitely looking to reading more from her as she has a really unique way of blending genres.

The Last Verse is out now. Thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Actual Rating 2.5

Twyla never thought she’d truly be able to follow in her father’s footsteps, but she decides to leave her Texas home and head for Nashville to make music. But being broke and unknown soon become the least of her problems as she becomes involved with a handsome but edgy man. When an evening out goes terribly wrong, Twyla finds herself folding under the weight of guilt and turns to music for peace, not realizing that the song is going to dictate the rest of her life.

I really enjoyed the beginning of this book. It focuses on Twyla’s home life and her decision to change. The portrayal of her family and situation was wonderfully written and made for a strong start to the book. The author’s writing was also strong, and they did an excellent job at setting the scene and with the pacing in the first portion.

Starting in the third part of the book, an additional POV is introduced from the point of a detective. I get why this was necessary to provide some background and keep the case relevant, but I found these chapters much less compelling. I didn’t really like the detective and never formed a connection to her POV. And since we already knew the answer to the mystery, being involved in the investigation wasn’t that fascinating.

I enjoyed Twyla’s POV for the first half of the book and she was mostly well written. She made some silly decision, but it made sense considering how sheltered she was and how low her self-esteem was from her home life. However, I thought there would be more of a focus on music, especially considering that was supposed to be Twyla’s major motivation, but it wasn’t really incorporated into Twyla’s character very well until the last third. She was much more passive, especially concerning music, than I wanted, which made her less compelling than she could have been. By the last third of the book Twyla was much less convincing, and even her naivete couldn’t explain some of her choices.

I’d rate Twyla’s POV a 3 but the detective’s POV a 1.5. If you’re interested in a slow coming-of-age fiction about a young woman trying to make it in Nashville in the late ‘70s, you might like this one. Don’t read this expecting a mystery, though. My thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow publishing for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

4 1/2

Hmm. First note. Never trust a book’s blurb. 😏 I was about to take Twyla’s last name from the blurb when I thought to myself: “That isn’t right. I’m sure it was Higgins.” Haha It is Higgins (or at least in my edition).

The King of Rock and Roll is dead. It’s 1977. Twyla Higgins, an aspiring singer-songwriter, is devastated. Impulsively, she decides to travel to Memphis for the funeral. Her religiously zealous mother will be upset, of course, but she will come right back. Except, Twyla ends up in Music City, Nashville where she falls under the city’s spell of music and Chet Wilton, a would-be musician. When a late-night excursion with Chet goes south, Twyla’s world is transformed. Nothing will ever be the same, especially Twyla in Caroline Frost’s compelling The Last Verse.

My expectations when I began reading were of a fluffier novel, a simpler mystery where the main character rises above everything in a glitzy fashion to become the next big thing in country music. The Last Verse is not that. Instead, what I read was a thoughtful book of multi-faceted characters who make mistakes and bad decisions but have the fortitude to continue on, even when the odds are against them.

Since the death of Twyla’s beloved father, Mickey, a musician, Twyla’s mother has changed her name from Betty to Faith and immersed herself in religion. Her reasons aren’t clear to Twyla but what is clear is that Twyla will also become immersed whether she wants to or not. It’s from this background of being sheltered by religion that Twyla ventures out into the world, curious about everything she’s never been permitted to experience. Being sheltered doesn’t mean she’s dumb though. And, although Twyla considers her mother manipulative, she is also, though on a less problematic scale. The most frustrating character trait of Twyla’s was allowing herself to be taken advantage of, to be treated badly, and never want better for herself despite deserving more. Those traits were bestowed from her upbringing, assuredly.

About midway through the novel, we are introduced to another interesting character (and chapter pov) in T. Lynne Struthers, a Private Investigator who was once a successful Nashville Police Detective until she decided to mold a situation to an outcome she felt was justified. Struthers is larger than life, the way many male characters would be with their cocky swagger and intuitive certainty. The amusing thing to me is that because she is a woman, she is considered disgusting or [insert your own derogatory adjective (mostly assigned to females)]. While she is, as some like to say, a hot mess, she is going through her own stuff and trying to do better especially regarding her former department partner and her son from whom she is estranged. She is colorful and an interesting choice of character. As I considered why she was here and a seeming opposite to Twyla, I realized that they shared one important trait. Both characters are doing or trying to do the thing that they love most, the thing that drives them, and the thing that could make them divisive.

If there is one thing that I am vacillating over, it’s the ending, but I’m positive that’s on me. I understand the need for The Last Verse to end the way that it does, I’m just not sure I like it. Or, rather, I would have preferred a fluffier ending to match my once fluffy expectations of the novel. Ah, well, we humans are never satisfied.

Frost’s writing is immersive and her ability to draw characters expert. She employs foreshadowing and startling plot twists. All in all an excellent read. I missed her first book, but I will certainly seek it out and anything she writes in the future.

Many thanks to William Morrow for sending me a copy.

The Last Verse moves smoothly through several genre. The cover and synopsis piqued my curiosity while the positive reviews insured I had to read this book. I have not read Caroline Frost's debut novel but after reading the last verse, it's now in my TBR queue. Finding an excellent read and a new author makes the 5 star rating pretty easy.

When Twyla Finch arrives in Nashville, she's determined to not be her mother. At nineteen, she already knows she wants more than a small town life ruled by the church. Memories of her father and his love of music have pulled her to Nashville and like so many others, she's going to be a star. But celebrity is not found overnight. As she works toward her dream, Twyla makes friends and makes decisions that will haunt her. Then one night, in an empty bar, Twyla pours her regrets into a song that she knows would launch her career, if she didn't end in jail. She still hasn't decided what to do when a few days later, she hears another woman singing HER song on the radio. This twist will lead Twyla into territory that will keep readers unable to put the book down until they figure out exactly what is going on.

Thank you so much to William Morrow for the ARC!

Picture this: it's 1977, you're 19 years old and on the run to start a music career in Nashville! What could go wrong? You're young, talented, and you have the world at your finger tips....or maybe not.

Twyla Finch! What an incredible character! I love following along through with Twyla through the highs and lows of this story and trust me, it was a roller coaster of emotions at times!

I'm REALLY glad I didn't read the synopsis prior to starting this one because it gives away almost all of the plot and two of the major things that shocked me! I encourage you to go in blind and just take the story in as it comes!

I was a little worried in the beginning that the whole book was going to be about Elvis (LOL), but thankfully, things really picked up and the plot pacing kept me intrigued, especially during the second half of the book.

This is my second Caroline Frost book (still haven't recovered from the emotional damage of Shadows of Pecan Hollow) and this one was much less disturbing (LOL) than her debut!

This book is out on March 5th!

Twyla has been country song writing dreams. When she sets off for Tennessee in 1977, she is naive and full of hope. Having lived a sheltered life, she is unprepared for the ambitious people she meets along the way. Ultimately, I think this is a mystery/ coming of age story. It was much more than I'd expected- I really enjoyed the strong sense of place and time and how Twyla was sometimes her own worst enemy. I loved the secondary character (or hated them) and thought that this second book from author Caroline Frost was definitely no sophomore slump. 4.25 stars

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

(4.5⭐️) Thank you @williammorrowbooks for the #gifted free copy of this book.

Religion. Love. Murder. It’s not only the makings of a good country song. It’s also the basis of a compelling story.

I can see Twyla now. Old guitar in hand. Stage lights shining bright. She’s not quite comfortable with a crowd, but the music is an old friend.

Once naïve and sheltered. Now, her dirty hands and even muddier conscience might be her best inspiration.

Twyla took hold of me from the first scenes. A young girl desperate to find her own voice. A love of Elvis. A need to escape. There was a rawness to her, a bit rough around the edges. I found myself cheering for her even when I wanted to shake some sense into her.

Frost’s writing first won me over in her debut, The Shadows of Pecan Hollow. Boy, can she turn a phrase! And here, with music as a backdrop, her prose has a rhythm that easily allures. It’s lyrical and poetic. It’s sharply observed and beautiful in form.

Though the writing is laden with tension in parts, this is much more a blend of character driven/coming of age and historical fiction. There’s a bit of mystery at play. But Twyla’s journey and the richly executed backdrop of 1970s Nashville take center stage.

I’m naturally drawn to contemplative themes. And here I found one of the most gripping explorations of prisons-- the ones thrust upon us and the ones we choose.

This is the kind of book that pushes boundaries. It’s gritty and full of complexity. Frost excels in the gray areas. The lines between right and wrong are meticulously blurred, creating an incisive look at morality, fairness, and justice.

Much like a legendary ballad from one of the greats- lonesome, mournful, redemptive- The Last Verse is deeply felt and hits all the right notes.

Ok, I would describe this as ‘The People We Keep’ meets ‘Where The Crawdads Sing’ meets ‘Long Bright River.’ Ya with me? Happy pub day to ‘The Last Verse,’ and thank you to @williammorrowbooks & @netgalley for the sneak peek.

🎶 I don’t want to say too much here because this book took me by complete surprise— and I don’t want to take that away from anyone. What starts as a coming-of-age tale quickly morphs into a darker, on-the-run tale of right vs. wrong, tinged with all the shades of morality, and mixed with the melody of a sad country song.

🎶 Readers will start out cheering for Twyla as she makes a bold choice to strike out from her humble, sheltered home— and heads for Nashville. But from there, with each decision she makes, it’ll be interesting to see where everyone lands on this character. She’s certainly flawed— but I do think her heart is in the right place.

🎶 I think this book is truly unique, and I really enjoyed my time with it. It’s a dark, Southern tale much like the author’s debut novel ‘The Shadows of Pecan Hollow,’ but definitely forges its own path. And books set against the backdrop of the music industry always intrigue me just a little extra. Overall, I highly recommend!

All songs tell a story….but the writer of this one doesn’t dare for it to be heard.

Living in Fort Worth TX in the 1970’s with her church-going mother and stepfather makes Twyla feel fenced in. Her father was a bluegrass musician and Twyla has inherited his gift for writing music, but her mother has decreed that pursuing that calling will lead only to temptation and sin. But in August of 1977 something happens that prompts Twyla to sneak out and hop a bus….one of her musical idols, Elvis Presley, has died and she feels compelled to travel to Graceland and pay her respects. With just a little money and Pearl, the guitar she inherited from her father, the sheltered young woman soon finds herself in Nashville with nowhere to live, no job, and almost no money left. She finds a way to eke out an existence, falls in love with a handsome singer, and tries to create the music she has wanted to write. A tragic night inspires a song which she performs just once, in a nearly empty bar…but somehow it is recorded by someone else and becomes a huge hit. To claim the song would likely lead to big trouble for Twyla, but she may not be able to sit back and see someone else take credit for her creation.
Beautifully written, and with thoughtfully drawn if imperfect characters, The Last Verse is the story of a young woman spreading her wings and pursuing a dream, with a crime story woven in along the way. I was pulled right in to Twyla’s journey: I winced at her mistakes, wanted to steer her away from people who were just no darn good, and pulled for her talents to be recognized and celebrated. With hints of Daisy Jones and the Six and the best of the “he done her wrong” country songs to which we’ve all tapped our feet, The Last Verse will appeal to readers of Joshilyn Jackson, Adriana Trigiani and Elizabeth Berg. It offers a peek into the life of struggling musicians in the world of country music, with settings so vivid you can smell the smoke wafting through the bar and feel the cold bottle of beer pressed into your hand. Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for allowing me early access to this delightful novel.

The last verse is an easy read that is a combo of daisey jones meets where the crawdads sing. Twyla is a young girl who grows up in a very strictly religious household and very sheltered.
Her father is absent and her mother devotes her time and attention to religion lending Twyla to dream of bigger ambitions driven by her talent and love of music. Fleeing to follow her country music dreams to Nashville, Twyla ends up meeting a man who will change the course of her life. What follows is a story of guilt, passion, and redemption as Twyla finally finds her voice in the midst of unspeakable circumstances and choices.
I enjoyed this book-it was fast-paced and a good twist on the musician trope that has become so popular since daisey jones was released. This isn’t the mystery or thriller it was marketed as, more of a coming-of-age in a weird way with a crime at the center. Twyla is sympathetic and the reader will root for her-but she doesn’t come off as a little unbelievable at times.
Overall, a fast-paced read and well-written-a balance of plot and characterization!

Thanks to the publisher for providing the arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a great premise that, unfortunately, was not executed well. While I loved the core plot concept and thought it could have gone to some interesting places, there was something missing so it didn’t ultimately grab my attention.

The MC was almost too naive - she made just terrible choices and I didn’t understand her motivations (or even really what age she was supposed to be). I also felt maybe there were too many side plots going on, which took away from the main story arc (honestly the whole Elvis part because none of those characters went anywhere).

The addition of a second POV halfway through the novel was jarring. It didn’t add much (and the PI character was kind of terrible tbh), but it would have worked better if there were multiple POVs all the way through. As it was, it was a very abrupt change.

The way the book opened took all the suspense from the story as you know exactly where it is going to end up. Also the last section being largely in summary was awkward - maybe it would have worked better as dual timelines, but the events of it were so farfetched I’m not sure it made much sense in general.

Overall it could have been a good story with some editing or retooling, but as it is, it was a miss for me.

Thank you to William Morrow and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The Last Verse will be released tomorrow.

In ‘The Last Verse’ we meet and, undoubtedly, fall in love with Twyla. Twyla, who lives with her very strict and religious mother, is yearning for a life that she can’t have under her current situation. A lover of country music, Twyla dreams of aspirations.

This book weaves together a tale of heartbreak, love, mysteries, coming-of-age moments, and so much more. With a historical fiction tone and a call back to the 70s, Caroline Frost brings us an unforgettable and emotional story.

Rooting for Twyla isn’t hard, and Caroline Frost has easily gained a new fan.

Thank you to William Morrow for the advanced reader copy.

After loving Shadows of Pecan Hollow, I knew I had to read the latest from this author. The Last Verse, a gripping novel set in the country music world of 1970s Nashville about a struggling musician who writes a hit song that both promises her long-sought-after fame and implicates her in a heinous crime.

I went into this one totally blind, only knowing I really liked this author and it was about country music. What I got was so much more! Twyla escapes her very sheltered home life, first to go see Elvis Presley's funeral and then ends up in Nashville to pursue her dreams of country music. She writes her own songs and performs them in her own special way. Things definitely go awry pretty quickly. I didn't expect for the story to have a crime aspect, but I was here for it and loved it! It definitely surprised me with the direction things took, but in a really good way. This was such a fresh take on a "make it in Nashville" type of story. Once again, I loved the author's voice and I will continue to read whatever she writes next!

Thank you to @netgalley and @williammorrow for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Last Verse has all the right elements for an epic story - coming of age, suspense, rags to riches, crime & punishment, redemption and more. It's a wild ride and I was rooting hard for Twyla throughout.

THE LAST VERSE is another music-centered story with seedy happenings and a main character who is her best self when writing her songs. We follow Twyla, an aspiring song writer with a famous musician father. Twyla escapes her religious town to head to Nashville and pursue her music dreams with nothing but her guitar on her back. While I am beginning to tire of the musician trope a la Daisy Jones, I did really enjoy my time with THE LAST VERSE. The thrillery, crime drama twist was delicious departure from the norm of this subgenre.

Where this book really shines is the relationship building between Twyla and her fellow characters. Mimi, Faith, and Lorelei were all highlights of this book, particularly in how Twyla interacts with them. Additionally, as a Nashville resident, I found the portrayal of the city to be well done and pretty true to life for Nash history. It’s clear Frost took time to research and explore Nashville; her effort definitely shines. Fans of this subgenre, book club fiction, and Nashville lovers will certainly get a kick out of this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. THE LAST VERSE out 3/5/24!

I think I might have liked this more if it was truly a mystery, but I knew who did what the entire story. I also thought that the PI was over all a terrible character and don't see any reason why she had to be so terrible.

Nineteen-year-old Twyla Higgins lives in Fort Worth, Texas, with her extremely religious mother and stepfather. Stifled by her mother's strict rules and expectations, Twyla longs for a life like that of her deceased father, a bluegrass musician: a life of writing songs, performing those songs, and breathing music with every breath. But it isn't until the death of her idol, Elvis, that Twyla has the courage to leave home, heading for Nashville to try to make it as a singer/songwriter in the 1970s country music scene. After being involved in a shocking crime, Twyla finally writes a song she knows would be hit -- but because the song implicates her in that crime, she is resigned to performing it only once, in an empty bar. But then, weeks later, she hears another woman singing her song on the radio...

The Last Verse is an engrossing combination of crime fiction and historical drama, but is mostly a coming-of-age character study about a naive, sheltered young woman trying to make her way in the world. Twyla is one of those characters that gets under your skin, that you feel the urge to protect and nurture as she makes one poor choice after another before she at last realizes her power and potential. Caroline Frost sets Twyla's story against the backdrop of 1970s Nashville, THE era of country music, and it's so atmospheric and immersive. Frost drew me completely into the world of the book, with the songs and the clothes and the famous Nashville locales.

Frost's writing is simple on the surface, but there's a luminosity to it that's so beautiful and hard to describe. It's emotional and urgent and hypnotic, delving into themes of self-discovery, sexuality, found family, the price of fame, ambition, atonement, and redemption. I'm always drawn to books about music and musicians, but some authors are definitely more successful at telling that kind of story than others. Frost is very successful at telling this kind of story. The Last Verse includes several sets of song lyrics, and it would be a missed opportunity if the audio production didn't include the actual songs. I'd also love to see this book as a limited series or movie -- the potential is definitely there!

The Last Verse is an affecting, nostalgic read -- my first book by Caroline Frost, but definitely not my last. Thank you to William Morrow for the early reading opportunity.

This one just wasn't for me. I was thinking we were getting a mystery and there isn't mystery in this one. We know who did what the whole time (and who is searching for answers).

But it's still a story about a woman trying to make it in the music industry. She strikes out on her own and gets wrapped up in other people's want for fame. So if that sounds good to you, then you might just roll over to those other 4 and 5 star reviews and maybe give this one a try.

I found the PI so distasteful that she ruined most of the story for me. Once she entered the story, I found her crass quips and brash behavior so uncomfortable.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.