Member Reviews
Thanks for NetGalley and B.R. Spangler for this ARC in exchange my review.
"Her Last Hour" is a compelling addition to the thriller genre that I wholeheartedly recommend. B.R. Spangler has succeeded in crafting a narrative filled with suspense, emotional complexity, and vibrant characters. As I closed the book, I felt the thrill of discovery that only a truly exceptional read can provide. If you’re searching for a gripping tale that will challenge your perceptions and leave you breathless, I implore you to pick this one up. Trust me, you won’t regret it—you might even find yourself racing to the finish, as I did. Happy reading!
This is only the 4th book in the series I have read and I wish I had started this series at the very beginning, if I am honest, but nevertheless you CAN pick it up and read it as a standalone. It just gives you the extra layers and more depth if you read them in order.
Ruby is pulled over by a police officer on her way home from work. Only, it isn't a genuine police officer and she is in a world of trouble. The whole scenario made me shiver and I just wanted to reach into the book and help this girl!
I think this novel is a well-written. Casey and Jericho are a strong couple who both have demanding jobs and they are fostering a little brother and sister. Not easy when they do what they do, though. So, as well as trying to find Ruby, Casey has responsibilities at home which weigh on her mind.
Fast paced, thrilling and a bit of a thinker.
I am really looking forward to reading the next book in the series and I wish I hadn't been so late to the party!
4.5 stars from me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.
Detective Casey White is faced with the kidnapping of teenager Ruby Fields, a case that strikes a personal chord as Tracy Fields, a member of Casey's team and her long-lost kidnapped child, is now involved as a crime scene investigator. The connection between Tracy and Ruby's disappearance intensifies the urgency to solve the case.
A message in a bottle predicts a murder, possibly Ruby's, prompting Casey and her team into a race against time to prevent further tragedy. As they unravel the mystery, Casey senses a deeper significance in the forewarning.
In her personal life, Casey enjoys a fulfilling relationship with Jericho Flynn, a marine control worker. Together, they care for their two foster children and anticipate an upcoming adoption hearing.
B.R. Spangler delivers another captivating installment in this series, best enjoyed in chronological order to appreciate Casey's evolving life story. The continuity in relationships and character development provides a rich backdrop for an engaging series.
Special thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for providing an ARC!
This is book number 11 in the series and I cant get enough of it. This reminded me of the crime shows I love to watch. This can be read as a stand alone and I highly recommend you read the other 1o books because they are just as good as this one.
Love me a good Detective Casey White mystery!
This one starts out with a bang and the pace keeps going for the entire book.
A teenager is abducted and the case leads Casey and team on a hunt for killer who is playing games with them. How does the current mystery relate to a case from Casey’s past.
And that ending….
I love all the Casey White novels and this one is another cracker!
B R Spangler always knocks it out of the park for me, and Casey is a great character to read about
I'm usually a big fan of this series but this book left me feeling underwhelmed. It started off well only to come to an abrupt ending which was a real anti-climax. It seemed to be much shorter than the previous books so I was not expecting to turn the page and see the word epilogue. I will be looking out for the next one in the hope that it will be back to the usual standard.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book
The cover is what grabbed me first. The beauty of the lake house at sunset really masks the ugly of the crimes within.
This is book 11 of the Detective Casey White series. In my true fashion this is my first read (I never seem to go in order). Although there were parts that I felt I could have had a better understanding or more emotional attachment of I’d read the previous books it still read fine as a stand alone.
This one will grab you from the start and keep you from putting it down until you know what happened! Highly recommend for my fellow crime fiction and investigative readers.
If I had to choose one word to describe the Casey White series it would have to be intense and book 11 is no different.
A cat and mouse investigation which is well balanced with the personal and professional elements of Casey life.
A suspenseful tension builder with vivid descriptions which gives the book depth and pull another great edition to this engaging series.
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookiuture publishing for the chance to read this ARC. This book has a great premise and interesting characters in it, unfortunately it just wasn't quite my style of writing. It seemed a little abrupt and didn't quite flow.
Another thrilling and page turning addition to the Detective Casey White series!
This book brought out some new and innovative crimes that I haven’t read before, and I thought the messages in a bottle were a really clever messaging system to communicate with Casey. I don’t want to say more without spoiling anything, but definitely a really intriguing storyline from Spangler.
As a long time fan of the series, I do have to say I was missing seeing more of Jericho. Casey’s personal life took the back burner in this one, minus one big plot point finding closure from previous books.
Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC in exchange for my honest feedback!
I love this author and this amazing book was just amazing! Gripping and heart poundingly suspenseful - a must read.
I did not expect this book to be as good as it was. Also, I hate it for being as good as it was because now I have to add the other 10 books in the Detective Casey White series to my TBR and that's just not fair. Anyways, B.R. Spangler did an amazing job of bringing this story together and giving enough background for this to work as a standalone. Thoroughly enjoyed the mystery and cat-and-mouse aspect. The thrill, the suspense, the heartbreaking revelations were all top tier. It cemented itself as one of the top books I've read so far this year just based on that ending.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for an honest rate and review.
I really enjoyed Her Last Hour. It is action packed and full of twists that you won’t see coming! I finished this book in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down. The ending leaves you ready for Book 12 to see what will happen next.
I have not read Books 1-10 but felt that this book works as a standalone due to the background info given throughout.
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As always, this series delivers an intense, suspenseful case that keeps you guessing. It also showcases an amazing cast of characters that you are completely invested in. I felt Casey's emotions right alongside her. I'm never disappointed by this series. This was a great addition. I loved the ending and it also got me excited for the next one!
This was a brilliantly written crime thriller and I enjoyed it from start to finish. It is book 11 in a series so obviously I'm now going to have to read the first ten books as I felt like there was some backstory I was missing, however, at no point was it confusing so it can definitely be read as a standalone. I look forward to reading the series from the start and seeing more from this author.
This is a thriller that’s heart wrenching & twisted. I was hoping for Ruby to be found alive, but devastated when she wasn’t. If you want a psychological suspense read that keeps you on the edge of your seat, you won’t be disappointed.
Thank you, BR Spangler, Bookouture, & netgalley for my copy! All opinions are my own.
The case of the book was intense and personal for detective Casey White. I love that this one had updates on the children Casey and Jericho are working to adopt.
The way this unfolded reminded me a little of a crime show. There were chapters about Casey and her team, the victim and the bad guy. An old nemesis that Casey put in jail also presents a problem for her. There was a no-nonsense approach to a missing girl. I thought the bad guy leaving messages in a bottle was a unique communication method and the odds intensified once there was a second missing girl.
I really like Casey. She’s tough, courageous and relatable. She’s good at her job and works tirelessly to get justice.
I’m also a fan of the author’s writing style. It makes the book so easy to read. This is book 11 in the series, but it is easily read as a stand along as the necessary plot points needed from previous books are filled in by the author.
I’m such a fan of Casey, her team and her family. It’s a great read for anyone that’s a fan of detective novels.
B.R. Spangler (https://brspangler.com) is the author of more than 20 novels. Her Last Hour is the 11th book in his Detective Casey White series and it was released a few days ago. It is the 21st book I completed reading in 2024.
Due to scenes of violence, I categorize this novel as R.
Casey White is a Detective in the Barrier Islands of North Carolina. She encounters locals trying to report a disappearance one morning when she arrives at her office. Ruby Evans, 17, had been stopped on a deserted section of highway by a police car. Only now, it looks more like she was stopped by someone masquerading as a policeman. White can relate to the trauma Ruby’s mother is going through. Her own 3-year-old daughter had been kidnapped in front of her eyes twenty years earlier.
A message in a bottle is found on the beach. It is from the kidnapper and it is addressed to White. She is being taunted, and the note says Ruby has less than 24 hours. White and the police department scramble to find Ruby, but their efforts are to no avail. Ruby is found on the beach and dies soon afterward. Another message arrives for White that implies someone close to the investigation will be the next victim. When one of her team goes missing, they all fear the worst.
While this is going on White attends the parole hearing for Dr. Boécemo at a nearby prison. She had helped to put him away for child abuse. Much to the Boécemo’s agitation, White convinces the parole board to deny the his parole request. Not long afterwards, White receives a call from the Dr. Even though he has been in prison for several years, he claims to have information about Rudy’s kidnapper. Boécemo wants White to speak on his behalf at the next parole hearing. In exchange, he will share what he knows.
White and fiancé Jericho Flynn have been foster parents to Thomas and Tabitha since the couple rescued the kids. Now, they are attempting to adopt them. Both White and Flynn work in law enforcement. Dangerous jobs that take them away from home. The two fear that their request for adoption may be declined.
Operating on little sleep, little food, and pressure from all sides, While must do her best to find the kidnapper. She is torn by the thought of contributing to the release of a man she considers a monster, even though that might lead to the rescue of her teammate. The fear of their adoption petition being turned down, and even worse, the possibility of the children being taken from their foster care, weighs heavily on her mind.
I enjoyed the 6.5 hours I spent reading this 276-page mystery. This was a short novel. It could have easily been stretched out to a longer read. I like the chosen cover art, but it does not relate to the plot. I give this novel a rating of 3.8 (rounded to 4) out of 5.
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Her Last Hour will grip you from the beginning and not let go until the thrilling end. Her Last Hour is book 11 in the Detective Casey White series by B.R. Spangler. This is the first book I've read in the series and I'm so glad I did! This series is incredible and I can't wait for the next book to drop!. Ruby Evans is a seventeen year old high school student who is on her way home after volunteering at a nursing home for people with dementia. Her grandmother is a patient there and she feels compelled to give as much of her time as possible to these patients. As Ruby is driving home, there are bright headlights in her rearview mirror. She can't wait to get home after the long day. All of a sudden she sees blue lights flashing behind her and she pulls over. Ruby had swerved as she lost focus a little bit ago. Maybe that's why the cop was pulling her over.
As the policeman came to her window, Ruby put her window down, and was blinded as a flashlight was pointed in her face. She asked the policeman to lower it, but he said it was for his safety. She handed him her license and registration and asked why she swerved back there? She said she was thinking about something and it won't happen again. She told the policeman she was coming from the nursing home after volunteering there this evening. When he comes back, he says he smells alcohol. Ruby tells him it's because of the hand sanitizer she has to use multiple times each shift. He tells her to get out of the car. Ruby doesn't understand. She's clearly not drunk and is coming from the nursing home. She does what he asks and walks with him to his car. She asks to call her mom, but he says she can call from the station. A car is coming. It's one of Ruby's high school classmates and she waves at him. As she looks inside the car, she notices that this isn't a police car at all. What's going on? It's too late as he hits her on the back of her head and pushes her in the back seat, wrapping her wrists and ankles with duct tape.
The classmate sees Ruby and notices that the man is trying to get her into his car. He knows it's not a police car, but he thinks Ruby thinks that it is. He goes up and turns around. When he gets back, the car is gone, Ruby is gone, and her car is left on the side of the road. He calls his Dad and tells him what happened. They go to the police and the search for Ruby begins. Ruby's mother is distraught and terrified. She lost her husband a year ago and Ruby is all she has. Detective Casey White starts with the classmate and what he remembers, then goes to where Ruby's car was left. As the investigation continues, a message in a bottle is dropped off at the station. It was found on the beach and it had Casey's name on it. The letter claims to be from the kidnapper and he says that Casey has 24 hours to find Ruby before it's too late.
There's not many clues to go on and the worst happens. A beach cleaner finds Ruby's body partially buried in the sand. He almost ran over her. She was semi-conscious when he found her. She said it wasn't police and said birds. Then she was gone. Casey doesn't know what to make of what she said about birds. The killer did brutal things to Ruby and Casey knows she has to catch this guy before he does it again. A phone call comes in to the station from a child predator that Casey put behind bars. He's calling from prison and says he has information relating to Ruby. He offers to give Casey the name of the killer in exchange for his freedom. Casey gets another message in a bottle and this time the killer is threatening to kill again, only this time he's threatening someone close to Casey.
Will Casey change her mind and free "The Doctor" from prison to get the killer's name? When someone close to Casey is taken, will they find her in time? Will Casey's family be safe? Will Casey and Jericho be able to finally adopt the 2 kids they took in after their parents were killed? This book has everything and will have you wanting more at the end! I'm so glad I found this series and can't wait to read book 12! I rate Her Last Hour 5 stars with my very highest recommendation. I'd like to thank NetGalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy of Her Last Hour in exchange for a fair review. #HerLastHour