I didn’t hate this book, but I didn’t love it either. I enjoyed the timeline with Laura as she was growing up - I however, did not like Stephanie our main MC, she just wasn’t likeable to me. The story had great potential, and it did keep me interested, but I felt like the end just got chaotic and felt a bit rushed. There was not really an explanation on some things, so I finished this book with some unanswered questions.

The Last Thing She Saw by Nina Laurin is a totally riveting and twisted story.
The characters are well developed, realistic and totally engaging, the story is fast paced, packed full of twists and you have no idea what has happened.
The intensity was such that by the time the tension has built, the book is impossible to put down.

Thank You NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This is a little different than what I expected. I don't know if I would consider this a thriller. It was a quick and easy read that kept my attention for the most part. There were parts that were slow, but overall it was a decent story.

While this is another read with the podcast and small town trope, it was still an entertaining, solid mystery with toxic relationships and traumatic pasts. With dual timelines and perspectives, we learn about the lives of Stephanie, the down on her luck podcaster, and her alcoholic mother Laura in her teenage years, slowly leading the reader to answers about a missing child from decades earlier. While this wasn't a story to blow my mind or stand out in years to come, this was still enjoyable and great for a quick in-between read. The subplots and theories discussed throughout, mixed with the details of the past, were what kept me flipping the pages and intrigued. Overall, this was a good, solid mystery that left some things unanswered for me. Three stars and a half stars.

Thank you, Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing, for this ARC.

This book is about a woman who runs a podcast and tries her had at solving a missing persons case. This missing persons's case happened in the same small town that she grew up in, so she thought she would be the best person to solve this case.

This book is being marketed as a thriller, but I think it should be more of drama. It focuses more on the relationship of the main character and her daughter as they try to solve this case. This story is told from two different POV's - one in current time and one in the past when the missing persons case started.

For me, this was a quick page turner, and going back and forth from the different POV's had me so engaged that I wasn't able to put it down. There was a lot of twists and turns that kept me entertained, shocked and engaged.

I am looking forward to reading more from this author, and can't wait for the next book

While the premise is right up my alley, this one fell a little flat for me. A woman with a podcast tries to solve a missing persons case in her small town from 40 years earlier. The book was just too slow for me, didn’t get exciting until the last 20% of the book and I figured it out early on. It was fine, but not my favorite.

Oh man, I was so sure that I was going to like this book, since I loved other books by this author and the synopsis seemed very interesting, but it just didn't meet my expectations. In fact, so many things were pretty predictable and I didn't find the characters interesting enough. Anyway, thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for sending me this ARC.

This was not a thriller. It was a drama that focused on the relationship between mother and daughter and a small town. If it's advertised to an audience who wanted drama/women's fiction it would do great. I was led to believe it was mystery/thriller and was therefore disappointed.

This moves back and forth in time and between Stephanie and her mother to tell the story of secrets, lies, and murder in a gritty small town in Quebec. Stephanie has come home after losing her job-and she's not happy. The discovery of the remains of a child, however sparks her interest in part because she can use this unfortunate death to make a pod cast. This is not a thriller and it's as much about the difficult mother daughter relationship which some readers might find frustrating. Regardless it's atmospheric and intriguing. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

This pains me to write because I have loved every other book by this author but I could not get into this book. I felt like the story jumped around too much from the beginning and didn’t enjoy the main character at all. I’m not even sure it was much of a thriller but I was bored.

A small-town murder mystery with family drama and plenty of twists to keep you guessing. This story is told from two POVs: FMC Stephanie in present time and her mother Laura in 1979 when the events took place.

After floodwaters in her hometown wash up the bones of a small body, Stephanie returns in hopes of a story for her podcast. She may soon discover; some secrets are better left undisturbed.

This was a quick page-turner, and the dual POV helped build the mystery well. Almost a perfect score if it wasn't for the ending, which seemed a bit scattered. Overall, I enjoyed it and plan to read more from this author.

This thrilling and intense psychological novel from the bestselling author of Girl Last Seen follows the residents of a rural town in Quebec as they grapple with long buried secrets coming to light after the discovery of a child's remains! Good book! Interesting storyline! This book had suspense, intriguing, murder, mystery, a good who done it and some crazy twists and turns! The story was a bit out there at times but a good read! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

"The Last Thing She Saw" by Nina Laurin is a gripping and atmospheric thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Set in a small Quebec town, this haunting tale expertly weaves together past and present, unraveling decades-old secrets that have simmered beneath the surface of a tight-knit community.

When a flood unearths a child's remains, it reopens old wounds and sets off a chain of events that will challenge everything the townspeople thought they knew. Laurin masterfully explores the ripple effects of a long-ago tragedy, delving into the complex relationships and hidden tensions that define small-town life.

At the heart of the story is Stephanie O'Malley, a compelling protagonist drawn back to her hometown and forced to confront the mysteries that have shaped her life. As she navigates family dynamics, rekindled relationships, and her own quest for truth, readers will find themselves fully invested in her journey.

With its rich, evocative prose and expertly crafted suspense, "The Last Thing She Saw" is a page-turner that also offers profound insights into memory, identity, and the weight of the past. Laurin deftly balances the eerie atmosphere of a cold case with the very human stories of those left behind, creating a narrative that is both chilling and deeply moving.

Excellent read.

Ok, honest review time 🫣

I didn’t hate this book, but I didn’t love it either. I enjoyed the timeline with Laura as she was growing up - I however, did not like Stephanie our main MC, she just wasn’t likeable to me. The story had great potential, and it did keep me interested, but I felt like the end just got chaotic and felt a bit rushed. There was not really an explanation on some things, so I finished this book with some unanswered questions.

This was also advertised as a thriller but it definitely was more small town murder mystery. All in all this wasn’t a bad read, it was just okay. This is my opinion so if this has been on your radar please still give it a try, just because it wasn’t for me doesn’t mean it’s not for you.

Title: The Last Thing She Saw by Nina Laurin
Genre: Crime Thriller
Pub Date: July 23, 2024
📖 336 pgs

Small Town in Quebec
Decades Old Cold Case
Dual Timelines
Alcoholic Mother

My Review:

After being canned from her position as journalist and a flood in her hometown that reveals the bones of a young girl who disappeared decades ago, our FMC sees an opportunity for a story on her podcast and returns home in hopes of getting more viewers.

This one jumps between present day 2017 (FMC POV) and 1979 (Mom's POV). I felt that Laura had a rough childhood and was just misunderstood. I'm sad it lead her to following in her parent's footsteps and into alcohol abuse. Stephanie (Laura's daughter) made her way out of the small town, but after being fired she basically HAD to come back home, and I understand why that was so upsetting for her. The multiple POV kept me engaged and helped build suspense, and I enjoyed the build up. The end wasn't quite what I'd hoped but I still enjoyed the book overall.

3.5/5

Thank you so much NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the digital review copy.

The Last Thing She Saw
by Nina Laurin
Pub Date: Jul 23 2024
Stephanie O'Malley left her alcoholic mother, cheating ex-boyfriend, hateful "best" friend, and all the small town gossip for the big city of Montreal. Journalism school and life in the big city were her calling. Her first big gig was a podcast based, ironically enough, on her small home town and the unsolved mystery of a 9 year old girl of a wealthy family who went missing and hardly anyone, including her own parents, bothered to look for her. What happened to young Michelle Fortier?
To get more details, Stephanie begrudgingly heads "home" to talk to the locals. But the locals won't talk. They remembered how Stephanie left them without even saying goodbye and now regarded her as a stranger exploiting their town's tragedy for her own gain (which, ok, yeah, she was).
With no new details, her podcast is a failure and she gets the boot from her station. Without a job, she can't afford her apartment, or food for that matter. Stephanie knows she has to go home where everyone hates her (and she's not too fond of them either).
She comes back to her small town being devasted by a recent flood. Many buildings are being torn down and talk of never rebuilding dominates the thoughts of the community. As one building is being destroyed, the remains of a young child are found in the walls. Is this Michelle? Has she been found after almost 40 years? Stephanie is determined to figure out the mystery, if not for her podcast, for justice. There are so many suspects and Stephanie finds the closer she gets to the truth, the closer she gets to becoming the next victim.
Pretty good read. Took about two chapters to really get into it. The story flips back and forth from Stephanie's point-of-view in the present to her mom's point-of-view when she was a teen.
#TheLastThingSheSaw
#NinaLaurin
#NetGalley

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for this Advance Readers Copy ebook in exchange for my honest review. Rated 4.5/5 stars on StoryGraph. Rating also shared on book review IG account.

The story is told from two different POVs from two different periods in time. When I realized that it was told that way, I was initially disappointed because that can sometime be confusing. But thankfully it was not confusing for this story at all. I really enjoyed reading both sides of the mystery (it unfolding in present day, and the events leading up to all of the drama in the past).

The depiction generational trauma was heartbreaking. </spoiler>I’m glad that Laura and Stephanie were able to reach a common ground before it was too late </spoiler>
<spoiler>I really wish Cath had gotten a little more justice. She deserved to be smacked in the face (again) and thrown in jail next to Frank </spoiler>

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I was invested in the plot and characters. And loved the multiple plot twists.

I was really hopeful for this one, but I’m sorry to say that I didn’t love it. I enjoyed it, but I had a difficult time getting through it as it felt slow with little suspense.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Beware of books that have recommendations within the book by famous authors!!!I found this to be a hot mess-no other words can describe it. Initially confusing about who was whom (it took me a while to realize one character was the mother of the author because of the time period transitions) and really totally unbelievable on many levels. I understand that suspense novels aren’t usually believable but this really did push the boundary. Since I finished it I’ll give it a 2

This felt like a lesser version of a Megan Miranda novel - and I’m not a fan of Miranda. The deadbeat town and the coming to do a podcast plot lines both felt so overdone it took a lot to even get into this. Listen to the Lie, for example, did this much better just a few months ago. The end was underwhelming and the satanic subplot was unnecessary. Meh.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.