Last Night

Interesting story about teens trying to find themselves. Very complex and intriguing. Some adults also having problems. You'll keep reading to find out how their problems are resolved.

Karen Ellis is back with Last Night the anticipated sequel to A Map of the Dark and she doesn't disappoint. Worth the read!

Second book in this excellent series, does not disappoint. This book touches on the inequality of lives and how a simple decision can change the course of the future. Everyone has their own burden and how we balance that burden effects our interactions with those around us. I hope there will be more books, just as I hope the troubled souls each find their own way, and ultimately, peace. Excellent read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this sequel. The author brings to the forefront the issue of race and bigotry in a manner that allows the reader to reflect...what if...? I felt that we got to know more about detective Cole and gained insight into his character. I hope that this becomes a series continuing to follow Cole and Elsa.

Last Night is book 2 in The Searchers series by Karen Ellis (pseudonym Katia Lief). In Last Night we have as a main character Detective Lex Cole, who was also in A Map of the Dark, and worked that case along side FBI agent Elsa Myers. Ms Myers was in Last Night, but more as a "bit player" than one involved in the action. I find this an enjoyable series and am looking forward to whatever comes next. I was given an early copy to review.

Dark, nuanced, twisty and surprising, LAST NIGHT opens the door on family secrets and neighborhoods which spring to life on every page. Well-crafted characters and a compelling plot keep the pages turning--

In this second book in the Searchers series, Lex takes the lead with Elsa consulting. Lex is having problems with Adam and isn't sure if they are even a couple anymore. But work is work and this is a case that just keeps getting more tangled up. 

Titus "Crisp" Crespo is a mixed race kid from Brighton Beach. Raised by his mother and grandparents, Crisp is a smart guy a day away from graduating as Valedictorian when he is arrested on a charge of riding a bike on the sidewalk, so instead of going home, he gets tossed in jail for a night. From the roof he can see into the patio of a high-rise and a girl sitting smoking a joint and getting some sun. They both realize they met last summer and when Crisp is released he goes to meet Glynnie to explain why he was up there.

Crisp is a straight arrow. He doesn't get into trouble. He's going to Princeton.

Glynnie is the opposite of Crisp. Rich. Doesn't care about school or college. And she is white.

When she begs him to come with her to visit her weed dealer, he impulsively agrees and that one bad decision leads them on a road that neither of them wanted to be on. 

Now stuck in the projects with an arms dealer and a dead body they may not have to worry about college or anything else.

I felt so sorry for Lex in this one. Not just because he battles his own demons while battling real life bad guys, but because of the kids. Not one of them is telling the whole truth about that day. Now he has to think like a teenager. Which means don't think. 

I liked these characters and this series feels as if it is going in the right direction! A good one!

Well Done!

Netgalley/February 26th 2019 by Mulholland Books

I loved this book. It was full of mystery and suspense! This is the second book I have read by this author, and I just love her writing style. It just sucks you right in!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

This was such a satisfying read. The writing was so strong, the characters so fully-fleshed, the insights so penetrating that I would have read on for pleasure without the hook of suspense -- or rather, of dread -- over the fates of three young people in danger in New York City.

This is the first book I've read of Karen Ellis's; I missed A Map of the Dark, the first in this series. I plan to remedy that soon, since I've already reserved the e-book from my library. The point is, my pleasure in this book wasn't dimmed by coming into a series at mid-point.

Another element I liked was the compressed time frame. The story occurs over a span of -- what? 36 hours? In that brief period, enough happens that we get a clear look into the inner and outer lives of perhaps a dozen characters, from materialistic Baby Boomers to a sinister arms dealer and and a young homeless boy living rough on his own. And these were just the peripheral characters.

Last Night should resonate with anyone who has shown up at a demanding job and tried to function in the face of personal heartbreak, extreme lack of sleep, or the lure of addiction. Lex, the detective in search of the brilliant, mixed-race, newly graduated Crisp, is battling all three, yet his good mind and good heart serve him well.

Crisp, too, has a good mind and good heart, but he is confused about his racial identity, he's just suffered an outrageous indignity at the hands of the police, his prefrontal cortex is several years shy of maturity -- and, well, there's a girl involved. Crisp makes one bad decision that seems to snowball. Whether his wits can save him is an iffy thing.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance reader's copy of this book.

I enjoyed the next installment featuring Lex, and the new detectives in this book. The continuation of insights into the teenage psyche is shocking and fascinating at the same time. The drug and gun culture is portrayed so realistically I found myself becoming tense, A very fast paced plot with incredibly real situations faced by youth today. While the book is in a series it can be enjoyed as a stand alone.

Great read! It’s twisty and surprising with a strong plot that held my interest until the end. This is the story of two young people in New York, widely divided by their different backgrounds. It examines a number of issues including the inequality of lives and how a one simple decision can change your future. The tension, suspense, depth of the characters and pacing made this a great read. I love this book! I highly recommend it! Thank you NetGalley for the Advance Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book heavily emphasizes the disparity between races, between rich and poor, and is written in a way that makes you feel the hopelessness of wrong place, wrong time. It's the story of two teenagers, Glynnie - rich and academically apathetic, and Crisp, not so advantaged but with a bright future ahead. When they decide to join in an adventure one night, they meet up with a homeless youth who Glynnie knows from her weed buys, and it's there that things start to go downhill. I was rooting for Crisp, for his unknown father, and for JJ to all find their way out of the mess.

I didn't realize this was the second book in a series. It's a stand alone, but references to Elsa had me wondering if I missed something. I do have A Map of the Dark reserved, so that will soon be remedied!

This was a good book. I really liked the main characters -- Titus (Crisp), Glynnie, and JJ -- because of the diversity and complexity of the characters. Crisp and Glynnie are recent high school graduates and just barely adults, and the author does a good job of portraying the awkwardness of that age, as they are testing boundaries and trying to figure themselves out. JJ is a young teenager, but has been forced to grow-up way too fast; in some ways, he is smarter/wiser than Glynnie and Crisp, but in other ways he is still quite naïve. The plot revolves around some impetuous decisions by Crisp and then Glynnie that result in the two of them, plus JJ, venturing someplace they should not be and getting themselves into a rather dangerous situation that will have lifechanging ramifications for all of them.

While the first book in the series revolved around Elsa Meyers as the primary law enforcement officer, she makes only token appearances in this book. Instead, Lex Cole is the primary LEO in this book, along with a female detective, Saki Finley, who is involved in the search for Glynnie after she goes missing. Detective Finley is a character I would like to see appear in future books.

The author touches on a number of relevant social and cultural topics -- homelessness, drug use and addiction, racism, abusive behavior by police, immigration policy, economic inequality, navigating the world as a multi-racial individual in a society that tends to categorize based on race, etc.

I read a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Another great book. Ms. Ellis knows her stuff. Three young persons (not children but not adults) set out on a quest and things spiral out of control very quickly. Adults know: "This is NOT a good idea." The author has us follow them right into the arms of gun and drug sellers. Nothing good ever comes out of that. We follow the three of them Lex tries to find out what is going on and where are they. Interesting and entertaining read. This one is recommended too.