The Last Victim by Karen Robards is one of her latest romantic suspense stories with a paranormal twist. Ms. Robards’ reputation is for writing edgy tales. This book is no different, or is it? The romantic hero is a dead serial killer. Yep, you’ve read that right.
Charlie, our obsessed conflicted heroine, witnessed a serial killing when just in her teens. That marked her so much that she decides to study serial killers for the rest of her life. Yep, you read that right too. It is similar to someone one who experienced a shark attack immersing themselves in a shark tank every day for eight to ten hours. Not likely.
Garland our romantic lead starts the tale out alive. It is very important to know he’s the bad boys of all bad boys. He is so good looking and charming that Charlie has to mentally prepare herself for their encounters. Apparently, not everyone at the prison finds him equally hot because one of the prisoners kills him.
The FBI shows up when another killing spree erupts similar to the one Charlie witnessed. Since she is a serial killer expert and she saw the previous killer, then she’s the perfect person to help. Oh, Garland her new ghost friend gets to travel with her. It is his job to taunt her with sexual suggestions and show up while she’s undressed.
This story offends me on so many levels. Let me say first, Robards is generally an excellent writer. I enjoyed her book, Maggie's Child where the woman actually escapes from an abusive husband. I have enjoyed several other of her tales, but not this one. There are logic holes big enough to drive a semi through. At one point, Charlie remarks she has friends and activities outside the prison, but there is no evidence of any. Charlie is lonely, pathetic and difficult character similar to the serial killer groupies who write killers and send them gifts. Garland the ghost can become visible and physical when needed. I never heard that detail bout ghosts mentioned before. Charlie tries to justify her action by hooking up with a serial killer ghost by saying he doesn’t seem like he’d do such bad things. Okay, she’s an expert on serial killers, please. Can anyone say Ted Bundy here?
In The Last Victim, I naturally assumed the victim was one of those poor girls killed in the tale. The last victim is the female reader. C’mon Robards, do you believe women are so stupid that they would willingly chuck all they know and experienced for a muscular chest and a bad boy pickup line? This is similar to watching reality television at its worse. Perhaps, this might help readers feel better about herself because she wouldn’t be this stupid. That is the reasoning behind the loyal viewers of reality television. If you couldn’t tell, I would not recommend this book.
Charlie, our obsessed conflicted heroine, witnessed a serial killing when just in her teens. That marked her so much that she decides to study serial killers for the rest of her life. Yep, you read that right too. It is similar to someone one who experienced a shark attack immersing themselves in a shark tank every day for eight to ten hours. Not likely.
Garland our romantic lead starts the tale out alive. It is very important to know he’s the bad boys of all bad boys. He is so good looking and charming that Charlie has to mentally prepare herself for their encounters. Apparently, not everyone at the prison finds him equally hot because one of the prisoners kills him.
The FBI shows up when another killing spree erupts similar to the one Charlie witnessed. Since she is a serial killer expert and she saw the previous killer, then she’s the perfect person to help. Oh, Garland her new ghost friend gets to travel with her. It is his job to taunt her with sexual suggestions and show up while she’s undressed.
This story offends me on so many levels. Let me say first, Robards is generally an excellent writer. I enjoyed her book, Maggie's Child where the woman actually escapes from an abusive husband. I have enjoyed several other of her tales, but not this one. There are logic holes big enough to drive a semi through. At one point, Charlie remarks she has friends and activities outside the prison, but there is no evidence of any. Charlie is lonely, pathetic and difficult character similar to the serial killer groupies who write killers and send them gifts. Garland the ghost can become visible and physical when needed. I never heard that detail bout ghosts mentioned before. Charlie tries to justify her action by hooking up with a serial killer ghost by saying he doesn’t seem like he’d do such bad things. Okay, she’s an expert on serial killers, please. Can anyone say Ted Bundy here?
If that isn’t enough, you have Charlie blessed with an upright, sweet attractive FBI agent she should like, but she wants the bad boy moods of serial killer ghost Garland. Oh, Charlie can also talk to all the serial killer’s victims, but it never seems to give her enough clues to solve the crime. There are several agencies working around the clock and endless clues, but the killer still manages to kill. There were several times I wondered why I was still reading.
In The Last Victim, I naturally assumed the victim was one of those poor girls killed in the tale. The last victim is the female reader. C’mon Robards, do you believe women are so stupid that they would willingly chuck all they know and experienced for a muscular chest and a bad boy pickup line? This is similar to watching reality television at its worse. Perhaps, this might help readers feel better about herself because she wouldn’t be this stupid. That is the reasoning behind the loyal viewers of reality television. If you couldn’t tell, I would not recommend this book.
RSS Feed
