The Last Girl to Die by Helen Fields
| The Last Girl to Die by Helen Fields | |
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| Category: Crime | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: I cried - unashamedly - at the jaw-dropping ending. A real cracker of a book. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 384 | Date: September 2022 |
| Publisher: Avon | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-0008379360 | |
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Be brave until it's stupidity then run like hell.
Seventeen-year-old Adriana Clarke's family moved to Tobermory, on the Isle of Mull, in search of a new life. It was a bit of a change from Las Vegas, but the family seemed determined and Adriana had shown signs of developing a social life - until she disappeared. The local police demonstrated little interest in the case (could it have been because Adriana's mother is obviously Latino?) and Rob and Isabella Clarke called in Sadie Levesque from Banff, who had successfully tracked down missing teenagers. Brandon, Adriana's twin, was upset and surly. Four-year-old Luna just knew that she missed her big sister. It took four days, but Sadie found Adriana in Mackinnon's Cave. She'd been murdered and it looked like a ritual killing.
Even with this knowledge, the police are not enthusiastic about taking action. Sgt Harris Eggo thinks he might have a ready suspect in Sadie Leveque despite the fact that she arrived on the island several days after Ariana's death. After that, her twin brother looks like a likely target. For years he'd longed for more demanding cases but now wished that this one had fallen at someone else's feet. Sadie gets no more support from the church. Father Christophe preferred to hide behind the sanctity of the confessional and was prepared to see the fringe benefits of the murder: it had brought people back to the church.
Most support comes from Nate Carlisle, the forensic pathologist. He's insightful and there's some chemistry between him and Sadie. There is other help but it always comes from unexpected places and the police don't really get involved in any meaningful way until there's another death.
I first encountered Helen Fields when I read Perfect Kill, part of her DI Callanach series where I found some of the sexual and violent scenes a little graphic. I have read another of her books and didn't have the same problem and although there is a lot of violence and death in The Last Girl to Die, I found that the descriptions were handled sensitively and there was nothing gratuitous. It is, of course, helped by the fact that the writing is excellent and the characters come off the page fully formed.
It's the plot that really grabbed me, though. It is superb. I did work out some of the solution but it certainly didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book, particularly as the ending is jaw-dropping and I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried. It was spectacular and I really can't wait to see what Helen Fields writes next. I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
Does the name 'Tobermory' take you back to your childhood? It did me, for just one moment.
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