The Last Word, Taylor Adams

About the Book

Emma Carpenter lives in isolation with her golden retriever Laika, house-sitting an old beachfront home on the rainy Washington coast. Her only human contact is her enigmatic old neighbor, Deek, and (via text) the house’s owner, Jules.

One day, she reads a poorly written—but gruesome—horror novel by the author H. G. Kane, and posts a one-star review that drags her into an online argument with none other than the author himself. Soon after, disturbing incidents start to occur at night. To Emma, this can’t just be a coincidence. It was strange enough for this author to bicker with her online about a lousy review; could he be stalking her, too?

As Emma digs into Kane’s life and work, she learns he has published sixteen other novels, all similarly sadistic tales of stalking and murder. But who is he? How did he find her? And what else is he capable of?

Displaying his trademark command of rapid-fire pacing, unnerving atmosphere, and razor-sharp characterization, Taylor Adams once again delivers a diabolically disturbing—and deadly—game of cat and

Book Links
Releases April 25th

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My Thoughts

Ahh! Can we say stressful?

Emma Carpenter shouldn’t have left that bad book review. She could have never envisioned the repercussions that follow. This sets a perfect tone for us reviewers because now you might hesitate to give The Last Word anything less than glowing praise.

And there’s unreliability all over the place, making you question what is really happening. It’s wonderful and stressful as heck, in the way that has you on the edge of your seat, furiously flipping pages because you need some resolution. It’s the epitome of a thriller, which you see in all of Adams’ works. When you think you can breathe a little, the tension builds back up. I like to picture the author, gently yet nefariously cackling at his desk as he pens another twist in his storyline.

The Last Word is a one-sit read. Things go fantastically awry, going from worse to awful, leaving the reader anxious for more. This was a fast, outstanding thriller with a touch of the absurd that I cannot recommend enough.