Book Review: Last Girl Gone | J. G. Hetherton

A fantastic debut novel and an exciting start to a new series!

I am drawn to books with a journalist as the lead because I think journalists are a great mix of detective and every-day person—and isn’t that all of our dream?? Laura Chambers is the lead character in what has been promised as a new series (they are calling this Laura Chambers #1 so I made the assumption) and she is a truly wonderful lead. She’s bold, uninhibited, vulnerable, driven, and empathetic. Just a truly wonderful mix of traits and Laura is a character I really connected with. I thought I’d enjoy this book, but it surpassed me expectations!

About the Book

Laura Chambers is down on her luck…

Laura is back in her hometown in Hillsborough, North Carolina—a town she hoped she had left behind for good after high school. Working for the local paper is a big setback for Laura’s career—following an incident working for the Boston Globe, Laura had nowhere else to turn. At the local paper, Laura is bored and finds herself stuck with a toxic male journalist coworker, covering tax changes and weather events.

Things may be looking up…

Laura’s career may be taking a turn again when she finds herself in the middle of an intriguing case that has national news written all over it. Two girls have gone missing from Hillsborough, and one has been found murdered. The fate of the two girls is terrifying in its own right, but the town is particularly on edge because it reminds them of a string of girls who went missing—some of whom were found murdered—back in the 1980s. A killer dubbed by the media as The Kid was never located. Is The Kid back?

Laura takes her shot…

Laura knows that this case is her chance of getting back out of Hillsborough. And she’s lucky to be “seeing” a local deputy—the attractive Frank Stuart. As Laura balances her relationship with Frank and her interest in learning what leads the police find on the case, she struggles to get to the bottom of the case before another girl is taken or murdered. Digging deep into the town archives, Laura finds herself wondering about the connection between the two sets of kidnappings and murders. But before she can get too far, Laura suddenly finds herself to be the target of the Killer’s interest… Can Laura find the killer before she finds herself the next victim??

Reflection

I was shocked to learn this is a debut book by this author, because this book is so polished and well-developed. The town of Hillsborough and its residents are very important to the story, and J. G. Hetherton described them so well. The residents love of the local police, their disdain for anyone (such as Laura) who tried to leave, their conviction that what happens in their town is safe, and it is only outsiders that cause problems—all of these tidbits made the book feel so authentic. Laura is in a tough position because the townspeople feel that she has rejected them. By leaving, Laura has shown them that she wants more than what they have settled for in life, and she struggles to reintegrate now that things have gone south in Boston.

This is also a book filled with strong females. Though not all of the female characters in this book are likeable or good people, they nevertheless have a theme of strength running through them—where they do not allow themselves to be defined by their relationship to the males in their lives. The male characters really ranged in their presentation. There were the good ol’ boys, the ones trying to make a difference, and the ones who were toxic males. I liked that Hetherton put so much thought into his characters for this book. All of the main and supporting characters had some depth to them. Laura’s mother, for instance, is horrible so much of the time, but then just when you want to write her off she has a moment of truth. She is able to tell Laura something about herself that while tough to hear, is important for Laura to know.

I would recommend this book to mystery and thriller lovers. I liked that it was not a police procedural, but still had elements of that genre. I think it will appeal to a variety of readers for that reason. The case itself is also interesting and heartbreaking. As a small trigger-warning, there are a few descriptions of the murders/victims/bodies that suggest at some dark aspects to this killer. Nothing is too graphic in my opinion, but I do want to put that warning out there.

Publication Date: 6/12/2018

Thank you so much to J. G. Hetheron and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

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