The Last Victim by Karen Robards
Ballantine
Sensual Suspense
ISBN 9780345535405
Reviewed by Nannette




Dr. Charlotte Stone’s first-hand experience with a serial killer led her to become an expert in criminal pathology. When FBI agent Tony Bartoli needs her help finding a missing girl whose family has been murdered, Charlie’s first instinct is to say no because the crimes are eerily similar to what she experienced as a teenager. But she can’t let another girl fall to the same fate. Charlie’s ability to see ghosts is a gift that feels more like a curse, especially when the ghost is Michael Garland, the serial killer she was working with before he died. The stakes are high with a complicated romance and an even more complicated case.

Once I started reading The Last Victim I couldn’t put it down. Charlie’s ability to see ghosts, the concepts of what Heaven and Hell look like in the afterlife, the process ghosts go through, and the experience Garland has with Spookville are so well described and so fascinating I was riveted to every page. Combine that with not one but two sexy men and a genuinely scary story and you have the makings of a nearly perfect novel. I say nearly because I have to wait for book two to get some closure. Excellent characterization and the love triangle between Charlie, Garland, and Tony complete the picture. Both men are desirable. (Yes, I fell for and was rooting for a serial killer.) I want to know more about Garland, though. Logic tells the reader the same thing it tells Charlie: that Garland is a master manipulator and too charming for words. But is he really guilty? The sexual tension between Charlie and Garland is off the charts, and what happens next is even more intense. The Last Victim is creative and well written. Book two can’t come soon enough!