Last
Day by Luanne Rice is a gripping psychological suspense
story. It starts with an intensity from page one that never
lets up. The story delves into survivors of trauma, sisterhood,
best friends, and small communities shaken by violence or
death.
“One of the characters, Kate, came to me as I realized
her sister would be murdered. I based it on a murder my family
had to deal with in the 1980s. A woman was killed by her husband.
My husband at the time was a witness, as well as my stepdaughter,
who helped convict the man. My family thought the husband
could not do it since they were on a boat when the body was
discovered. Before they left for the boat trip, they heard
her husband call to her and ask her to telephone him if she
did not feel well, since she was pregnant. However, my stepdaughter
pointed out she had picked up the extension and that he was
talking to a ringing phone. This story in the book has a lot
of emotional truth and some details.”
The plot begins with the brutal murder of Beth Lathrop, who
was six months pregnant. She is found by her sister Kate,
strangled in her bed with her skull bashed. Kate also notices
that a famous painting, “Moonlight,” is missing.
This brings back another trauma suffered by Kate, Beth, and
her mother. Twenty-three years earlier, as teenagers, they
and their mother spent 22 hours tied up in the basement of
the family gallery. All three were gagged, and the mother
suffocated as a result. Although the girls survived, they
suffered emotional trauma, especially Kate. Beth was able
to move on, throwing herself fully into the art world, running
the family gallery, and raising a beautiful daughter, now
sixteen years old, with her husband, Pete. Kate, instead,
retreated into herself and took to the skies as a pilot, always
on the run.
The author describes her main characters: Scotty is troubled,
judgmental, jealous, and emotionally abusive with some rage.
Lulu has a bone-deep comfort friendship with Beth and Kate.
She kept incredible secrets from Kate that were told to her
by Beth. She is protective and loving. I think she shows how
a group can be close, but also, there are different dynamics
between individuals. Kate idolized her sister and was very
protective of her. Steady, stable, guarded and feels free
in the sky while flying. I think outwardly, she is an adventurous
person, while inwardly, she is scared and has built defenses.
Inwardly she is fragile. Her grandmother influenced her greatly.
She was Kate’s savior with her strength and fortitude.
She taught Kate to follow her heart and beliefs. Beth took
a lot of risks, a lot more than Kate. I think she is emotionally
strong and brave. Elegant, refined, able to move on from the
trauma. Pete is a creep. Someone outwardly charming and superficially
handsome. To some, he is likable and lovely, but behind closed
doors, he is a master manipulator and an emotionally abusive
liar. He does exactly what he wants to do without regard for
other’s feelings. Basically, he’s a con man who
played on Beth’s emotions. He sometimes had complete
rage.
The police investigator assigned to the case, Conor Reid,
was the same one who worked the past case. He swore to protect
the girls and is ridden with guilt that one of them was brutally
murdered. Kate also decides to investigate and to find out
what happened to her sister. While in the course of searching
for answers, she discovers secrets about Beth. It seems that
the two sisters had the same best friends, Lulu and Scotty,
throughout their life, and that Beth confided in them more
than Kate.
The story will hold a reader’s interest from page one.
They will take a journey with the characters as they learn
about each other and try to find out why Beth was murdered.
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