Book review by Dinh.
Review:
I was excited to read The Last Time I Saw You by Liv Constantine because I had read The Last Mrs. Parrish and loved it for its fast pace psychological thriller.
I was hoping that this follow up book was going to be just as good.
Did it meet my expectations? Unfortunately it did not meet my expectations. I was highly disappointed with the book. To give it to you straight- it was horrible!
Here’s why it was not for me:
Story Line:
I liked the story line of the book but it wasn’t executed well.
Without giving spoilers, here’s the main gist of the story. The protagonist’s mother Lily, is killed in her home and as the police investigates, Kate the main character, gets threats to be the next victim.
If the story line stayed simple as that then it would have been a better read.
Instead, the story line was mixed with tactics and twists in an attempt to elevate the suspense but it made the story convoluted and disconnected at the same time. I felt that twists were thrown in just for the sake of it. And it didn’t work!
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Author’s Style:
The book started off okay but rapidly went downhill as I progressed.
The one good thing I have to say is that it was a short book. The 305 pages was a relative quick read. It also helped that there was a lot of dialogue so I was turning the pages quickly.
I liked that the story had two points of view but again it was done poorly. The main character Kate gave her side of the story and her former best friend Blaire voiced her views.
The both points of view could have been developed more in tandem with the story as it progressed. The divergent in Blaire’s viewpoint towards the end was just frustrating. There was no inkling of the other side of her personality and it was just thrown in for shock factor.
The shock factor was annoying and it didn’t work for me!
Characters:
I didn’t like any of the characters. They were hollow and not developed.
I don’t expect much in character development because it is a psychological thriller but honestly the characters were like cardboard cutouts. Very flimsy and no meat.
I couldn’t’ emphasize or connect with the characters. I would have liked to root for Kate since she was a mother and trying to protect her child, and herself from being the next victim but there’s not connection there to root.
Moreover, I didn’t like that the cast of characters, who were rich, were stereotypes of the rich.
Ending:
The ending was okay. It did have a closed ending as expected.
We find out who Lily’s killer was. It was supposed to be the bombshell at the end but it had a little bang. I didn’t care who the killer was at that point.
The revelation of the killer was so anti- climatic. I was just happy that it ended.
There were too many twists that were revealed towards the end that it made the story ridiculous.
My Final Thoughts:
I was highly disappointed with The Last Time I Saw You by Liv Constantine. The plot was badly executed and too many twists were included to make the story line ridiculous.
If you haven’t read any by books by the author yet I would suggest you to first read The Last Mrs. Parrish!
Belong to a book club? Check out The Last Time I Saw You book club discussion questions.
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Thank you! I downloaded this as an audiobook for the car but about a third of the way through we don’t feel motivated to finish it and I couldn’t put my finger on why. It’s just not compelling.
Hi Carolyn!
I know what you’re saying, the book was not at all good. It just didn’t work for me either.
You should try The Last Mrs. Parrish as that book was so much better. 🙂
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and happy reading!
Oh dear, it sounds like this truly was not the best read 🙁 It sounds like the author tried but instead of working out the result was a confusing mess which didn’t have likeable characters and needed a lot more structure and work. I hope your next read was a better one!
Hi Olivia!
Not their best work at all! But I will give them another go if they have a new book out.
Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Dinh!
Glad I caught your review on this one. I don’t have a lot of time to read, so when I get it I want to enjoy it.
Happy reading to you 🙂
Hi Jeremy!
I am glad you read this review before you picked it up. It really wasn’t worth the read in my opinion. Just too many things I didn’t like about it.
Thanks for stopping by at Arlene’s Book Club!
I thought this book was terrible!! There were parts that had me questioning who-done-it? But for the most part, it really dragged on and on. The neurotic Kate was annoying! This was like a bad Lifetime movie.
Hi Kristine!
I agree totally with you! I found the main character Kate very annoying as well. She was too neurotic to be a likable character.
I didn’t think it was written well and just badly executed. I really didn’t get anything out of it… was just glad it ended! 🙂
So tell me… How did you really feel about this one?? LOL I am glad you saw it through until the end sometimes it is worth the effort… I guess not this time!
Hi Arlene!
LOL. Yep that bad!
I had high hopes for The Last Time I Saw You but it fell short in a drastic way! I am so surprised it was that bad…I don’t like to write negative reviews but this book was just awful. Nothing like her/(their) previous book The Last Mrs. Parrish which was very good.