In LAST SEEN, seven years ago the sons of best friends Sarah and Isla disappeared, only one of them returned, and on the anniversary of the tragedy, the other one disappears.
What intrigued me: Was in the mood for a thriller.
Beautiful Writing
LAST SEEN is a very character-driven, super slow book. It's essentially a psychological, a little dark drama involving family secrets. Clarke's writing is beautiful and lyrical, reminds me a lot of Brunonia Barry's actually, which is definitely a compliment.
There is something dreamy and magical about the way she paints this seaside town and the prose absolutely creates an uncanny atmosphere that makes LAST SEEN very unique.
I struggled a lot with LAST SEEN, a lot of the plot is reliant on you listening carefully when backstories get unravelled one by one, and I just couldn't bring up enough of an attention span for the dozens of flashbacks and monologues. Unfortunately, this is one of those subjective things that inevitably always make me lose interest in books. I was looking for something more fast-paced, and this is absolutely not what LAST SEEN is. Regardless, the mystery at the core of the story surely is interesting and I do see a lot of people enjoying this, but subjectively, it wasn't my thing.
Very Character-Driven
I guess you have to have a knick for Adult fiction that's more on the women's fiction side than the thriller side to enjoy this, which is certainly not a bad thing. Especially because of the multiple POVs I struggled to establish the very essential connection to the protagonists that you inevitably need to even remotely care for the story.
I just wasn't invested in Isla's or Sarah's struggles. I really, really deeply struggled to empathize with their friendship and their worries. A lot of the story is spent establishing how their friendship developed in the wake of the tragedies and you have to truly care about that in order to like LAST SEEN. It's more family drama and women's fiction than thriller. Maybe I was in the wrong mood when I picked this up, maybe it's just not my thing.
Rating:
★★★☆☆
Overall: Do I Recommend?
LAST SEEN is a beautifully written character-driven mystery set in a dreamy seaside town and I'm sure a lot of people will love this. This had a lot of things that I subjectively don't like in my thrillers, so this wasn't really for me.Additional Info
Published: June 2017Pages: 416
Publisher: Piper
Genre: Adult / Thriller
ISBN: 978-3-492-06027-1
Synopsis:
Synopsis:
"In a small seaside community, there’s always somebody watching…
Twisty, pacy, and superbly plotted, Last Seen is the perfect psychological page-turner for fans of Clare Mackintosh and Sabine Durrant.
Seven years ago, two boys went missing at sea – and only one was brought to shore. The Sandbank, a remote stretch of coast dotted with beach huts, was scarred forever.
Sarah’s son survived, but on the anniversary of the accident, he disappears without trace. As new secrets begin to surface, The Sandbank hums with tension and unanswered questions. Sarah’s search grows more desperate and she starts to mistrust everyone she knows – and she’s right to.
Someone saw everything on that fateful day seven years ago. And they’ll do anything to keep the truth buried."
(Source: Goodreads)
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