Review: Last Seen Alive by Joanna Schaffhausen

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Published: January 25, 2022

Source: Netgalley via Publisher

Summary:

The fifth book in Joanna Schaffhausen’s heartpounding Ellery Hathaway mystery series.

Boston detective Ellery Hathaway met FBI agent Reed Markham when he pried open a serial killer’s closet to rescue her. Years on, their relationship remains defined by that moment and by Francis Coben’s horrific crimes. To free herself from Coben’s legacy, Ellery had to walk away from Reed, too. But Coben is not letting go so easily. He has an impossible proposition: Coben will finally give up the location of the remaining bodies, on one condition—Reed must bring him Ellery.

Now the families of the missing victims are crying out for justice that only Ellery can deliver. The media hungers for a sequel and Coben is their camera-ready star. He claims he is sorry and wants to make amends. But Ellery is the one living person who has seen the monster behind the mask and she doesn’t believe he can be redeemed. Not after everything he’s done. Not after what she’s been through. And certainly not after a fresh body turns up with Coben’s signature all over it.

My thoughts:

This is the fifth, and quite possibly final, book in Joanna Schaffhausen’s Ellery Hathaway series and I cannot tell you how much I have loved this series. I came to this series late, when book 3 was just coming out, so I was able to binge-read the first three books, and even though each book does stand on its own, I highly recommend reading the series in its entirety as so much hinges on the overall character development, especially this latest one.

Ellery Hathaway is definitely going down as one of my favorite characters and this latest installment really proves that. She is the definition of strong and willful. I love that no matter what is thrown at her, she finds a way to power through it to find answers.

I also loved that we once again find Reed and Ellery working together. In the last book, we saw them walking away from each other, but I was so happy to see that things are definitely not over for them. There is such a strong bond between them and I love how they work together both on and off the field.

This book is fast-paced and filled with twists and turns that will keep you flipping the pages. The tension is high and I could not read it fast enough. While I’m bummed to see the end of this series, I think, I am excited that Joanna Schaffhausen already has another one out that I’m absolutely loving. If you haven’t read this series…what are you waiting for? Now that all five books are out, it’s the perfect time to binge-read them and let me just say, they are all totally binge-worthy and not to be missed!

Books in this series:

1. The Vanishing Season
2. No Mercy
3. All the Best Lies
4. Every Waking Hour
5. Last Seen Alive