“Last Breath” – Karin Slaughter
As this is the first month of Post Page's blog, and I've launched the site so late into the month, there will only be one review for the month of July (please come back for August 1st's review). However, I've added a bonus tidbit review to accompany The Good Daughter.
Last Breath by Karin Slaughter is a short prequel to her most recent standalone novel The Good Daughter, taking place ten years prior, in the small town of Pikeville, Georgia where the population is predominantly white and lower class. The story follows Charlie, a lawyer in her mid-twenties, and her quest to help a young local girl who reminds her a lot of herself. However, when the case drags her in too deep to dig herself out, she realizes that she may soon become the victim instead.
This was a great, short read (less than 200 pages) and was just as exciting to read as any of Slaughter's other stories. The main were characters easily relatable and the plotline was unique enough that the ending was still unpredictable, leaving my jaw slack and eyes wide after only a few pages. Regardless of its size, this book was an incredible read.
What's even better is that there are multiple ways to enjoy Last Breath. It's great as a standalone novel, but it's also great to read in conjunction with The Good Daughter. If you decide to read it before The Good Daughter, it will help give you some insight into the town of Pikeville and its background, as well as set you up ahead of time to fall in love with and find appreciation for the main character, Charlie, and her incredible, sweet, sensitive, funny, and nerdy husband, Ben (like really, where can women find men like Ben? Because I know some people who are looking!) before you engross yourself in their relationship and struggles in The Good Daughter. If you've already read The Good Daughter but can't get enough of Charlie (and Ben, obviously, we all know why we're really here…) and the goings on in Pikeville, Last Breath proves as a good option for a read when there's no sequel to enjoy. Any way you read it, Slaughter won't leave you disappointed.
