Status
Checked out
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Minotaur Books (2016), 576 pages
Description
After his twin sister Alyssa disappears, thirteen year-old Johnny Merrimon is determined to find her. When a second girl disappears from his rural North Carolina town, Johnny makes a discovery that sends shock waves through the community in this multi-layered tale of broken families and deadly secrets.
User reviews
LibraryThing member writestuff
Thirteen year old Johnny Merrimon is on a quest to find his missing twin sister Alyssa. A year before, he had been living a happy life…and then one day, Alyssa disappears along with Johnny’s idyllic existence. His father is gone, his mother is in a drug and alcohol stupor, and an abusive man by
Detective Clyde Hunt is battling his own demons. He laments his failure to locate the missing girl, his wife has left him, and his teenage son Allen has become resentful, surly and troubled. Hunt is drawn to the independent Johnny – he admires the boy, but also wants to protect him. And then there is the unsettling feelings he has for Johnny’s mother, a fragile and beautiful woman who has worked her way into Hunt’s heart.
As Johnny comes closer to solving the mystery of Alyssa’s disappearance, another girl goes missing…and a huge, mentally ill man named Levi Freemantle is on the loose having escaped from a work release program. As the bodies begin to pile up, the mystery deepens and the novel takes a surprising turn towards its conclusion.
John Hart’s latest novel is set in North Carolina and once again, he brings to life small town America in a suspense-thriller that has plenty of twists and turns. Hart interweaves multiple plot lines and introduces a few surprises in a book which won him the 2010 Edgar Award for Best Novel. Johnny is a damaged kid whose street-wise nature makes him appear much older than thirteen. Detective Hunt is the cop who is willing to do what it takes to solve a case, even if it puts his career on the line.
Thematically the novel takes a hard look at good vs. evil and supernatural power. Hart uses symbolism liberally – the “murder of crows” who line a barn roof for example. Perhaps the heaviest part of the book is Johnny’s struggle with his faith – a faith which has been shattered by unfulfilled promises and the loss of Alyssa. As Johnny turns away from God and looks toward ancient lore, the book takes on a dark tone.
In the end, Hart redeems his characters and takes the reader down the twisty road to conflict resolution.
This is a very good suspense-thriller which engaged me from the beginning – although I would say the last third of the book is really where its strength lies. By the time I reached the last 150 pages, I could not set the novel aside. I wanted to know how the mystery ended and I was cheering for the characters.
Readers who enjoy strong suspense-thriller writing, will want to add this book to their wish list.
Highly recommended.
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the name of Ken Holloway has moved into the home Johnny shares with his mother. Disillusioned with his faith in God, Johnny turns to Indian lore and his past family history to empower himself to find Alyssa.Detective Clyde Hunt is battling his own demons. He laments his failure to locate the missing girl, his wife has left him, and his teenage son Allen has become resentful, surly and troubled. Hunt is drawn to the independent Johnny – he admires the boy, but also wants to protect him. And then there is the unsettling feelings he has for Johnny’s mother, a fragile and beautiful woman who has worked her way into Hunt’s heart.
As Johnny comes closer to solving the mystery of Alyssa’s disappearance, another girl goes missing…and a huge, mentally ill man named Levi Freemantle is on the loose having escaped from a work release program. As the bodies begin to pile up, the mystery deepens and the novel takes a surprising turn towards its conclusion.
John Hart’s latest novel is set in North Carolina and once again, he brings to life small town America in a suspense-thriller that has plenty of twists and turns. Hart interweaves multiple plot lines and introduces a few surprises in a book which won him the 2010 Edgar Award for Best Novel. Johnny is a damaged kid whose street-wise nature makes him appear much older than thirteen. Detective Hunt is the cop who is willing to do what it takes to solve a case, even if it puts his career on the line.
Thematically the novel takes a hard look at good vs. evil and supernatural power. Hart uses symbolism liberally – the “murder of crows” who line a barn roof for example. Perhaps the heaviest part of the book is Johnny’s struggle with his faith – a faith which has been shattered by unfulfilled promises and the loss of Alyssa. As Johnny turns away from God and looks toward ancient lore, the book takes on a dark tone.
In the end, Hart redeems his characters and takes the reader down the twisty road to conflict resolution.
This is a very good suspense-thriller which engaged me from the beginning – although I would say the last third of the book is really where its strength lies. By the time I reached the last 150 pages, I could not set the novel aside. I wanted to know how the mystery ended and I was cheering for the characters.
Readers who enjoy strong suspense-thriller writing, will want to add this book to their wish list.
Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member msf59
Remember Reagan’s famous quip, “There he goes again”? Well, this also applies to me, as I make my habitual return to the dark side. Yes, back to more damaged souls. Johnny Merrimon is thirteen. A year earlier, his twin sister disappeared, plunging Johnny and his family into deep despair. The
“For a long second, the crow considered him, then flapped to the top of another tree. It’s trunk was charred from a lightening strike, and the fork on the river side had gone dead to white. The bird landed among a dozen of its kin, called once, and fell quiet. Not a single feather moved. They looked at Levi, and cold touched his heart. It was a murder of crows on a crown of dead wood. He heard it like a whisper.”
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father, crushed by guilt and grief, departs and is not seen again. The mother falls into depression and drug use. Johnny refuses to give in and presses forward. He is determined to find his sister. He is both methodical and driven, assisted by a haunted police officer, who also will not give up the search. This is a densely but cleverly plotted novel, that pulls you along and keeps the reader off balance throughout. Hart is also a heck of a writer:“For a long second, the crow considered him, then flapped to the top of another tree. It’s trunk was charred from a lightening strike, and the fork on the river side had gone dead to white. The bird landed among a dozen of its kin, called once, and fell quiet. Not a single feather moved. They looked at Levi, and cold touched his heart. It was a murder of crows on a crown of dead wood. He heard it like a whisper.”
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LibraryThing member SamSattler
Two pieces of good news for fans of detective/thriller fiction: John Hart tells one hell of a good story and he is getting better and better each time out. Set in rural North Carolina, "The Last Child" tells the story of 13-year-old Johnny Merriman who is still searching for his twin sister who
Johnny Merriman’s world was shattered by his sister’s disappearance. Unable to deal with his own grief, Johnny’s father has also disappeared, leaving Johnny’s mother at the mercy of a wealthy real estate developer who keeps her so strung out on booze and drugs that she spends most of her time in bed – right where he wants her. As Johnny sees it, he is the only one who can make things right again.
Johnny, though, has an ally in Detective Clyde Hunt, a man who is so haunted by his own failure to find Alyssa that one year later he still cannot get a good night’s sleep. Hunt is, in fact, so obsessed with the case that he has let his obsession destroy his marriage and ruin his relationship with his only son. Because Johnny distrusts all police officers, he searches for his sister on his own, beginning with his attempt at a house-by-house questioning of his entire community. As Johnny digs deeper and deeper into the town’s secrets, the wrong people begin to get nervous and Hunt finds it impossible to protect the boy from himself.
John Hart is a masterful storyteller but, just as importantly, his characters are real people motivated by the same emotions, desires and weaknesses that plague us all. As the plot of "The Last Child" takes its many twists and turns, the reader knows the characters well enough to predict how each of them will react to events and to each other – or does he just think that he does?
Be forewarned that surprising twists come so fast in the book’s last eighty or ninety pages that it is best to be prepared to read all those pages in one sitting. Once you start reading that last leg, there will be no stopping until you finish the final page.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
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disappeared a year earlier. Johnny refuses to believe that she might be long dead. Instead, convinced that Alyssa is still alive and being held captive nearby, he is consumed with the idea of finding her before it is too late.Johnny Merriman’s world was shattered by his sister’s disappearance. Unable to deal with his own grief, Johnny’s father has also disappeared, leaving Johnny’s mother at the mercy of a wealthy real estate developer who keeps her so strung out on booze and drugs that she spends most of her time in bed – right where he wants her. As Johnny sees it, he is the only one who can make things right again.
Johnny, though, has an ally in Detective Clyde Hunt, a man who is so haunted by his own failure to find Alyssa that one year later he still cannot get a good night’s sleep. Hunt is, in fact, so obsessed with the case that he has let his obsession destroy his marriage and ruin his relationship with his only son. Because Johnny distrusts all police officers, he searches for his sister on his own, beginning with his attempt at a house-by-house questioning of his entire community. As Johnny digs deeper and deeper into the town’s secrets, the wrong people begin to get nervous and Hunt finds it impossible to protect the boy from himself.
John Hart is a masterful storyteller but, just as importantly, his characters are real people motivated by the same emotions, desires and weaknesses that plague us all. As the plot of "The Last Child" takes its many twists and turns, the reader knows the characters well enough to predict how each of them will react to events and to each other – or does he just think that he does?
Be forewarned that surprising twists come so fast in the book’s last eighty or ninety pages that it is best to be prepared to read all those pages in one sitting. Once you start reading that last leg, there will be no stopping until you finish the final page.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
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LibraryThing member TheoClarke
A dark, harsh thriller softened by the affection expressed by some of the characters. At heart a study of obsession as a child and a cop search for a missing child when the case is abandoned by the authorities.
LibraryThing member womansheart
The Last Child: A Novel by John Hart was a very good read. Another book, where the topic of abuse might be difficult for some readers. However, the courage and determination of the young male protagonist and the persistence of the police detective determined to discover the truth of what happened
This book is an Edgar Award winner for 2010 for best novel. It has made me want to read Hart's other books, The King of Lies and Down River.
I think that mystery lovers and readers who enjoy police procedurals will enjoy reading The Last Child.
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to the young boy's twin sister, drove the novel along. While many of the characters were completely unlikable and had no redeeming social values, they were balanced fairly well with the good guys. The mystery was not one that I easily figured out as a reader and therefore let me focus more on the story and the characters, instead of constantly trying to solve the crime of the missing sister.This book is an Edgar Award winner for 2010 for best novel. It has made me want to read Hart's other books, The King of Lies and Down River.
I think that mystery lovers and readers who enjoy police procedurals will enjoy reading The Last Child.
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LibraryThing member maryintexas39
Wow!!! What a fabulous read! Kept me up all night. Don't wait to read this one.
LibraryThing member PollyAnnaHP
I recieved this book as an early reviewer, when it arrived I really wasn't sure why I had requested it since it is not my normal genre choice , so the book sat on my bookshelf for several months before I finally picked it up. From page one I was hooked. The story chronicles 14 year old Johnny
Author John Hart goes where few authors dare revealing the dark underbelly of humand kind including drug abuse, domestic violence, pedophilia, murder, and betrayal. This book had very dark moments that would be hard for some people to handle, but at the same time, it was very realistic & the events could easily happen anywhere. Despite it's darkness, Hart reminds us to never underestimate the powers of love, resistance, hope, determination, persistance, friendship, and forgiveness. The plot is full of twists and turns that make the book difficult to put down.
I would definately recommend this book to others.
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Merrimon's relentless search for his twin sister Alyssa who disappeared a year earlier. Johnny is able to devote the majority of his days to his search because his mother is too far gone on drugs to even notice him most days and his father is no where to be found and is presumed to have walked out on his family. Detective Clyde Hunt seems to be the only person to openly acknowledge what Johnny is up to, though he himself is so absorbed in this case himself he also turns a blind eye to Johnny's very risky actions. Author John Hart goes where few authors dare revealing the dark underbelly of humand kind including drug abuse, domestic violence, pedophilia, murder, and betrayal. This book had very dark moments that would be hard for some people to handle, but at the same time, it was very realistic & the events could easily happen anywhere. Despite it's darkness, Hart reminds us to never underestimate the powers of love, resistance, hope, determination, persistance, friendship, and forgiveness. The plot is full of twists and turns that make the book difficult to put down.
I would definately recommend this book to others.
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LibraryThing member bestem
I got this book as part of the Early Reviewers group. It looked interesting when I read about it on the Early Reviewers page. Then I got the book, and I read the back, and my interest wasn't piqued by it. I moved, and the book sat forgotten on my bookshelf for a while. Every so often I'd look at
Yesterday, on my way to work, I knew I only had 10 or so pages left in the book I was reading, and I figured that now that i was mostly settled, I'd make a conscious effort to catch up on the 3 or so ER titles that I'd ignored while in the process of moving.
The story was gripping. The characters were real. A young teenage boy, man of the house after his sister's kidnapping, and his father abandoned him and his mother, taking care of things. Too young to even have a learner's permit, but carefully driving to the store to pick up food that they needed. His mom, broken by the loss of her daughter and her husband, drinking and taking drugs, and not being much of a parent, but obviously still needed by her son, for whatever sense of family she could provide him. His best friend, stealing beers from a father that was a police officer, and skipping school.
I was only a quarter of the way through it when I got home from work, and despite needing to get up at 6 in the morning, I stayed awake, reading, until 3, wanting to know what happened next. It was very easy to get caught up in their lives, and wonder if the story would have a happy ending. Most children who are kidnapped, if they're found more than a day later, are found dead. How could there be a happy ending for this family that lost a child a year ago? But stories usually do have happy endings. Would this one buck the trend of happy endings, would it make an ending that was happy but not believable when compared to reality, or would it find a happy ending in an unexpected place?
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it, the title and the cover were interesting, but again, the back just made me less likely to want to pick it up and read it.Yesterday, on my way to work, I knew I only had 10 or so pages left in the book I was reading, and I figured that now that i was mostly settled, I'd make a conscious effort to catch up on the 3 or so ER titles that I'd ignored while in the process of moving.
The story was gripping. The characters were real. A young teenage boy, man of the house after his sister's kidnapping, and his father abandoned him and his mother, taking care of things. Too young to even have a learner's permit, but carefully driving to the store to pick up food that they needed. His mom, broken by the loss of her daughter and her husband, drinking and taking drugs, and not being much of a parent, but obviously still needed by her son, for whatever sense of family she could provide him. His best friend, stealing beers from a father that was a police officer, and skipping school.
I was only a quarter of the way through it when I got home from work, and despite needing to get up at 6 in the morning, I stayed awake, reading, until 3, wanting to know what happened next. It was very easy to get caught up in their lives, and wonder if the story would have a happy ending. Most children who are kidnapped, if they're found more than a day later, are found dead. How could there be a happy ending for this family that lost a child a year ago? But stories usually do have happy endings. Would this one buck the trend of happy endings, would it make an ending that was happy but not believable when compared to reality, or would it find a happy ending in an unexpected place?
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LibraryThing member auntmarge64
Excellent, excellent suspense and mystery. I started this and couldn't put it down for two days, and I plan to read everything else Hart writes. Great dialogue, gut-wrenching twists and turns, realistic and moving characters, and an ending that comes out of nowhere. Superb!
LibraryThing member SugarCreekRanch
I loved this novel about a thirteen-year-old boy searching for answers to his sister's disappearance a year ago. It's a fast-paced thriller, but has plenty of atmosphere and interesting characters. Highly recommended.
LibraryThing member bohemiangirl35
I expected to love this book. I like spunky child characters who bend the rules, do what's right, and get results because they don't have the hangups adults do. But this book was NOT that book.
The book begins one year after Johnny's twin sister Alyssa was abducted. His mother blamed his father
The writing in this novel is so uneven that it is jarring. Parts of it are good (the first two CDs) and then the writing sounds stilted, then normal, then weird, then normal again. The dialogue is horrible, and I think Hart repeats a lot of stuff just to increase the number of pages. I got it that Hart liked Johnny's mom the first time Hart mentioned it.
The characters are either flat or uneven as well. Johnny is depicted as a scared but determined child, smart enough to conduct his own investigation, but still a child. But there are segments where he comes off like a college professor, lecturing his best friend and a detective about the history of their county. Johnny's mother is supposed to be the most beautiful woman in town, and that's why Ken and Detective Hunt want to be with her. But for the last year, she's looked and behaved like a drug addict and supposedly, she's still the one the men want. There's never another reason other than beauty given for why the men want to "own" or protect her. The police chief is an idiot who just blocks his lead detective's investigation for no reason.
And poor Levi Freemantle...the more than 6-foot, hugely muscled, retarded, black escaped convict that everyone assumes is a killer. Even though he's not violent, everyone assumes he is because he's big and black. Sigh...I was looking for a little more originality.
I skipped a few CDs just to get to the end. I kept hoping the plot would get better.
Scott Sowers narration is abominable! He starts off narrating well and then starts reading like the words don't go together. It sounds like someone gave him a list of words and told him to enunciate each one. I won't be listening to anything else read by him.
I think the idea for the novel was great, but the execution was horrible. I don't get why people have given this book such high marks.
The book begins one year after Johnny's twin sister Alyssa was abducted. His mother blamed his father
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because he was supposed to pick up Alyssa from school and forgot. She was kidnapped as she was walking home. Johnny's father has left and not had any contact with the family. His mother is now the girlfriend of a his father's former business partner Ken. Ken is a abusive and has her strung out on drugs.The writing in this novel is so uneven that it is jarring. Parts of it are good (the first two CDs) and then the writing sounds stilted, then normal, then weird, then normal again. The dialogue is horrible, and I think Hart repeats a lot of stuff just to increase the number of pages. I got it that Hart liked Johnny's mom the first time Hart mentioned it.
The characters are either flat or uneven as well. Johnny is depicted as a scared but determined child, smart enough to conduct his own investigation, but still a child. But there are segments where he comes off like a college professor, lecturing his best friend and a detective about the history of their county. Johnny's mother is supposed to be the most beautiful woman in town, and that's why Ken and Detective Hunt want to be with her. But for the last year, she's looked and behaved like a drug addict and supposedly, she's still the one the men want. There's never another reason other than beauty given for why the men want to "own" or protect her. The police chief is an idiot who just blocks his lead detective's investigation for no reason.
And poor Levi Freemantle...the more than 6-foot, hugely muscled, retarded, black escaped convict that everyone assumes is a killer. Even though he's not violent, everyone assumes he is because he's big and black. Sigh...I was looking for a little more originality.
I skipped a few CDs just to get to the end. I kept hoping the plot would get better.
Scott Sowers narration is abominable! He starts off narrating well and then starts reading like the words don't go together. It sounds like someone gave him a list of words and told him to enunciate each one. I won't be listening to anything else read by him.
I think the idea for the novel was great, but the execution was horrible. I don't get why people have given this book such high marks.
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LibraryThing member joannemonck
I recently reread this book, which I never do. This book is a none stop thriller that holds you until the last page. A missing sister,a disappeared father, am mother gone to pieces and a boy who wants to find his sister and make the world right again. Add to this family dynamic a small town law
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enforcement officer who will not give up, a wealthy businessman who is a sleaze, the boy's troubled friend,an escaped convict, a ring of child pornographers and you have a book that gets better with each chapter. I could have read another 300 pages and still want more Show Less
LibraryThing member cbl_tn
A year after 12-year-old Alyssa Merrimon was abducted on her way home from the library, her twin, Johnny, hasn't given up hope of finding her. Johnny's father abandoned the family shortly after her disappearance, unable to live with the guilt of forgetting to pick her up. Johnny's mother dulls her
With so many characters in self-destructive spirals, the plot would seem to be predictable. Yet it wasn't. I was continually surprised by the twists the story took, and its ending was not obvious from the start. Nothing seems out of place in the rural North Carolina setting. It seems like the real small towns and communities I've driven through in that region. Johnny is an unforgettable protagonist. I understood his pain, and I desperately wanted him to find his way out of the darkness that surrounded him. I'm lukewarm about the audiobook. Some aspects of the narration were brilliant. However, the narrator's habit of pronouncing “a” and “the” with a long vowel rather than a short vowel grew from a minor annoyance to a major irritation by the end of the book. Sometimes he pronounced the words normally, and his inconsistent pronunciation just seemed to make it more noticeable.
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pain with alcohol, drugs, and a man who hates Johnny. The case haunts the lead detective, Clyde Hunt. His obsession with the case drove his wife away and has alienated his son. Johnny is carrying out a methodical search for his sister since the police haven't found her. He can't afford to trust Detective Hunt, who will try to stop him from doing the only thing that matters now – searching for Alyssa. Johnny has only one friend he trusts – Jack, another damaged child.With so many characters in self-destructive spirals, the plot would seem to be predictable. Yet it wasn't. I was continually surprised by the twists the story took, and its ending was not obvious from the start. Nothing seems out of place in the rural North Carolina setting. It seems like the real small towns and communities I've driven through in that region. Johnny is an unforgettable protagonist. I understood his pain, and I desperately wanted him to find his way out of the darkness that surrounded him. I'm lukewarm about the audiobook. Some aspects of the narration were brilliant. However, the narrator's habit of pronouncing “a” and “the” with a long vowel rather than a short vowel grew from a minor annoyance to a major irritation by the end of the book. Sometimes he pronounced the words normally, and his inconsistent pronunciation just seemed to make it more noticeable.
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LibraryThing member jimmaclachlan
This is a horrible book - in a good way. It's well written with superb characterization & a mystery that kept me wondering until the very end, but the basis of the story, child abuse & abduction, was heart-wrenching. I don't like books about kids being hurt & yet this one captivated me.
The drive of
I can't say much without spoilers. I guess I could hide more under spoiler tags, but then I'd write a book. Just read it. If you like murder mysteries, this is one of the finest. Why only 4 stars & not 5? I never want to read it again & it added nothing to my life save for entertainment, but it was a hell of a ride.
The drive of
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the main characters was incredible, yet believable. They were flawed & noble, driven & swept away by events & powers outside their control. A cop haunted by a case he can't solve. His passions & compassion tearing his life, both official & personal, apart. A boy who can't stop looking for his abducted twin & treads the fine edge of insanity. A mother who is demolished by her losses struggling to continue for what she has left & the media circling like sharks. Secrets, mysteries, & lies abound. Who is good or bad isn't always easy to figure out.I can't say much without spoilers. I guess I could hide more under spoiler tags, but then I'd write a book. Just read it. If you like murder mysteries, this is one of the finest. Why only 4 stars & not 5? I never want to read it again & it added nothing to my life save for entertainment, but it was a hell of a ride.
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LibraryThing member Kappadeemom
I LOVED this book. Fantastic. Johnny is a 13 year old boy whose sister went missing some time ago. Figuring the police don't care, Johnny takes it upon himself to look for his sister all over town. His mom, Katherine, is just broken. She is on pills, has a horrible boyfriend, and basically is
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emotionally shut down for Johnny. The lead detective, Clyde Hunt, has lost his wife over this case. What a great story written by John Hart. I can see why this book won awards. I think it might be one of my favorites I have read this year. Show Less
LibraryThing member mldavis2
This was just a darn good read. The book kept the reader's attention throughout, details were introduced at appropriate points, the writing is good, and the book is entertaining. A good mystery.
LibraryThing member Boobalack
Johnny Merrimon was anything but a “merrimon.” He was only thirteen and small for his age, so he was a “man” only in the eyes of his best friend, Jack, and he surely wasn’t “merry.”
His twin sister had disappeared a year previous to the beginning of this story. His friend Jack had
His father left after a couple of weeks. It was thought that he was overcome, not only by grief but by guilt, as his wife – and the twins’ mother – told him if he hadn’t forgotten to pick up their daughter, she would not have been walking home all alone and would still be safe in the arms of her family.
His mother turned to alcohol and other drugs, as well as to the man with whom her husband had worked. This man, now her boyfriend, supplied her with drugs and beat both her and her son. Johnny and his mother couldn’t keep their house. His mother’s grief, compounded by her drug use, caused her to neglect him terribly. The shack they now lived in was owned by the boyfriend, which made them rather dependent on him.
Now that you know the background, you can see why Johnny Merrimon was obsessed with looking for his sister.
This book is very well-written. The author has the ability to draw you in. If his description of Johnny’s situation at the first of the book doesn’t make you sad, then you must not have any compassion in your soul, at all. You can feel the sorrow and desperation this child has in his heart and mind.
You will hurt with his mother and despise her boyfriend, but you can almost understand how she ended up in the shape she was in and with that man. Grief does awful things to people, and losing a child, while not knowing where she is or if she’s even alive, must be the worst thing that can happen to a parent.
Detective Hunt, who has been on this case since day one, has refused to let it go. His wife left him because he spent so much time on it, and he is estranged from his teenaged son, who lives with him. He realizes that he needs to let go and try to get closer to his son, but that was not to be, as Johnny leads the police to a pedophile, who has bodies buried behind his house. One thing leads to another, as “they” say.
This is a good book with well-developed characters You like who you are supposed to like, and dislike the others. There are many plot twists. The only thing I found wrong with it is how much Johnny is able to do and to withstand. If you are able to suspend your disbelief, as did I, you will find that this is a book you hate to put down, and you will think about it even when you aren’t reading it. By the way, the title of the book didn’t come from the obvious.
His twin sister had disappeared a year previous to the beginning of this story. His friend Jack had
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witnessed the abduction but had not been able to do anything to help, except to describe what happened and to describe the vehicle into which she was dragged. His father left after a couple of weeks. It was thought that he was overcome, not only by grief but by guilt, as his wife – and the twins’ mother – told him if he hadn’t forgotten to pick up their daughter, she would not have been walking home all alone and would still be safe in the arms of her family.
His mother turned to alcohol and other drugs, as well as to the man with whom her husband had worked. This man, now her boyfriend, supplied her with drugs and beat both her and her son. Johnny and his mother couldn’t keep their house. His mother’s grief, compounded by her drug use, caused her to neglect him terribly. The shack they now lived in was owned by the boyfriend, which made them rather dependent on him.
Now that you know the background, you can see why Johnny Merrimon was obsessed with looking for his sister.
This book is very well-written. The author has the ability to draw you in. If his description of Johnny’s situation at the first of the book doesn’t make you sad, then you must not have any compassion in your soul, at all. You can feel the sorrow and desperation this child has in his heart and mind.
You will hurt with his mother and despise her boyfriend, but you can almost understand how she ended up in the shape she was in and with that man. Grief does awful things to people, and losing a child, while not knowing where she is or if she’s even alive, must be the worst thing that can happen to a parent.
Detective Hunt, who has been on this case since day one, has refused to let it go. His wife left him because he spent so much time on it, and he is estranged from his teenaged son, who lives with him. He realizes that he needs to let go and try to get closer to his son, but that was not to be, as Johnny leads the police to a pedophile, who has bodies buried behind his house. One thing leads to another, as “they” say.
This is a good book with well-developed characters You like who you are supposed to like, and dislike the others. There are many plot twists. The only thing I found wrong with it is how much Johnny is able to do and to withstand. If you are able to suspend your disbelief, as did I, you will find that this is a book you hate to put down, and you will think about it even when you aren’t reading it. By the way, the title of the book didn’t come from the obvious.
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LibraryThing member lisat781
One of the best books I have read in a long time! I received this book on friday thru early reviewers and here it is 2 days later and I am exhausted but have read it cover to cover. The story is about 13 year old Johnny and how he handles and investigates the disappearance of his twin sister a year
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ago. The story is complex and continually changing directions...never a dull moment which is just the kind of book I like to read. Mr Hart's writing reminded me of James Patterson with his attention to detail and character development. I was a little apprehensive at first with the plot being about a child abduction but there is so much more to this book! I would highly recommend it, easy to read, gripping...well done!! Show Less
LibraryThing member bertgirl98
The Last Child is a thoroughly enjoyable book. Once, starting it, I couldn't quit. The story of a family torn apart by events they could not control as well as a law enforcement unable to find the answers made for a great read. John Hart knows how to keep the suspense until the end.
LibraryThing member hellonicole
I glanced at the reviews for "The Last Child" before opening the book (something I try not to do), so I went in with pretty high hopes. I was not disappointed. When I finally stepped back after the first time I sat down to read, I was already a third of the way through without realizing it. The
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characters, the emotions, the mystery all grabbed me. My heart broke as I read, but I could not put it down. Show Less
LibraryThing member mniday
First off, let me offer a warning to readers: This is an emotional book that I found quite hard to put down. Hart throws us into the middle of a mother and son struggling to survive after the disappearance of first Johnny's twin sister and then his father. His mother turns to an old boyfriend, one
As a mystery lover, I found this intellectually stimulating yet tender enough to make the most steadfast reader shed a tear for at least one character. The plot is vast and there are enough twists and turns to keep the pages flying. The overall story is a mystery, but the book reads like a thriller combined with part love story and part literary fiction.
Like all true great stories, this one works because of the characters. The characters are real; they have flaws, noble traits and not quite enough evil to be truly horrific. Johnny is thirteen-years-old and he sees the world through those young eyes. But he has also experienced more than a boy his age should and that has forced him to mature early in so many ways. His mother reached her breaking point with the disappearances of her family members and retreated into herself via drugs and alcohol. She still loves her son and this proves to be her salvation when she needs it most.
The ending of the story is fantastic and I was truly surprised. Hart does a great job leaving clues throughout the book and those clues will slam into you when the ending is revealed. I have to admit this has been my favorite read of the year and ranks pretty high all-time. This is the kind of book that will make readers rush out to purchase the author's first two novels.
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who controls her with drugs and physical violence. Johnny secretly holds out hope of finding his sister, searching for her all across town.As a mystery lover, I found this intellectually stimulating yet tender enough to make the most steadfast reader shed a tear for at least one character. The plot is vast and there are enough twists and turns to keep the pages flying. The overall story is a mystery, but the book reads like a thriller combined with part love story and part literary fiction.
Like all true great stories, this one works because of the characters. The characters are real; they have flaws, noble traits and not quite enough evil to be truly horrific. Johnny is thirteen-years-old and he sees the world through those young eyes. But he has also experienced more than a boy his age should and that has forced him to mature early in so many ways. His mother reached her breaking point with the disappearances of her family members and retreated into herself via drugs and alcohol. She still loves her son and this proves to be her salvation when she needs it most.
The ending of the story is fantastic and I was truly surprised. Hart does a great job leaving clues throughout the book and those clues will slam into you when the ending is revealed. I have to admit this has been my favorite read of the year and ranks pretty high all-time. This is the kind of book that will make readers rush out to purchase the author's first two novels.
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LibraryThing member ccayne
Another page turner from Hart. This book got me right from the beginning. Hart does a wonderful job of keeping the level of suspense high which creating multidimensional characters.
LibraryThing member tinasnyderrn
This is an excellent story in so many ways. Where do I begin? This book held my interest from the very first to the very last page. I was not able to figure out whodunnit until the author came right out and told me. Wow...this is exactly what I look for in murder mysteries. The characters are
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represented so well and the reader feels so compassionate for them that it is very difficult to put the book down because you just have to know what happens to them. So many twists and turns, yet it all weaves together expertly in the end. I highly recommend this book. Show Less
LibraryThing member carolinagirl2104
The Last Child by John Hart was amazing and thrilling. It only took me a day to read it. I could not put it down. I just had to find out what happend at the end of the book. Cant wait to read another one of the authors books.
LibraryThing member angela.vaughn
I really enjoyed this book, if a person can enjoy a story of murdered children, bad cops and families that loose everything. The whole time I was reading this book, I thought to myself that this boy (Johnny) had to be the smartest and bravest kid...ever. It was full of action and lots of twists to
It is a definate must read.
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the story line, so you are always keeped guessing. It is very sad and at times you will feel this boy's desperation.It is a definate must read.
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Awards
Edgar Award (Nominee — Novel — 2010)
Anthony Award (Nominee — Novel — 2010)
Crime Writers' Association Awards (Winner — 2009)
Barry Award (Winner — Novel — 2010)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2009-05
Physical description
576 p.; 4.16 inches
ISBN
031238033X / 9780312380335