Ballantine Books
Featuring: Charlotte Stone; Tony Bartoli; Michael Garland
384 pages ISBN: 0345535405 EAN: 9780345535405 Kindle: B0067TGU1Q Hardcover / e-Book Add to Wish List
Okay... fans of Medium and more currently Ghost Whisperer,
although as a true ghost or spirit story lover I have to
admit the former a sure winner by miles, The Last Victim is
an addictive wonderfully engrossing murder mystery. The
spirits come alive, some with humor and others with pathos,
and so believable they make you jump out if your seats even
if you claim to be an unbeliever. Robards will make even
the most fervent nonbeliever or cynic waiver.
As a survivor of a brutal murder attempt by the Boardwalk
Killer
Charlie is left with unusual talents or abilities. Her
chosen profession is that as an expert on serial killers.
This puts her boldly into what sensible people run from,
constant contact with soulless individuals. Killers who are
smart and charismatic which gives them the tools needed to
meet their potential victims. Charlie uses her instinctual
insight to gain entry into the psyche of the killer.
Charlie never counted on becoming the object that a ghost
or spirit would attach onto. You see according to Charlie
spirits often attach themselves to a person who was close
by when they were violently murdered. Charlie, often
sickened by the horrid sights of the deceased,
unfortunately can't just turn a blind eye. They are
there for a purpose. Perhaps to give her a needed clue or
as in the case of her personal spirit who sees himself as a
bodyguard. Garland has been Charlie's latest subject, a
convicted serial killer who killed several women. He
enjoys taunting her with his over the top descriptions of
her Rorschach cards. But then he is fatally knifed with
Charlie unable to save him. And now this poor soul is
totally left adrift in this world when he should be passing
through to whatever awaits after dying.
You've got to love this ghost. He is unrelenting and keeps
catching Charlie at some rather unguarded moments. And wait
now he's trying to convince her that he is innocent, well
that's what they all say. Right?
But Charlie has a very important task. She has been drafted
into service by the FBI search for the latest kidnapping
victim in a series of horrific killings that mirror the
Boardwalk Killings, perhaps the same man who killed her
best friend fifteen years ago. But that's not possible he
would be too old to fit the profile for a serial killer.
Where has he been all these years? All Charlie's instincts
tell her this couldn't be the work of that maniac but if
not then there's a copycat violent killer who is targeting
young girls, killing their families and then leaving their
bodies to be found. No matter how physically ill it makes
her Charlie realizes she has to do all she can to put a
stop to this new threat.
Part of Charlie's FBI unit is agent Bartoli who is doing
his part is keeping her safe. Bartoli is quite a hunk and
if this were a normal time well there could definitely be
some prospects there. Between Bartoli and Garland this
lady is going to have her work cut out for her. Virtually
caught between a rock and a hard place - well in this case
a hard body and an apparition.
Serial killings are not lighthearted fare but somehow
Robards has infused this tale with a rather delightful
humorous sideline that works. Remember the television show
Topper with his two friendly ghosts? Probably very dated
reference but look it up and you'll get an idea of how
enjoyable this murder mystery is.
Get ready to be bowled over in the first book of a new
series by Karen Robards. Definitely infused with lots of
surprises and intrigue for even the most seasoned fan of
mystery and thrillers.
Electrifying suspense, cutting-edge psychological insight, and an unforgettably sensuous love story—these are the trademarks of Karen Robards’s sizzling novels. Now the New York Times bestselling author launches a red-hot new paranormal romantic thriller series featuring the fascinating Dr. Charlotte Stone, a serial killer expert whose extraordinary powers lead her from ecstasy to terror. THE LAST VICTIM Dr. Charlotte Stone sees what others do not. A sought-after expert in criminal pathology, Charlie regularly sits face-to-face with madmen. Obsessed with learning what makes human monsters commit terrible crimes, Charlie desires little else from life—no doubt because when she was sixteen, she herself survived a serial killer’s bloodbath: A man butchered the family of Charlie’s best friend, Holly, then left the girl’s body on a seaside boardwalk one week later. Because of the information Charlie gave police, the Boardwalk Killer went underground. She kept to herself her eerie postmortem visions of Holly and her mother. And even years later, knowing her contact with ghosts might undermine her credibility as a psychological expert, Charlie tells no one about the visits she gets from the spirit world. Now all-too-handsome FBI agent Tony Bartoli is telling Charlie that a teenage girl is missing, her family slaughtered. Bartoli suspects that after fifteen years, the Boardwalk Killer—or a sick copycat with his M.O.—is back. Time is running short for an innocent, kidnapped girl, and Bartoli pleads for Charlie’s help. This is the one case Charlie shouldn’t go near. But she also knows that she may be the one person in the world who can stop this vicious killer. For Charlie—whose good looks disguise a world of hurt, vulnerability, and potent psychic gifts—a frantic hunt for a madman soon becomes a complex test of cunning, passions, and secrets. Aiding Dr. Stone on her quest to catch a madman is a ghostly presence with bad intentions: the fiery spirit of seductive bad boy Michael Garland who refuses to be ignored, though in his cat and mouse game they may both lose their hearts. Dr. Charlotte Stone sees what others do not. And she sees the Boardwalk Killer coming for her.
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