Release Date: 1st September 2022
Publisher: Avon Books
Pages: 384
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review
Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis

The island watched and wept…

In search of a new life, sixteen-year-old Adriana Clark’s family moves to the ancient, ocean-battered Isle of Mull, far off the coast of Scotland. Then she goes missing. Faced with hostile locals and indifferent police, her desperate parents turn to private investigator Sadie Levesque.

Sadie is the best at what she does. But when she finds Adriana’s body in a cliffside cave, a seaweed crown carefully arranged on her head, she knows she’s dealing with something she’s never encountered before.

The deeper she digs into the island’s secrets, the closer danger creeps – and the more urgent her quest to find the killer grows. Because what if Adriana is not the last girl to die?

Review

The Last Girl to Die is the latest gripping thriller from author Helen Fields. I read The Shadow Man by Helen Fields last year and completely devoured it so I was really intrigued to read more from the author. Set on the Isle of Mull, the story follows private investigator Sadie Levesque as she travels to the island in search of a missing girl. The police don’t seem to be doing much, believing she has run away and will turn up in a few days. When Sadie eventually finds Adriana’s body in a remote cave, with a seaweed crown on her head, she becomes entangled in a murder investigation. Determined to find out the truth of what happened, Sadie delves deeper into the island and its secrets, but will she be able to uncover what’s going on before it’s too late?

The Last Girl to Die is a rollercoaster ride of a book. I read it practically in one sitting, staying up late because I just had to know how it was going to end. Fields has plotted a really intricate and clever story – with so many surprises I just did not see coming. It’s a dark tense story and thriller fans definitely should not miss this one.

The Last Girl to Die has the perfect remote setting and having visited the Isle of Mull a couple of times I was so fascinated to see the familiar names and places come to life. I thought the setting really added to that tense, uneasy atmosphere that Fields created. A word of warning there are some pretty gruesome moments in this story, but don’t let that put you off, this is an addictive and thought-provoking story.

One of the things I particularly liked was our main protagonist Sadie. She’s determined to uncover the truth and not afraid to stand up to the police when they aren’t getting the job done. All the characters felt well crafted in the story and I was so gripped as the secrets of the island and its inhabitants were exposed. The Last Girl to Die is a compulsively readable thriller and if you’re looking for something to keep you hooked on a cold autumn night, this one should absolutely be your next read.