A young woman’s body is discovered early one morning. The race to find the killer intensifies when another woman is reported missing…
Her Last Walk Home is the 14th book in the DI Lottie Parker series of police procedurals set in Ireland. There are no spoilers about Lottie’s past cases but her personal circumstances have developed over the series.
A young woman goes out for a date but never returns home. Her body is found and a murder investigation launched but another young woman is already missing. There are interesting juxtapositions with Lottie and her own family circumstances which makes the case more personal for her. Lottie and her lover Boyd have some personal issues to resolve. They want to progress with their relationship but their family situations make it tricky. Then they find another body!
The majority of the book focuses on Lottie and her investigation. But some chapters show the victim and perpetrator, both of which adds significantly to the tension. We also see the victims’ families and there is a subplot about child neglect which is highly emotive. I found the ending a little confusing as a lots of strands seem to pull together at once.
I actually listened to the audio version of this book and really enjoyed the experience. The narrator does a good job with bringing the text to life and I liked the Irish accent.
Her Last Walk Home is an enjoyable police procedural and I like the development of the characters over the series.
Book Description:
Her shoes pinched as she shivered in the cold night air. She just wanted to get home. A taxi slowed to a halt next to her, and as she buckled her seat belt, she noticed the child’s seat next to her and felt safe. But when she saw his eyes in the mirror, a shiver of terror shook her to her core…
When a young woman’s body is found on a patch of wet grass in the early hours of the morning, Detective Lottie Parker mourns the young life so brutally snatched away. Looking at the victim’s flimsy strappy top, damp from the dew and soaked with blood, it is clear that this young girl never came home from a night out. Lottie’s heart breaks as she thinks of the girl’s parents finding their daughter’s empty bed and she vows to catch the murderer.
The young woman is soon identified as Laura Nolan, and Lottie watches the blood drain from her mother Diana’s face when she tells her the terrible news. Diana reveals that Laura was on a date the night she was killed, but she doesn’t know who with… and Laura’s empty bedroom with make-up scattered across her dressing table offers no clues.
Lottie and her team rush to trace Laura’s last moments. But hope at a potential breakthrough turns to horror for Lottie when another young woman, Shannon Kenny is reported missing, last seen climbing into a taxi with a broken light, close to the same bar.
But then, Lottie discovers a connection between Laura and Shannon that totally overturns everything she thought she knew. The killer didn’t stalk these two young women at random. He knew exactly who they were and where they would be. But can Lottie stop him before he strikes again?
A completely compelling page-turner from bestselling author Patricia Gibney. If you like Rachel McLean, Kendra Elliott and Robert Dugoni, Her Last Walk Home will have you hooked.
Author Bio:
Patricia is the million-copy bestselling author of the DI Lottie Parker series. She yearned to be a writer after reading Enid Blyton and Carolyn Keene and even wanted to be Nancy Drew when she grew up. She has now grown up (she thinks) but the closest she’s come to Nancy Drew is writing crime!
In 2009, after her husband died, she retired from her job and started writing seriously. Fascinated by people and their quirky characteristics, she always carries a notebook to scribble down observations.
Patricia also loves to paint in watercolour and lives in the Irish midlands with her children.
