The Last Party by A. R. Torre

"It began with a Birthday party and ended in a blood bath. The Folcrum Party Massacre destroyed so many lives and the repercussions of that horrible night are still rippling and making waves, decades later. Though Leewood Folcrum never wavers in his story, that he is innocent, there are those who are determined to find out the truth, no matter the cost. This was an intensely dark, edge of your seat, riveting thriller and I couldn't put it down."

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pros: Torre’s pacing was great and all the big reveals were jaw dropping.

Cons: Though Perla was a terrifying character in her determination, she was also creepy in seeing her daughter as competition for her husband's affections.

Full Review

Leewood Folcrum is currently serving life in prison for a crime he claims he didn't commit. The Folcrum Party massacre which began as an innocent Birthday/Slumber party for Jennifer Folcrum ended in a blood bath. Leewood was found with his daughters' body in his arms and her two friends killed from multiple stab wounds.

He never took the stand, only gave one interview and any digging for information has been met with silence. That is, until a doctoral student, Timothy Valden, who's completing his dissertation starts to visit Leewood on a weekly basis. Valden's convinced that Leewood committed the crime and he wants to know why. He offers Leewod a chance to unburden himself of guilt and offer closure to the families of the victims.

One of the family members of the Folcrum massacre is Grant Wultz, the older brother of Jennifer's friend, Lucy. Lucy's death has haunted him but he's managed find happiness in his life. He has a beautiful, intelligent and charming daughter Sophie and his wife, Perla is a devoted, dedicated and fiercely determined woman. Frighteningly determined, actually, and the reader knows, right from the start, that there's something very off about Perla.

This was an edge of your seat, white-knuckled roller-coaster ride of a book and I couldn't put it down. Torre was a master at pacing and all the big reveals, some subtle, some not so much, were all equally mind blowing. This was a great read and Perla was one of the most terrifyingly determined characters I've ever come across in fiction.

Comments

Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

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Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King

“The tale of Andy Dufresne and how he served his time at Shawshank prison, as told through the eyes of his friend and fellow inmate, Red. Dark and disturbing but also compulsively readbale. I finished it in 2 days. Also enjoyable is Frank Darabont's 1994 film adaptation, "The Shawshank Redemption." ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pros : Red has a soothing, drawl, making the reading easy and flowing/Since I saw the film first, I couldn't help but compare the book though I was pleased to find that the two were very similar. Cons : Things got a bit rambling a bit at the beginning/Since I saw the film first I couldn't help but compare the book but this ended up not being a con. Full Review: The state of Maine has a prison. Shawshank Redemption. And Red is the guy that can get you things. He also happens to be the only guilty man in Shawshank but that's netiher here nor there. He meets Andy Dufresne for business purposes at first and he finds him to be a calm, cool man and Red likes him i...

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick

“Rick Deckard is a Bounty Hunter who's on the trail of six "Andys" (Androids) who have come to Earth illegally. His job is to track them down and "retire" them. Something he found easy to do until he met her, Rachael Rosen. The Android that does the impossible, passes the "Voight-Kampff" test. The story quickly devolves into a slow, drawn out and frankly boring mystery that was putting me to sleep by the end." ⭐⭐ Pros: I was more interested in comparing it to the film, "Bladerunner."/At first I kind of liked the drab, dreary atmostphere but it soon became soporific. Cons: I had no real idea what was going on with Mercerism/The end there had me blinking in bewilderment, like with Herbert's 29th Dune Book/There was a lot of idle chit-chat while they were in murderous/intense situations, it just seemed odd. Full Review: Rick Deckard, a Bounty Hunter, contracted with the San Francisco Police Department hunts down and retires rogue ...

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