LAST LOOK by Mariah Stewart

Publisher: Ballantine
Date published: June 2007
ISBN: 978-0-345-49222-7
Suspense
Mass Market Paperback
Reviewed by Gina
Obtained via publisher


FBI agent Dorsey Collins is no stranger to tragedy and sadness. She is one of those people who took the hard parts of human existence and used them to become stronger. She doesn’t really see her job as carrying on a family tradition although she has followed in her father, Matt Ranieri’s footsteps by becoming a special agent. While she does her best to be a top agent, she has no illusions in following her dad into solving a high profile murder and becoming a bit of a television celebrity.

Andy Shields is part of the Bureau’s legendary “Shields” family – fathers, brothers, sisters and cousins. He is also part of the Shields family where one of their own was behind the murder of a brother, cousin and fellow agent. Trained as a witch by her twice great aunt, whom Tima doesn't like and that evil old woman seems to have fixated on David. Could the old woman have something to do with his family's ancient obligations?

Dorsey and Andy’s paths cross when a woman is found dead at a Georgia seaside community. Not that finding a body by the water is all that disturbing. What has them stunned is the dead woman is the very one that put Dorsey’s father on the map twenty-four years before.

Dorsey working on a case her father thought was long closed is but one twist in LAST LOOK, the first book of Mariah Stewart’s Last series. I was completely stunned by the twists and turns leading up to the very end of the story. The only question left unanswered was who ran over Franklin Randall—I half expected one of the final suspects to have been the one.

The Randall sisters are an interesting set of siblings and I would enjoy spin off stories about what each of them do in the aftermath of their sister, Shannon’s death. Their personalities are so diverse and they have enough of their own secrets it would make for an interesting and absorbing read.

While I don’t buy the Bureau letting one family member investigate a crime committed by another member, Ms. Stewart carried it off in LAST LOOK. In FINAL TRUTH she turned a corner and in LAST LOOK she takes off full speed and doesn’t look back. The webs created by the members of each family, including Dorsey’s are fascinating.

LAST LOOK is by far Mariah Stewart’s best to date.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.