Thursday 9 May 2019

Review ~ The Last Night Out by Catherine O'Connell



Black Thorn
2 May 2019

My thanks to the publishers and Midas PR for my copy of this book


An intricately plotted thriller with chilling twists and murky secrets, Catherine O’Connell’s latest novel, The Last Night Out, places her firmly on the map as the one of the most electrifying new voices in crime fiction.

Maggie is destined to marry the perfect man in two weeks and is desperate for a last wild night on the town before the big day, she gathers her closest friends for a night to remember. Things go horribly wrong, when the body of Maggie’s friend is found in the park the following morning and their night to remember quickly becomes a nightmare, they wish they could forget. But under police scrutiny, Maggie and her friends find themselves forced to hide secrets to protect themselves, and which might even protect the killer.


My thoughts..

When a group of girl friends gather for a bachelorette party, their natural high spirits are very much in evidence, however, by morning one of them is found dead in mysterious circumstances. Gradually as the story starts to unfold a whole web of secrets and lies starts to be uncovered. Each of the girls have something to hide and it is in discovering their individual secrets where the strength of the story lies.

There's a complicated mystery at the heart of the novel and I had great fun trying to piece together the clues whilst at the same time enjoying learning more about the main characters. Each of the friends have very different personalities and the author does a great job of bringing them alive in the imagination. Some of them I liked more than others, however, I think it is Maggie who is, perhaps, the most compelling, and who is the central focus of much of the story, since it was her bachelorette party where this whole sorry saga began.

The author writes well and certainly knows how to keep both the tension and reader interest set to a high level. I enjoyed the many twists and turns in the evolution of the story, and the interesting conclusion allows the reader the luxury of making up their own mind about what happened when and why...




Catherine O'Connell divides her time between Chicago and Aspen, and sits on the board of Aspen Words, a literary centre whose aim is to support writers and reach out to readers. She is also a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. Catherine has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, the Cox network and numerous radio shows including WGN Radio’s SUNDAY PAPERS with Rick Kogan.



Twitter @OConnellauthor #TheLastNightOut

@blackthornbks

@midaspr



Black Thorn is a brand-new imprint, specialising in the very best in compulsive crime fiction.

From psychological thrillers to police procedurals, and from historical detective dramas to heart-thumping suspense stories: we sleuth out and publish irresistible books.

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