The Last Place You Look by Kristen Lepionka

January 8, 2020

The Last Place You Look by Kristen Lepionka

Fifteen years ago, Sarah Cook disappeared on the same night that her parents were brutally murdered.  Her boyfriend at the time was quickly arrested and convicted of the crime, and has been on Death Row ever since.  Now a date has been set for his execution.  His sister, convinced of his innocence, wants to make one last attempt to find Sarah, believing that she holds the answers to what happened on that long ago night.  Believing she has seen Sarah in the area, she hires private investigator Roxane Weary to try to locate the woman that she is sure is the missing Sarah.  Roxane takes on the case, needing the money, but already pretty convinced that the police got the right guy, although she soon realizes that there is more to the story.  But Roxane has troubles of her own, dealing with her father’s death in the only way she knows how, by looking at the world through the bottom of a whiskey bottle.

This is quite a decent thriller with a number of plot turns and a flawed detective who lives a messy life.  Roxane herself fits the mold of the noir detective nicely:  she’s always broke, so she takes on cases that she knows she shouldn’t; she has a cool old car; she is attracted to lovers that she knows she should stay the hell away from; she drinks way too much; she hides from her feelings, refusing to deal with the emotional issues looming in her life; she doesn’t take care of herself; she gets stopped by the police frequently since she skitters on the edge of the law in her work.  It’s fast-paced, a quick read, and will keep you turning the pages.