REVIEW: "The Last Word" by Taylor Adams
About 6 years ago, I decided that my spring break would be best spent retreating to a cabin and writing the novel that had long been in my heart. A mother of two children — one of which was a toddler — I rarely had even a moment of peace, let alone the long periods of quiet contemplation necessary to actually make progress on a work of any meaningful length.
So I rented a cabin, deep down in south Ohio, too close to a prison for my liking, and only accessible by driving down a twisty road lined with dilapidated trailers, many still sporting Confederate flags — an odd thing for… a northern state.
Considering I was paying less than $400 for the entire week’s stay, I didn’t expect the cabin to be well-appointed. What greeted me upon arrival was less a cabin and more a utilitarian box with no cell phone service and a microwave that only ever succeeded in making food lukewarm regardless of how many minutes you left it in there.
During the day, this was fine.
I would sit at the wobbly table and tap away on my laptop, free from the distractions of the cat-video-rich internet and the chaos of a house containing a growing family.
At night, though, I found the arrangement to be… less than agreeable.
When darkness would fall, I would curl up on the brick of a mattress and stare at the deadbolt-less door, certain that, at any moment, someone was going to bust through and murder me.
As frightened as I was in my little, rustic box, I think I would have been even more terrified in a more expansive abode - a larger place with more doors and more windows and an endless number of shadowy corners in which to hide.
It was in such a place, large and imposing, that the bulk of the action in Taylor Adams’ The Last Word.
The Plot
Emma Carpenter’s perpetually bleak mood matches the vibe of the dreary, coastal beach house into which she has retreated. With little to pass the days of house-sitting and only her dog, Laika, as company, Emma’s been burning through reads on her Kindle. When she finishes one particularly onerous novel, she decides to put fingers to keys and pen a scathing review.
She’ll just be another anonymous reviewer, she thinks. Her admittedly harsh words were not meant to be read by the author but, instead, as means of warning off other readers who may be considering picking up this turd of a novel. But though she never intended the author to happen upon her review he does, almost immediately.
Despite a tense digital exchange, Emma stands by her words and refuses to delete her review. What’s the worst that could happen, she asks herself.
Emma quickly has an answer to this question when she grows suspicious that she isn’t as alone in this coastal home as she had previously thought. Someone, it seems, is stalking her like they would their prey.
Could it be the author who she so publicly offended? Is it merely a coincidence? Or, perhaps, is it all in her head?
The Good
As I have come to expect from Taylor Adams, this book was propulsive. The high-stakes, locked room style that served him so well in No Exit was just as effective here in making this book utterly unputdownable.
The characterization — and, more specifically, the depth of Emma’s backstory — truly elevated this book. Interspersed within the action in this action-centric novel were little pieces of information about Emma’s past. Adams did a masterful job of pacing the reveal of Emma’s history, increasing readers’ endearment towards Emma as the peril in which she found herself continued to grow.
Like all — okay, most — good thrillers, this novel had a few pretty significant twists. While some could be predicted — though weren’t what I would pejoratively call “predictable” — there was one that was a complete, gut-wrenching surprise.
The Bad
Like Adam’s breakout, No Exit, this novel was, at times, brutal. Gorier than most thrillers, it might be off-putting to readers of a squeamish disposition. While this didn’t bother me, it is a factor to consider when deciding if this is a book for you.
The Rating
I walked away from this book shaken and satisfied. It kept me on the edge of my seat and made me cry real, ugly, tears — the quantity of which may have been increased by the amount of wine I had consumed during that reading binge.
This is a book I will be recommending for some time to come.
It easily earns 5 out of 5 cocktails.
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