LAST SEEN ALIVE

5 stars out of 5

Having read and thoroughly enjoyed another book by this author - but not in this series - I didn't hesitate when I got a chance to read a pre-release copy of this one (thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley). Now, the only thing that disappoints me is that I missed the first four, although this one stands on its own quite well. It was so good, in fact, that I put off making dinner for an hour and a half so I could get to the exciting finish.

She was the one who got away: Abigail Ellery Hathaway, now a Boston detective, managed to escape serial torturer and killer of women Frances Coben. He was caught and has been languishing in prison for a couple of decades; the man who found and saved her, FBI agent Reed Markham, later became her lover. Still traumatized by the horrific treatment she endured at Coven's hands, Ellery, as she now calls herself, recently called things off with Reed. But now, out of the blue, Coben claims he's remorseful and wants to come clean by revealing the location of some of his victims' bodies (minus the body parts he keeps as trophies) - but only if he can confess to his "Abby."

Reed objects, but a TV crew gets into the act as well and puts some pressure on the powers-that-be. Just because the confrontation might bring closure to families of the victims, Reed and Ellery agree to meet Coben in prison. It's arranged, but Coben does little more than confuse the issue. Confounding things even more, a new body turns up with a too-similar M.O. - but Coben couldn't possibly have done it from jail. Or could he?

Amid all this, the impossible happens (no, I won't say what) - and from that point on, I was on the edge of my seat even though some of the happenings were predictable. Besides that, I really liked Ellery and Reed (him in particular), so I had my fingers and toes crossed that they'd get back together again (no, I won't reveal that, either). All in all, a most engrossing novel very much recommended.

Last Seen Alive by Joanna Schaffhausen (Minotaur Books, January 2022); 320 pp.