I just got home from my mystery book group night and we had such a good talk. We read The Last Child by John Hart which generated a lot of discussion about parenting, drugs, kids in distress, etc. At first you would have thought everyone hated the book.
We pick it apart for the unbelievable coincidences, the inept police force and the superhero qualities the young protagonist seems to have but finally when we went around giving out personal ratings it seems that almost everyone actually loved it! We had a good laugh about that.
The story centers on a Johnny, a thirteen year old, who is on a personal crusade to find out what happened to his sister who went missing a year ago. His mother has all but fallen apart and is now mainly in a drug-induced haze to know much of what he is up to but there is one detective that won’t give up on finding Johnny’s sister.
I was very excited to read the book and think some parts worked well. I actually liked how the ending came out when we finally know what happened to Johnny’s sister but on the whole I did not like the book very much. I had a hard time feeling sympathy for the mom and I couldn’t believe all that Johnny accomplishes given he’s only thirteen. Like I said, most of the members in the group loved the book and it is a page turner and an Edgar winner so you may enjoy it.
Our upcoming selections include All Our Yesterday’s by Robert B. Parker, then The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson (which I’ve already read & loved), and followed by The Merry Misogynist by Colin Cotterill. I think I’m most excited by the Cotterill book as the mystery is set in Laos so that’ll be something a bit different for me.
Let me know if you’ve read a good mystery lately. I need to start thinking about books to nominate at our next meeting.
I have this book on my shelves, and keep threatening to throw caution to the wind and read it! It is funny how you can pick apart a book, then realize you still loved it. I just read Sara Paretsky’s latest book “Body Work” which I enjoyed. It had been awhile since I’d read about old V.I. Warshawski. She reminds me alot of Kinsey Milhone.
I have the audio version on my iPod and am looking forward to it. Sounds like it was a good discussion book.
It’s always nice when a book provides good discussion for a group. Too bad it didn’t quite pan out for you, but it still sounds entertaining. I’ll get to it eventually!
Sandy – That has happened to me with books. Or sometimes after a book club meeting I’ll sort of re-think my position on a book. Maybe I end up liking it a bit more (or less!) haha.
diane – I think an audio version of it would be good. There is a lot of stuff going on and the kids are great characters.
Danielle – Yea, I was really expecting a lot more from the book. I sort of feel like maybe it’s me lately! haha…
Sounds like a nice book club. And the book does sound good.
I really can’t remember the last mystery I read…shame on me 😉
I’ve been meaning to read The Last Child for awhile but have just never gotten around to it. I always love your mystery recommendations and just wish I could get out of my summer slump and start reading more!
I was planning to read The Girl Who Played with Fire on vacation last week, but when I picked it up I just couldn’t put it down. It’s so much more gripping than the first one that I ended up reading it all in one sitting—way before I even packed my bag for the trip!