Monday, January 7, 2019

Murder, Dogs and Survival - The Last Woman in the Forest Review

TITLE: The Last Woman in the Forest
AUTHOR: Diane Les Becquets
PUBLISHER: Berkley
PUBLISHING DATE: March 5, 2019


FROM GOODREADS: Marian Engström has found her true calling: working with rescue dogs to help protect endangered wildlife. Her first assignment takes her to northern Alberta, where she falls in love with her mentor, the daring and brilliant Tate. After they’re separated from each other on another assignment, Marian is shattered to learn of Tate’s tragic death. Worse still is the aftermath in which Marian discovers disturbing inconsistencies about Tate’s life, and begins to wonder if the man she loved could have been responsible for the unsolved murders of at least four women. Hoping to clear Tate’s name, Marian reaches out to a retired forensic profiler who’s haunted by the open cases. But as Marian relives her relationship with Tate and circles ever closer to the truth, evil stalks her every move.…
MY THOUGHTS: I really loved "The Last Woman in the Forest" and being the last book I read in 2018, I consider it a real win.  Marian works with rescue dogs doing research to protect endangered wildlife. During her travels, she meets and falls in love with a fellow researcher, but when he ends up getting killed, she starts to wonder if she really knew him at all.

Besquets has a gift at being able to weave the past and present together in a cohesive manner to tell a wonderful tale.  While this wasn't necessarily a dual-timeline book, there is a lot of backtracking and never once was I bored or confused.  She also creates some great characters.  Marian is strong yet has a subtle vulnerability about her.  Her relationship with Tate took her by surprise and was somewhat unconventional.  And the murders that unravel throughout the novel are rather grim and grisly.  I also fell in love with the elderly profiler who Marian reaches out to for help.  He and his wife are awesome side characters and the book left me wanting to know more about them.

And finally, there are the dogs.  This book is filled with several hard-working rescues who have been saved in order to help other animals.  And the relationships between the handlers and the dogs themselves are quite pertinent to the plot. 

"The Last Woman in the Forest" almost garnered a 5/5 rating for me.  However, there is one particularly disturbing scene where one of the dogs is injured.  It's very detailed and sad (SPOILER ALERT - the dog lives).  Another issue is I had pretty much figured out the twist at the end by the middle of the book.  However, it was still a very enjoyable read and I would recommend it to any thriller lover.

RATING: 4 PAWS


33 comments:

  1. Great review. I read this one too and loved it. I do love the cover and critters get to me, especially dogs.
    sherry @ fundinmental

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    1. Thanks. Yes, that cover is definitely done well. This is a perfect winter read.

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  2. I think I would enjoy this -- the secrets and the truth behind what Tate was u to.

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  3. Gosh, even the blurb got my heart rate up. (Glad the dog lives.) Thanks for reviewing this one!

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    1. I had to include that. So many of my blogging friends are animal lovers and it sometimes helps to know that. I even had to message one who had already read it to ask if anything else happened before I continued.

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  4. I really like the cover on the book but concerns about what happened to the poor dog! I'm glad he/she lives though!

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    1. It's kind of a line-of-duty accident and not out-and-out animal cruelty which made it somewhat easier to handle.

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  5. I feel I have to mention when animals get hurt or killed. So many of us are sensitive to that and I shudder to recommend a book and shock someone with such an event so I try to alert readers without spoiling, if I can. Thanks for the heads up. I still really want to read this!

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    1. I feel exactly the same and don't even really consider things like "the dog lives" an actual spoiler. It's more of a public service announcement :)

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  6. This sounds really good, also I love the concept of rescue dogs being trained to help people. And thank you for letting us know the good news about the injured dog!

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    1. Yes the rescue dog aspect was really interesting.

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  7. Oh the characters do sound goo! It's great that your last book of 2018 was this good! Good omen for 2019 :)

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  8. Thanks for heads up about the dog--and the Spoiler. It's nice to know ahead of time so I can be prepared. This sounds really good, and I'm glad you enjoyed it, Barb!

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    1. Yea when it comes to animals, I have to be prepared.

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  9. This sounds great. i would love to work with dogs all day!

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  10. Oh, this does sound good, Barb! I've put it on my list of books and hope to read it this spring. The last book I read in 2018 was Splintered Silence by Susan Furlong. I think you would enjoy it. (There's a dog in it!)

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    1. I just grabbed Splintered Silence because of you. Thanks for the recommendation.

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    1. I do think you would like it and figured you might be interested.

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  12. I love how the fate of the dog *always* trumps spoiling anyone. We need to know!

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    1. It does. I knew a lot of my followers would understand.

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  13. This sounds really good, Barb! I will have to see what I can do to get my hands on it.

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    1. I think when it comes out it's gonna be pretty popular so maybe your local library will have it.

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  14. Do you have a sign-up for your Puppy Love Challenge?

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    1. Jan, I left you a message on your blog as well. It's going up Sunday!

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  15. I'm enjoyed reading some thrillers at the moment so I'll keep this in mind - particularly as the dog lives! Good spoiler btw. :D
    Lynn

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    1. Glad you liked the spoiler. Inquiring animal lovers have to know right?

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  16. This sounds good, especially now that I can skip over the dog injury part. I don't handle that well. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. 👍✨

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