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The bar was set high by the debut novel The Last Mrs. Parrish. The odds were that the Constantine sisters’ second book would not be quite as good. While I knew that going in, I was still very disappointed by The Last Time I Saw You.
There were too many characters to start off and it was easy to get them confused. But more importantly, I didn’t feel like I got to know anyone that well, especially the protagonist. Actually Kate was kind of pathetic and someone I would never want to get to know.
The book opens with the murder of Kate’s mother Lily and we follow the investigation and also the stalking of Kate. Kate suffers from an anxiety disorder which adds to the tension and stress of receiving strange notes and packages by the stalker. Here is one such sinister note -
Such a beautiful day for a funeral. I enjoyed watching you watch them lower your mother into the ground. Your beautiful face was mottled and swollen from crying. But I delighted in seeing your world fall apart. You think you’re sad now, just wait. By the time I’m finished with you, you’ll wish you had been buried today.
Kate and Simon are having marital problems and prior to the murder were separated but now he returns to the house to protect Kate and their daughter Annabelle. Kate’s best friend Blaire attends the funeral and reconnects with Kate after a falling out years ago in which Blaire tried to talk her out of marrying Simon. Blaire was close to the family, almost like a sister to Kate, spending time with the family. For instance, she spent summers with them at their beach house and even had her own room.
I was unable to engage with any of the characters as I felt they were all two-dimensional. The book was filled with cliches and had a soap opera feel to it. I did not find it at all suspenseful but instead, dull. I am hoping that their next book is more like their debut.
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