Book Review: Last Night by Karen Ellis

This second-in-series was every bit as engaging as the first – despite a much slower start and the relegation of one of my favorite characters (Elsa, who was THE major detective in book one) to an exceptionally minor side role… It took me longer to connect to the characters this time; Saki is, by design and personality, not an easy character to engage with, nor is Glynnie. But Crisp and JJ were delightful and heart-breaking and I found their unfolding tales to be all too believable and real. It made some of the reading difficult, but in a good, emotionally-charged, way.

I still find Lex (the major consistent player in the two books) a difficult character. I’m not sure if I like him – or feel much of anything at all for him, frankly. He feels like the least well-developed of the major players, and is still a bit of an enigma to me. I’m curious to see if Ellis will continue to draw him out in further titles, and will definitely pick them up because the writing and plot development here are really well presented. And I quite like the way she presents the stories in quasi-real time; it makes the pacing feel slick and fleet and keeps me on the edge of my seat throughout. A great combination, that, especially when paired with such dynamic (generally) characters – even when I don’t love them (hello, Glynnie) I can’t help but be drawn in to their drama…

Thanks to NetGalley for my review copy.