Last Seen Alive: A Novel
Last Seen Alive: A Novel book cover

Last Seen Alive: A Novel

Paperback – June 26, 2018

Price
$13.96
Format
Paperback
Pages
336
Publisher
Harper Paperbacks
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0062843173
Dimensions
5.31 x 0.76 x 8 inches
Weight
8 ounces

Description

“Thrillingly tense and twisty, a great read.”xa0 — B. A. Paris, the bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors “Just finished Last Seen Alive . . . it’s so twisty, turning and grippy. Highly recommend it!xa0 — Gilly Macmillan, the bestselling author of What She Knew “Fast-paced and chock-full of twists, Last Seen Alive is both absorbing and gripping. After reading it you’ll never dream of a house swap again.” — Paula Daly, author of The Mistake I Made She can run . . . Libby Hall needs to hide, to escape from a personal and public tragedy. Which is why the house swap with the Heywoods is a godsend. Libby can’t believe her and her husband, Jamie’s, good fortune in exchanging their tiny city flat for a beautiful haven on the English coast. But she can’t hide . . . But before they can begin to relax and work to heal their fragile marriage, Libby makes some disturbing discoveries about the house. The peace and isolation of the getaway begin to feel threatening. How alone are they? Why does she feel like someone is watching them? Because someone knows her secret . . . When it appears that even Jamie is hiding something from her, Libby’s paranoia gets the best of her. It should. For she has buried secrets of her own. As the past comes crawling out of the darkness, Libby fears she’s walked into an elaborate trap. But who has set it? What do they want from her? And how far is she willing to go to keep her past deeds hidden? A deeply atmospheric and utterly addictive thriller that examines how far one woman will go to outrun her former life, Last Seen Alive will keep readers guessing right up to its shocking conclusion. Claire Douglas has worked as a journalist for fifteen years, writing features for women’s magazines and newspapers, but she’s dreamed of being a novelist since the age of seven. She finally got her wish after winning Marie Claire ’s Debut Novel Award for her first book, The Sisters , which became a bestseller. She lives in Bath, England, with her husband and two children. Read more

Features & Highlights

  • “Thrillingly tense and twisty, a great read.” — B. A. Paris, the bestselling author of
  • Behind Closed Doors
  • One woman is trapped in the death-grip of the past—and every one of its dark secrets—in this riveting novel of psychological suspense from Claire Douglas, award-winning author of
  • The Sisters
  • and
  • Local Girl Missing.
  • As much as Libby Hall needs a vacation, she’s never considered taking one until she sees the note for a house swap. Suffering a miscarriage was a personal turning point. Saving a child from a burning school was a public one. Just as the emotional fallout of both incidents takes its toll, along comes her lifesavers—the Heywoods, a couple in need of a getaway of their own.
  • Libby and her husband Jamie can’t believe their good fortune when they arrive at the Heywood’s isolated seaside estate with its panoramic views—and just in exchange for their drab two-bedroom apartment. How generous of the Heywoods! Yet how odd. Libby almost feels guilty until the home yields disquieting surprises: a fortune in hidden surveillance equipment, a stranger in the garden who watches them, and the make-shift operating room in the basement…
  • When Jamie falls dangerously ill, all Libby wants is to return to their comfortably imperfect lives. But it’s already too late. Libby has just discovered the Heywoods’ biggest secret. And when it appears that even Jamie is hiding something from her, Libby’s paranoia gets the best of her. It should. For she has buried secrets of her own. As the past comes crawling out of the darkness, Libby fears she’s walked into an elaborate trap. But who has set it? What do they want of her? And what is she willing to risk to make it out alive…?

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(930)
★★★★
25%
(775)
★★★
15%
(465)
★★
7%
(217)
23%
(713)

Most Helpful Reviews

✓ Verified Purchase

Great thrill

Great thriller had me up late at night tearing through it page by page till done, recommend to any Gillian Flynn or Ruth ware fans!
3 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

A VERY CLEVER PLOT

Beth ran away from home at 15 & lived in a squat until she met & married Sean. He was older, suave & well-off. When he became abusive, she emptied out their joint bank account, fled England & arrived in the colorful city of Bangkok where she met Karen.

Karen had only been in Thailand less than 24 hours, when she met Beth on a train. Karen's life had also been bleak. She dropped out of school at 16. Her father was a raging alcoholic & when his liver finally gave out, she bought the first available flight out of Yorkshire.

They hung out with other backpackers; Emma from Ireland, Lars from Finland and Harry & Dylan from New Jersey. They partied hard, swam in the clear jade waters & sunbathed on the pure white beaches. Beth had a crush on Harry. Harry had a crush on Karen. That's when things got nasty between Beth & Karen. They were both young, hot-headed & vindictive. This is the foundation for a series of disturbing events that take place & seemingly start with a house swap.
3 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

page-turner with many flaws and a flat ending

This is a page turner and an interesting read but full of problems. The couple are dense. For example, they get things in mail that they didn't order, so return them. They never think to check their credit card. The cops ask if anything unusual has happened and they say no, forgetting the items they didn't order and other oddities that are happening. They never think to call the hospital to see if their house swapper's daughter was actually admitted. When Beth's passport is missing she gets a new one, in a different name. (Wouldn't the consulate want to know why she left the country with one name and is returning with another?) Jamie acts like a teenager. Many more but the point is they all distract from the story and could have been avoided.
✓ Verified Purchase

Fast read, good twist

Enjoyed the twists and turns, hard to put down
✓ Verified Purchase

Must Read

Great read!
✓ Verified Purchase

My favorite new author!

This was my first read by this author and she did not disappoint! Excellent writing and kept you hooked with twists throughout! I'm hoping there's a sequel as it's left unfinished to me at the end! I bought her other 2 books because I loved this!
✓ Verified Purchase

Excellent twist

This book had me staying up late to read and haunting my dreams the night I did finish it!
✓ Verified Purchase

Engaging and original

In Last Seen Alive, Claire Douglas weaves a story that is engaging and has definite new and unexpected twists. It wasn't like any other thriller I've ever read, in the best of all possible ways.

It's just disturbing enough and the characters are interesting. Not only that, the conflict is compelling.
✓ Verified Purchase

I felt the first part was really the best part of the book

This was definitely a page turner, however, I felt the first part was really the best part of the book, the part in Thailand was fascinating but a little bit too contrite and the last part was confusing because you didn't know which person was narrating the chapter. And then the ending made it seem like the author might have another book planned to wrap things up in a better way.
✓ Verified Purchase

Douglas is a master of writing complicated, manipulative women.

The Sisters by Claire Douglas blew my mind and received a 5 star rating. I remember being very disturbed by the manipulative nature of the women in that novel, so when I saw that Douglas had written another book, Last Seen Alive, to say I had high hopes was an understatement. This must put a lot of pressure on authors, but with this book, Douglas proved that she can live up to that pressure.

To be honest, I felt a little unimpressed with the first half of the book. Weird things were happening and I was invested enough to want to know why and what secrets were being kept, but nothing really overly wowed me and I was kind of disappointed. Until I reached about half way through and the book reared way left and I finally got that blow-my-mind feeling. The last half of the book is a twisted, messed up situation and I loved it.

Douglas is a master of writing complicated, manipulative women. Women scorned and angry who end up doing unimaginable things to other women and themselves. I liked how easily likeable the characters were, so that by the time you figure out what is really going on, you’re already sucked in.

I really like how deep and dark Douglas takes her stories and how when it looks like there’s finally a light at the end of the tunnel, she has one more surprise in store just to shatter everything. I’m always caught off guard and can never anticipate what is coming, which is exactly what I want from a book like this.

Originally posted on citygirlscapes.com