The Last Invitation: A Novel
The Last Invitation: A Novel book cover

The Last Invitation: A Novel

Kindle Edition

Price
$11.99
Publisher
Avon
Publication Date

Description

The Last Invitation is packed with all the must-haves for a relentless, intricately woven thriller—a secret society, the past coming to haunt the present, and a surprise villain. A tale of old friendships, secrets, and revenge, Kane reminds you once again to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. — Jaime Lynn Hendricks, bestselling author of Finding Tessa and It Could Be Anyone "Darby Kane deserves credit for dispensing with anything resembling a slow burn in The Replacement Wife . There is a rollicking, almost absurdist tone to Kane’s writing that kept me engaged…Finally, after several doses of sociopathy, more than a little gaslighting and arguments galore, nearly all of Elisa’s suspicions are confirmed in the worst possible way. 'Nearly' saves room for a final surprise I didn’t foresee." — New York Times Book Review "Kane delivers another fast-paced domestic thriller that’s sure to please fans of psychological suspense and family drama." — Library Journal on The Replacement Wife "Debut mystery author Kane blends tense domestic suspense with procedural details and legal thriller–like verbal sparring. A page-turner built on skillfullyxa0layered plotting and an intriguing protagonist." — Booklist (starred review) on Pretty Little Wife “This twisted thriller’s got serious Gone Girl vibes. As in, the main character is deeply flawed, you won’t always know what’s real, and you won’t be able to put it down.”xa0 — The Skimm on Pretty Little Wife “I love it when I find a thriller so fun I can’t put it down, like this one from Darby Kane.” — Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling authorxa0on Pretty Little Wife Pretty Little Wife is domestic suspense at its best, with a chilling premise that keeps you guessing to the last page. Add Darby Kane to your must-read list! — New York Times bestselling author, Wendy Corsi Staub on Pretty Little Wife “I devoured it in two days. This is the type of thriller I love the most: A taut domestic suspense with just a shade of police procedural woven in.” — Julie Clark, New York Times bestselling author on Pretty Little Wife "Intriguing...Kane is off to a promising start." — Publishers Weekly on Pretty Little Wife “ Pretty Little Wife explores the consequences of unacknowledged trauma and dares to ask whether murder is ever justified. It’s an exciting departure for HelenKay Dimon, the bestselling romance author for whom Darby Kane is a pseudonym. There’s certainly no guarantee of a happily ever after, though there is hope for hard-won redemption.” — BookPage on Pretty Little Wife “This is a crazy ride of a book that will leave readers speechless as they wonder if Lila will get away with it and just where Aaron went. Bravo to Kane!” — The Parkerburg News and Sentinel on Pretty Little Wife “Even after we’ve read the last page, Kane leaves us with some lingering questions about how much Lila knew and when she knew it. Good writing and a plot that drives the action and builds the suspense make Pretty Little Wife an excellent choice for fans of murder mysteries.” — Book Reporter on Pretty Little Wife “If you’re looking for one of the best and tightly-plotted thrillers you’ll read this year, let me introduce you to Pretty Little Wife .” — Mystery and Suspense Magazine on Pretty Little Wife “Pretty Little Wife by Darby Kane delights in subverting the expectations of readers” — Popsugar on Pretty Little Wife "I devoured The Replacement Wife . I absolutely loved every minute of this wild ride. I’m left in awe of Kane’s ability to suck readers in from page one. I could not stop turning the pages. Every reveal rocketed up the tension…so well-done and gave me that precious can’t-wait-until-I-can-go-back-to-my-book feeling. Fast-paced and super addictive!" — Ashley Winstead, author of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife on The Replacement Wife “[An] engrossing psychological thriller. Kane ( Pretty Little Wife ) doubles up the action with two unreliable characters caught up in gaslighting, family secrets and betrayal.” — Shelf Awareness on The Replacement Wife "Darby Kane’s THE LAST INVITATION is not only a thriller that will keep you up late, turning pages and questioning every character, it’s also timely in a way the world needs right now, addressing domestic violence and womens rights. We already knew Kane could write a twisty thriller—now we know she can do so while confronting injustices in the world. If you want a thriller that will keep your toes and makes you think, The Last Invitation is what you’ve been waiting for."xa0 — Jessica Payne, author of Make Me Disappear and The Lucky One --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Darby Kane is a former trial attorney and #1 international bestseller of domestic suspense. Her debut book, PRETTY LITTLE WIFE, was featured in numerous venues, including Cosmopolitan, The Washington Post, The Toronto Star, Popsugar, Refinery29, Goodreads, The Skimm, and Huffington Post. A native of Pennsylvania, Darby now lives in California and runs from the cold. When she’s not writing suspense, she can be found watching suspense, thrillers, and mysteries. You can find out more at darbykane.com. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Features & Highlights

  • Darby Kane, the author of the critically acclaimed and #1 International Bestseller
  • Pretty Little Wife,
  • has crafted another gripping and twisty suspense about an invitation to an exclusive club that comes with deadly consequences.
  • They meet the second Tuesday of every month and vote…and then someone dies.
  • Over the last few years, prominent people—a retired diplomat, beloved basketball coach, the CEO of an empire—have died in a series of fluke accidents and shocking suicides. There’s no apparent connection, no signs of foul play. Behind it all is a powerful group of women, the Sophie Foundation, who meet over wine and cheese to review files of men who behave very,
  • very
  • badly, and then mete out justice.
  • Jessa Hall jumped at the mysterious, exclusive invitation to this secret club. The invite comes when she’s at her lowest, aching for a way to take back control. After years of fighting and scratching to get ahead, she’s ready for a chance to make the “bad guys” lose. Jessa soon realizes, though, just how far she’s willing to go and how dangerous this game has become.
  • Once in the group, it’s impossible to get out. She has nowhere to turn except former friend Gabby Fielding who is investigating the mysterious death of her ex-husband. Aligned in their goal to take down the Foundation, Gabby and Jessa need each other but working together doesn’t mean they trust each other…or that either will survive to tell the truth.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(72)
★★★★
20%
(48)
★★★
15%
(36)
★★
7%
(17)
28%
(67)

Most Helpful Reviews

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A SINISTER TALE OF METING OUT JUSTICE...

Over the last few years, prominent people—a retired diplomat, beloved basketball coach, the CEO of an empire—have died in a series of fluke accidents and shocking suicides. There’s no apparent connection, no signs of foul play. Behind it all is a powerful group of women, the Sophie Foundation, who meet over wine and cheese to review files of men who behave very, very badly, and then mete out justice.

Jessa Hall jumped at the mysterious, exclusive invitation to this secret club. The invite comes when she’s at her lowest, aching for a way to take back control. After years of fighting and scratching to get ahead, she’s ready for a chance to make the “bad guys” lose. Jessa soon realizes, though, just how far she’s willing to go and how dangerous this game has become.

Once in the group, it’s impossible to get out. She has nowhere to turn except former friend Gabby Fielding who is investigating the mysterious death of her ex-husband. Aligned in their goal to take down the Foundation, Gabby and Jessa need each other but working together doesn’t mean they trust each other…or that either will survive to tell the truth.

 

My Thoughts:

When old college friends Gabby and Jessa reconnect in their adult lives in The Last Invitation, we are thrust into a sinister world of women meting out a form of justice to those deserving of this punishment.

Our characters alternate in their narrative of their lives and how they end up in this unique situation, and just when we think we understand all the ins and outs of the group, we learn how deadly it can be.

How will Gabby and Jessa fare as they fight the demands of the foundation, and will they find a way to move beyond the secrets of the past?

A tantalizing tale that held me in its grip all the way through, earning 4.5 stars.

***
6 people found this helpful
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the last invitation

Secret society? All women vigilante group? Need I say more? This was a great read! I rated it 3 ⭐️ because the first half of the book was slow, but once it picked up, it did not it! This book taught me two things: secrets never stay buried and be careful of who you trust. Definitely recommend!
3 people found this helpful
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Good read.

This author never disappoints you with the twists and turns. Characters are always different from book to book making you second guess the story.
2 people found this helpful
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Just wasn’t great.

Not nearly as enjoyable as Pretty Little Wife. And ending left a lot to be desired. Almost abandoned finishing, but I stuck it out hoping it would come to a satisfying endearing, disappointed
1 people found this helpful
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Twisty, turny, revengy!

Loved the twists and turns, the strong women, and tight pacing (finished it in a day and a half!). There are lots of characters to keep straight but it’s worth it.
1 people found this helpful
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Wow!

Wow! Just about set the pages on fire reading this in a day. This is a wild ride. Trust no one.
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Ok

It was a promising storyline, but didn't hold suspense or interest for me. Will try another of the author's works.
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Fast paced read that had a lot of twists and turns that kept me guessing.

“They meet the second Tuesday of every month and vote…and then someone dies.” That line in the synopsis of Darby Kane’s latest book, The Last Invitation, really grabbed my attention. I love a good thriller with a bunch of power-hungry women who think it is up to them to provide justice when the courts don’t.

The Sophie Foundation is made up of seven powerful women, who meet over cheese and wine and review the files of men who have behaved very badly, but never got the justice they deserved. Over the past few years some very prominent men have died via a series of fluke accidents and suicides.

Jessa Hall is a lawyer who is at the lowest point of her career, so when she receives an invitation to join The Sophie Foundation she jumps at the chance. Jessa is more than ready to make the bad guys lose. But Jessa soon realizes she may not be ready to go as far as the foundation expects her to go and that trying to leave the group is dangerous and could cost her her life.

Gabby Fielding’s ex-husband has just died from an apparent suicide. Gabby does not believe he would commit suicide and when she starts to push for an investigation into his death, she finds out that there is more to the story. As she pushes forward to find the truth she puts herself, her daughter and brother in-law in danger. Gabby and Jessa are frenemies but realize that to take the Foundation down, they need to work together.

There is so much I want to say about what happens in this book but cannot without spoiling things. I had a love/hate relationship with both Gabby and Jessa. They were both badass, strong women. I liked Gabby more; she was determined to get to the bottom of her ex-husband’s death, even though their divorce was anything but amicable. I didn’t warm up to Jessa until the end. She was a bitch. LOL! She didn’t play by the rules and crossed the lawyer ethical line a lot of times and always found a way to justify it. I really enjoyed watching both Gabby and Jessa work together when they teamed up. Neither trusted the other one, which made for some very tense moments. I really hoped that they would be able to overcome their differences and reveal the truth about the foundation, as well as survive the process. They also had a lot of great back and forth banter that made me chuckle at times.

The Last Invitation was a fast paced read that had a lot of twists and turns that kept me guessing. There were a couple of twists at the end that made my jaw drop and also put a tear in my eye.
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A novel I should have DNFed

After a tragedy takes the lives of several people closest to her, Judge Loretta Swain forms The Sophie Foundation, a charity organization meant to be a champion for female health and empowerment. Not all that shines is gold, however, and behind its good press lays a seedy underbelly. The women on the board play judge, jury, and executioner when it comes to men behaving badly. For the past few years, prominent men have met their untimely demise, whether in a fluke accident or suicide. Their deaths go unquestioned until one grieving widow, Gabby Fielding, begins her own probe into why her self-absorbed husband would take his own life. No one pays her any mind but it becomes only a matter of time until her questions start ruffling the wrong feathers. If she's not careful, it's not only her life at stake.

I wanted to like this novel more than I did. The execution fell rather flat, especially when it came to the two female leads. The premise makes it sound like they would be working together to bring down the foundation but that's not the case. Instead, there was a lot of rehashing of previous slights, which was exhausting. I never understood how either of them could have been friends to begin with. Truthfully, I should have DNFed this book.
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Intriguing

I enjoyed this book. It was very fast-paced and intense! The characters were well written and the ending was great.