The Last Child: A Novel Mass Market Paperback – March 1, 2016

I found this book at my "Dumpbrary" - my little town's transfer station which keeps an indoor book corner (and yes, it is named the "Dumpbrary" :D). I work at a jail and weekly I browse the Dumpbrary for books to bring to the inmates. I picked up a well-read copy of The Last Child, quickly scanned the back cover, and was intrigued. It's always those first few pages that tells you if you will continue with the story or not. I was hooked on page one! Okay, maybe page 2 or 3. I downloaded the Kindle version because it's just easier to see and handle an e-reader in bed, and of course I could pass along the paperback to the jail library.The character development was amazing. The author made it easy to visualize them, their expressions, voices and mannerisms - to love them or hate them or feel sorry for them. I LOVE that about an author! I struggled with the setting. I'm from very rural New Hampshire and have never been to the Carolinas. But I've been to northwest Georgia so I used a little town there as my Last Child town. I assumed the story was set in a small town, until later in the book the multi-level mall, hospital, large police station, etc revealed it as a small or midsize city. I had to readjust my town setting a few times. Hush Arbor and Johnny's journey to it was perfect though. I could see every track, swamp, river and trail (I suppose easier because the landscape was familiar to my own region - I'm surrounded by bear trails, swamps, dirt roads, and meadows in the middle of deep woods).At first I was a bit let down by the ending but the writer skillfully and nicely lifted me up. The ending was beautiful. It leaves the reader with a sense of hope and rightness and that is exactly how I love stories to end. I also loved how the writer stayed neutral about politics. He didn't have an agenda. So many authors nowadays use their stories to attack certain religions or political parties. (I stopped reading Stephen King novels entirely several years ago because of this. It is just childish, shortsighted, and boring!). Hart's writing sees the good and bad in all people, of all backgrounds and beliefs. It goes to a deeper level. I really enjoyed and appreciated that.This story HAUNTED me when I wasn't reading it. I read mostly at night because it makes me sleepy. The Last Child did make me sleepy but then I would wake up in the middle of the night thinking about it, debating whether to stay up and read more, then cursing that it was keeping me awake! :D That has never happened to me with any other story. THAT is GOOD writing! I have already purchased The Hush and can't wait to begin!

The Last Child is a crime novel and a thriller, but at its heart it is a book about the emotional wreckage wrought by the abduction of a child. One year before the events of the book, 12-year-old Alyssa disappeared. Alyssa's mother rarely leaves her house and has developed a bad alcohol and prescription drug problem. Alyssa's father took off after a few months of torment without leaving so much as a note. The detective in charge of the case lost his wife, his relationship with his son, and his reputation within the department. But it is Johnny, Alyssa's twin brother, who has it worst of all. He lost his closest companion and the adults in his life are all too caught up in their own problems to give him much thought. There is no lonelier place in the world than to be such a child.Understandably, Johnny remains obsessed with finding his sister. Unlike the adults, he can still operate under the illusion that everything would go back to the way it was if only he could find her. It's refreshing though, to see his determination in the face of the adults wallowing in self pity and self destructive behavior. Things begin to get very interesting, very quickly when another girl disappears and the plot doesn't slow down for the rest of the book.The Last Child is rare in that it both creates very real characters in rich detail and is heavy with plot twists. It is even more rare in that it does both throughout the book. Hart wonderfully captures the semi-rural county in the NC sand hills the books takes place in. The use of multiple POVs better exposes the motivations and emotional damage of the characters. Hart does particular well with the difficult task of putting the reader inside the head of a very emotionally damaged boy. He does all of this while constantly yanking the plot in a different direction as new events take place and new clues are uncovered.Unfortunately, it is this very strength that ultimately detracts from the book. Hart goes so far to hint at so much that the final reveal is forced to be less salacious than hinted at in order to be surprising. It also happens more as a matter of coincidence than due to the actions of the characters. It works on one level in that it encourages us to think more deeply about the characters and provides some deeper meaning but is a bit weak as a plot twist.

I read perhaps 2-3 novels a week, teach Freshman college literature, and I usually give 2-4 ratings, but this book captured me from page one and held me on pins and needles until the very last page. This was my first John Hart book but I'm already ordering another. How can anyone NOT fall in love with the character of Johnny. He is amazing, tough to the core and smart as a whip, but oh so damaged. I thought initially that perhaps the writer was giving him too much maturity for his young age, but perhaps not for a kid who's street wise, on his own. He handled tragedy that many adults could not and kept going. I have to admit I did get disgusted with his mom; I've no patience with drug abusers. But redemption came finally. I was fascinated with the history of the Lumbee indians in that area of N.C, though,. because I was already familiar with it having grown up near there, and was captured by the legend of Isaac's last son. What a sad story his was. This book didn't take the expected twists and turns that many writers would have given it. I thought the last little supernatural bit at the end added even more interest. God surely works in mysterious ways, as the book points out, and life IS circular. Just when you think you have it all figured out, there's another twist and you're spinning again. I simply could not put down the last 100 pages. Highly recommend this one.