The Last Place You Look

By: Kristen Lepionka

Narrated by: Allyson Ryan

Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Nobody knows what happened to Sarah Cook. The beautiful blonde teenager disappeared 15 years ago, the same night her parents were brutally murdered in their suburban Ohio home. Her boyfriend, Brad Stockton - black and from the wrong side of the tracks - was convicted of the murders and is now on death row. Though he's maintained his innocence all along, the clock is running out. His execution is only weeks away when his devoted sister insists she spied Sarah at an area gas station. Willing to try anything, she hires PI Roxane Weary to look at the case and see if she can locate Sarah.

Brad might be in a bad way, but private investigator Roxane Weary isn't doing so hot herself. Still reeling from the recent death of her cop father in the line of duty, her main way of dealing with her grief has been working as little and drinking as much as possible. But Roxane finds herself drawn in to the story of Sarah's vanishing act, especially when she links the disappearance to one of her father's unsolved murder cases involving another teen girl. The stakes get higher as Roxane discovers that the two girls may not be the only blonde teenagers who've turned up missing or dead. As her investigation gets darker, Roxane will have to risk everything to find the truth. Lives depend on her cracking this case - hers included.

©2017 Kristen Lepionka (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Alcoholic PI

Roxanne Weary is a functioning alcoholic, which is revealed slowly throughout the book. Nine months prior her police officer father is killed in the line of duty, and since then Roxanne has spiraled out of control. Roxanne as a character is damaged and so too are all the members of her family. Roxanne is hired to find a woman who's been missing for fourteen years. If the missing woman can be found it may exonerate a death row inmate approaching his execution. In this pursuit Roxanne comes upon old mysteries, secrets and new relationships, which unearth a tangled web. A web that is just as tangled as her personal life which is a mess.
Roxanne's intimate life revolves around two very different characters, her high school sweetheart and her dad's ex partner Tom. Here is where the story gets complicated, as Roxanne is bi sexual. It isn't her bisexuality that complicates matters it's a total lack of respect Roxanne has for herself, that makes matters messy. Roxanne's high school sweetheart is Catherine a total and unapologetic narcissist. The world literally revolves around Catherine and she uses Roxanne like a disposable kleenex. Roxanne is a vibrate woman and yes she uses alcohol to self medicate, but that in no way excuses Catherine's behavior. If Catherine was a male character he would be a pig for using Roxanne, but Roxanne makes excuses for her. Yuck! Then there is Tom who I really like as he isn't a pig, but needs more that Roxanne is willing to give so he is seeing someone new. URGH. I hate relationship triangles, especially where one character is so loathsome.
I don't know if I will read book two because despite the book being well written, I need likable characters and those are few in Roxanne's world.

Flawed but capable protagonist

This book started slow for me, I wasn't sure about the plot and if it would be a cliche. For me, it was worth the read. It's tricky to have a protagonist that's such a mess sometimes, but, I ended up like how relatable Roxane was. I already bought the next book in the series.

Just OK.

Any additional comments?

Despite the cover, this wasn't really a thriller, and was more of a standard whodunit mystery. The main character was your standard PI trope: female private investigator who lives alone, drinks too much, has a middling love life, struggles with money, has a frustrating family, daddy issues, etc. The mystery was pretty easy to see through early on. The book passed the time, but I wouldn't say it brought anything new to the table, and I'll forget all about it within a week.

Really good

I enjoyed every minute of this book and immediately checked for another by the same author ☹️

I hope another book by Kristen Lepionka comes soon!

great story line!

I was completely along for the ride in this story. Discoving clues as they came, never able to get ahead as the story unfolded. Amazing!

Solid mystery story

This book is interesting and keeps the pace moving well to hold your attention. It has quite the unique style of first person narrative that I don't personally find often in other books, but it worked well here. Definitely recommend it!

A good read!+

The book was a good read (listen). I enjoyed the mystery parts but not the fact she drank so much!

A fresh voice with a great story

I love this new character and story line. The plot was terrific. The main character, with her vulnerabilities and strengths was believable and strong. I'm impressed by the writing, the pace of the story, and the development of minor characters. I've just ordered the next book in the series. Nice work.

Too slow moving for me

I felt like the book plot was too slow moving. It wasn't a bad storyline it just didn't come together as quick as a thriller usually does. That may be its intent since the main character is really bad at detective work. So if that's the case then good job.. I guess?

One of the Best Stories on Audible

To be honest, I picked up this audiobook because the author is from my city (Columbus, Ohio) and the story is set here. But, wow, I had no idea the book would be this good. The writing is excellent - compelling, page-turning (metaphorically, of course), emotional, funny as hell. The protagonist, Roxane Weary, is so lovable and persistent you just want to have a drink with her. I can't explain how much I enjoyed this book. Could this be her first book? The only other one I see is on pre-order (not out yet). Her writing is so mature and intricate. I loved this book! Great job Kristen! (And thanks for setting it in Columbus!)