The Last Word Book Review

Content warning: this review discusses stalking and animal abuse.

Have you ever left a one-star review of a book and got into an argument with its author? I’m sure some reviewers secretly have that fear when writing their critiques. After all, they are entitled to their opinions. At the same time, they wrote theirs for the public to see. But what if the writer takes it too far? This premise is the basis for the novel The Last Word by Taylor Adams. I came for the concept, and I left with lasting memories about its insanity and memorable main character. Needless to say, I loved it.

The Last Word is about a woman who posts a negative review of a book whose author may or may not be seeking revenge. Emma Carpenter lives with her English Cream Golden Retriever Laika in an old, isolated beachfront home in Washington state. Her only human contacts are her enigmatic neighbor Deek whom she plays remote Hangman with, and (via-text) the house owner, Jules. One day, she reads a poorly written, but gruesome horror book written by H.G. Kane and posts an one-star review of it. This drags her into an online argument with the author himself. Soon after, disturbing incidents begin to occur at night. To Emma, this can’t be a coincidence. It was one thing for the author to bicker with her about her review, but could he be stalking her too? As she digs into Kane’s life and work, she discovers that he’s published 16 other novels, all of them involving sadistic tales of stalking and murder. Yet, who is he? How did he find her? What is he capable of?

This premise had me intrigued the moment I read the blurb. Not only was it compelling, but I also had a similar experience with an author online. Last year, I posted a review of a book on Amazon. I had notified him about this, but he told me that I was spoiling too much of his novel. Unless I edited those parts out, he wanted me to take it down. I tweaked it as much as I could, but it wasn’t enough. In addition, he didn’t like that my review was going to be the first one that people will see on that website because of the spoilers and that I gave it four stars. We had a back-and-forth, in which he told me how to do my job. Afterwards, I alerted the marketing person who recommended that author to me about the situation. Oh, and this all happened while I was vacationing in Wisconsin. After reading The Last Word, it made me thankful that he didn’t stalk me.

The book features excerpts from Kane’s novel, and it was certainly gruesome and somewhat poorly written. If I were in Emma’s shoes and read a title like that, I would have done the same thing and posted a one-star review. It also features a unique way of showing the author/antagonist’s inner monologue. Both the book Emma reads and the one Kane is supposedly writing are in fonts that are different from the main story. It truly highlights who’s thinking at a certain moment.

In addition to the plot itself, I love how it’s fast-paced and full of twists and turns. Every second I was wondering what was going to happen with Emma. Will she make it out or not? Even when things seemed like they were over, another obstacle would come as a surprise, especially towards the end. I have to warn certain readers that something horrible happens to the dog at one point.

While the best part of The Last Word is the premise, another memorable aspect is the main character. Emma is originally from Utah, but she housesits in Washington State to get away from a personal tragedy. Seeing her arc from bottling up her emotions to holding nothing back was exhilarating. In addition, she gets to do some pretty cool stunts like climbing up the laundry shute while trying to outwit her adversary. Readers, don’t try that at home.

The Last Word by Taylor Adams is an exciting mystery thriller. The protagonist is one that readers would want to root for the moment they meet her. On top of that, the entire premise is fantastic because it leans into something reviewers might be afraid of. Luckily, most will never get stalked by the author in question. I would recommend this novel for anybody who loves mystery thrillers, especially those who write book reviews. 

Before I go, I want to let everyone know that I have recorded the latest episode of the Adapt Me Podcast. Goodreads reviewer and frequent guest Cheyne Nomura and I talk about how we would adapt this novel into a low-budget thriller/horror movie. Keep an eye out for the link.

Pick up a copy to see who gets the last word.

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