When Vanessa Jessup returns home from her sophomore year of college, her mother, Police Chief Brill Jessup, is stunned to see that she’s pregnant—by one of her professors. Brill is glad Vanessa rejected the father’s abortion ultimatum, but hurt that she ignored her upbringing and angry that the professor has disappeared without a trace.
But that’s not all Brill’s got on her plate. One of her detectives has been killed, and the attacker has threatened to come for her next. When a second cop is wounded, public criticism mounts as Brill attempts to stay alive long enough to catch the perp. And she’s trying to find that deadbeat dad as Vanessa struggles to make decisions about her future. The killer seems to be everywhere and nowhere. How can a police chief—and a mother—do her job with her life on the line? In a show of grace under pressure, Brill will manage to have the last word, even if it kills her.
Kathy Herman returns to Sophie Trace in this page-turner about God’s power to heal the broken.
My Review
“The Last Word” is my first Christian/suspense novel to read and I was really just surprised how quickly I got caught up with reading “The Last Word“.
Set in the fictional small town of Sophie Trace, Tennessee with the Smoky Mountains as a backdrop, “The Last Word” is really a book of two storys.
On one side you have, Police Chief Jessup dealing with a mysterious pattern of murders that are leading to her and on the other hand, you have the story of a couple, Police Chief Jessup and her husband, Kurt, dealing with a sad, but unfortunately every day topic of teenage pregnancy, when their daughter, Vanessa returns home, pregnant and facing a difficult choice in her life.
The background of the story is played around the scripture, Romans 1:16:
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. (Romans 1:16, New King James Version),
At first the reader maybe puzzled with what does this have to do with a suspense book, but as one reads through the book, the reasoning soon comes to light.
Heart-stopping at times, Kathy Herman interwines the two stories in ,”The Last Word“,in such a way, that at the climax, it becomes like a roller coaster ride that leaves you with the thought that, this is not a good place to stop reading, until you, the reader, finds out what happens next.
What I enjoyed about, “The Last Word“, is that although it’s part of a series, revolving around the main character, Police Chief Brill Jessup, the reader could still read, “The Last Word“, without feeling any loss of contineum in the story.
There is enough background in, “The Last Word“, that if this is the reader’s first introduction to a, Kathy Herman, book, they won’t feel too left out, but at the same time, enough incentive to want to read the previous book that is in the series,”The Real Enemy”, so don’t be hinder from reading, “The Last Word” just because it’s a “series” based book.
Something that I also enjoyed, was the discussion questions that are at the end of, “The Last Word” that makes it a great incentive to use in a book club or even as a basis perhaps of a bible study group. “The Last Word” discussion questions that are at the end, provide thought-provoking questions not only about the book itself, but over select biblical topics that are relevant to the storys’ central theme and also to issues that the readers themselves that might encounter, transposing “The Last Word” into an excellent method of opening up discussions over how as Christians do we deal with teenage pregnancy, consequences of our choices and particularly sharing our faith and witnessing.
Not something you would always expect from fiction, but from a Christian fiction, “The Last Word” provides a wonderful medium to address difficult subjects and even soften barriers for sharing God’s words with others.
If you are in the mood for a suspenseful story that is also Christian, I recommend adding “The Last Word” to your nightstand or bring it up for recommendation at your next bible or book study group. You won’t regret it and might be surprised at how it might get some much needed discussions going.
© 2010, Sunflower Faith. All rights reserved.
Disclaimer:
What happens on Sunflower Faith?
