★★★☆☆
After relocating the the childhood home of her husband, American journalist Rose Kynaston finds there's a lot to get used to in Hurtwood. There are unwelcoming villagers who struggle to forgive what happened at Hurtwood House twenty years ago. Everyone is familiar with the story - everyone except Rose. When an archaeological dig unearths human remains on the hill, local police sergeant Ellie Trevelyan vows to solve the case whatever it takes, needing to find answers to the secrets that have cast a chill over Hurtwood for decades. As Ellie works to separate rumour from fact, Rose must fight to clear the name of the man she loves. But how can Rose keep her family safe if she's the last to know the truth?
We see the story unfold through the perspective of Rose and Ellie, switching between their point of view with each chapter. Rose's relationship with her husband Dylan is instantly shown to be on the brink, with the sudden move and questionable actions of Dylan's mother making things worse. Ellie's job at the local police station is coming to an end so she puts everything she has into solving the cold case while ensuring her father, who suffers with dementia, doesn't become a risk to himself. The women are strong, relatable characters. However, there was something unlikeable about Rose. Perhaps I just wanted to know more about her past. We're given the stressful story of how she and Dylan met and snippets of that event explain her reactions in the present, but I wanted that little bit more.
With multiple plot lines entwined throughout the story, it would have been easy to lose track of each tiny detail but Furniss does a good job of fitting everything together. There is a theme of child abuse and child pornography which, understandably, not everyone will be able to read but Furniss handles it well; nothing explicit is written, however enough detail is given for the reader to understand the situation. The focus stays on the case, as it should.
Despite being written well enough to keep me interested, the use of metaphors and similes is excessive. At first, I didn't pay that much attention but then the language got repetitive and distracting. Most of it added nothing to the book and felt as though it was being used to increase the word count. Perhaps the time spent thinking of the similes would have been better used to add more depth to the character of Rose as well as other, smaller characters.
The Last to Know is available to pre-order now from Amazon before it's August 11 release.
*I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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