Mystery Novel | The Last Second by Catherine Coulter & J.T. Ellison

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | The Last Second by Catherine Coulter and JT Elison is a good read on a chilly fall night, being fast-paced, tech-savvy, and action-packed. It reminded me of an action-adventure movie just in print instead of on the big screen. I may have even cast it in my head.

What I Like

The plot was tight, focused, and fast-paced. Even though we go back in time and then come back to the present, the shifts in the timeline never get the plot off track. From page 1 to page 447, we are learning more about the history of Nevaeh’s mental state, and Mike (short for Michaela) and Nick’s race to stop her before she destroys the world.

The story grips you from page 1. I will be honest, I was not going to read and review this novel. I picked up a copy at the library and was intending to return it unread. But before I did that, I thought I’d at least read the first few pages, and that was all it took. I was hooked, and I think most prospective readers will feel that way too.

The novel includes sci-fi and fantasy elements. I love fantasy and sci-fi genre’s, so the incorporation of space travel/aliens and the Holy Grail (in the form of a stone reminiscent of the Philosopher’s Stone) was a welcome addition to this classic hard-boiled crime mystery. The technical facts were believable and, from other reviews that I read by people with much more technical knowledge on the subject, they also found them believable.

What I Wish

The ending had been more dynamic.  The ending came off as flat to me.  Through the whole book, there was the mystery of whether Nevaeh had lost her grip on reality or if she was in contact with aliens.  With that storyline going throughout the book, I expected more of an answer to that question than was provided.

The story provided greater development of the characters within the current story. I wanted to know more about Michaela Caine and Nicholas Drummond and granted, this is the sixth book in the series, but I did not learn anything about them other than they are kick-a** detectives/agents, which can be assumed since they are the main characters. I really wanted to know more about what made them tick.

There had been less exposition on Nevaeh’s mental state.  I reached the point about mid-way through the novel where I was just like, “Enough already” in response to more and more exposition on the neurosis or alien influence depending on which you believe.  The information was just more of the same rather than being a progressive discovery.

To Read or Not to Read

This book is a definite READ for people who are interested in space travel and hard-boiled mysteries, as well as fans of the past five novels.