Sarah Sutton (3)

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am writing this review voluntarily.

One Last Step begins with a woman running for her life and ultimately speared in her back by an arrow! If that’s not enough of a shock to quell your curious then I don’t what is.

Having read several novels based around the Appalachian trail, I did anticipate some oddities.
This story focuses on the northern part of the Appalachian Trail near Hanover, New Hampshire. In this first book of the Tara Mills show more series, an FBI investigation begins when several people go missing and eventually found dead strategically placed along the outskirts of the National Forest.

Tara Mills is a newbie FBI agent who gets paired up with veteran agent Warren. They both wondered how this unlikely match would work given Tara’s impulse to follow her intuition over protocol. The killer narrating part of the story helps give you insight into who might be capable of such horrendous behavior. Ultimately, Tara goes rouge which puts her in extreme danger. This story wraps up nicely but does set the stage for more adventures for this novice detective.

****book 2: One Last Breath is due out November 2020! show less

3.5
Book source ~ Purchased audio at Chirp

Tara Mills is a bright and shiny new agent at the FBI when she gets assigned a high profile case with a veteran agent as her partner. Hikers are going missing and being murdered on the Appalachian Trail and they have to catch whoever is doing it. In a massive search area. With virtually no leads. This case sounds dead before it even starts. But the agents persevere.

This story is not bad, but it’s also not great. There are times when it gets bogged show more down in Tara’s traumatic past. We get it. She’s got issues and is taking steps to heal. We do not need beat over the head with that information. I almost gave up halfway through the book because of the repetition. More case solving and less wallowing, please.

The dialogue in some areas is stilted and plot points are sometimes too convenient. However, it’s a decent plot overall. Especially the ending. Though there was one glaring mistake that really should be rectified regarding Tara’s cell phone. Overall though this is a decent read by a debut author. I’m willing to take a chance on book 2, to see if the writing improves.

Special shout out to the narrator for a great performance. show less

I got to 90% of the way through this book and it was inhaled but it was also quite predictable and I did lose interest about halfway through. If you want a spooky night read, I recommend this. I think it has a lot of grief and certain triggers that are unpleasant as well though, like the therapy sessions and the protagonists mental reactions can be a lot for a reader currently struggling. I went into this book thinking it would be more about the urban legends surrounding the trail, as that show more seems to be what it's known for, but the killer used a bow and arrow. Maybe I am ignorant, but from what I have heard, the urban legend is feral scream and pull you in and then you're dead or feral.
Link To TikTok Videos

I believe this is like an annoying urban legend, but this is a book, so I was hoping through the name it would be connected. This is much more of an FBI mystery with a serial killer, which I am at this point trying to avoid as the story is the same each time. Murder, suspect, some sort of lead, talk to the suspect, get caught, plot twist, done. It can only be written so many times before it becomes boring an unoriginal. The plot itself unfortunately was almost there. The writer is skilled enough to still make this book interesting - I did gobble it up in 3 hours, it was a quick read.

My favorite part by far was the writing style. This is weirdly important to me as someone who has struggled with reading comprehension and needs to use additional brain energy to make sure I can process what I'm reading properly. This writer is incredibly talented in the way they show things happening, and in character development.

I would definitely check out other books written by this author! show less

I received a digital copy for free from Book Sirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is the second book in the Tara Mills Mystery Series. I enjoyed the first book which describes Tara Mills, a newbie FBI agent, right out of Quantico matches up with veteran Agent Warren. They are an unlikely pair who take some time adjusting to being partners. This book could pretty much stand alone without feeling like you missed something. The books both end with questions that carry over into show more the next book.

Tara takes time off to recover after the last case of the Appalachian Trail Killer where she went rogue and nearly got herself killed. She still carries the trauma of her father killing her mother when she was 6 years old. After her father went to prison in New York she lived with her grandmother until she died of cancer. Tara worked for the NYPD before eventually training for the FBI.

All these years later and Tara still holds some unresolved questions from the night her mother was killed. She senses that there may have been another person aside from her father that night. This storyline plays in the backdrop of the murder investigation in this novel.

A body of a teen girl is found buried in the sand at the beach which spreads light on a cold case from last year. A teen girl went missing a year ago and no body was ever found. This discovery has them combing the beach where they discover the body of the missing girl. Unfortunately, it seems to be the work of a serial killer and they need to find him before he kills again.

The frustrating part of the story is how Tara gets so overwhelmed and consumed by the case that it affects her ability to sleep or interact with her live in boyfriend, John. In this case, she does at least have some restraint before going rogue and notifies her partner and local police. She is the newbie and certainly shouldn’t be chasing down leads alone with a potentially dangerous suspect. She knows she has backup coming but pursues her suspicion and confronts a possible serial murder alone.

Maybe I watch too many FBI shows but it seems that Tara might have missed some tactical training at Quantico. She is not confronting a suspect who is armed or has the physical training one would think she had. She always seems to get injured or thrown off guard by the suspect. Of course, the story ends with the case being solved but to what cost.

I enjoy the storyline and look forward to books 3 and 4 coming down the line. show less