written by Harriet Klausner on 29/11/2003
The Last to Die
Beverly Barton
Zebra, Jan 2004, $6.50, 416 pp.
ISBN: 0821772163
In Cherokee Point, Tennessee, heir to a fortune Jamie Upton may be engaged but he still plays the field. One of his ladies is Jazzy Talbot, owner of Jazzy's Joint, a popular restaurant and bar. She knows she should stop seeing the philanderer, but so far has not cut the ties. However, a third party severs the connection when they brutally kill Jamie.
Most of the townsfolk believe that Jazzy killed her lover in a crime of passion because the evidence points towards someone he knew and trusted. However, Sheriff Butler and psychic Genny Madoc believe otherwise though they feel a woman committed the atrocity. Soon other murders follow and a frightened prime suspect Jazzy turns to her new bouncer, drifter Caleb McCord for protection, but neither expected love to spring up between them.
This sequel is an exciting serial killer romance that gains the attention of readers from the start as everyone will wonder who the red haired killer is. Jazzy and Caleb are a delightful duo; however, the return of Genny from THE FIFTH VICTIM is duel edged as fans will enjoy reading her latest visions but also wonder how many serial killers stalk Cherokee Point (population control?). Still THE LAST TO DIE is a terse thriller that fans will appreciate and wonder who will be AS GOOD AS DEAD when Jazzy's doppelganger arrives in Cherokee Point next November.
Harriet Klausner