The Last Place You Look by Kristen Lepionka

The Last Place You Look (Roxane Weary Mysteries, #1) (Roxane Weary, #1)

by Kristen Lepionka

Sarah Cook, a beautiful blonde teenager disappeared fifteen years ago, the same night her parents were brutally murdered in their suburban Ohio home. Her boyfriend Brad Stockton - black and from the wrong side of the tracks - was convicted of the murders and sits on death row, though he always maintained his innocence. With his execution only weeks away, his devoted sister, insisting she has spotted Sarah at a local gas station, hires PI Roxane Weary to look again at the case.

Reeling from the recent death of her cop father, Roxane finds herself drawn to the story of Sarah's vanishing act, especially when she thinks she's linked Sarah's disappearance to one of her father's unsolved murder cases involving another teen girl. Despite her self-destructive tendencies, Roxane starts to hope that maybe she can save Brad's life and her own.

With echoes of Sue Grafton, Dennis Lehane and the hit podcast Serial, The Last Place You Look is the gripping debut of both a bold new voice and character.

Reviewed by funstm on

5 of 5 stars

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This was fantastic. I loved the mystery, I loved the suspense, I loved the characters. A new favourite crime tackling heroine for sure.

Roxane is totally badass. And a total hot mess. She has no idea if she's coming or going and I was digging it. I felt really sorry for her. She's struggling with her dad's death - they had a messy relationship and she's not sure how to resolve her grief for both what was and what could have been. She's sleeping with her dad's ex partner except he's now moving on to new people. And her old love, Catherine (who frankly is a manipulative bitch and reminds me of the character from Chicago Fire that screws with Leslie Shay), is back on the scene having sort of left her husband? It's all messing with her head something shocking.

Between that she's finding she's having a little bit of a drinking problem and her bank account has pretty much been emptied from months of not working. It sounds like a mess and it is until her brother recommends his friend come see her about a detective gig. Danielle's brother was convicted of murdering his girlfriend and her parents and his execution date has finally been set. But Danielle is convinced she just saw his girlfriend Sarah at a gas station - alive and well. She hires Roxanne to look into it. And that's when things get interesting.

I loved the fast pace of the mystery and Roxanne was brave and tenacious. The more crimes Roxanne uncovered the faster I flew through the pages. It was fantastic. It was well plotted and I had no idea who the criminal was. The resolution was awesome. I can't wait to read more Roxanne. 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.


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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 14 January, 2021: Finished reading
  • 14 January, 2021: Reviewed