Kerry Lonsdale’s ‘Last Summer’ Will Keep You Guessing [REVIEW]

A tragic accident robs a journalist of more than just her memory in Kerry Lonsdale’s Last Summer. (Photo courtesy Canva)

A successful journalist. Her wealthy husband. The tragic car accident that robs them of their unborn child. When she seeks answers about what happened, will she find them? Or should she leave well enough alone? Find out in Kerry Lonsdale’s suspenseful new novel, Last Summer. 

Lake Union

Ella Skye is one of those journalists who spends her life interviewing the who’s who of the social scene. From movie stars to politicians and other readily recognized socialites, she’s charmed them all and walked away with stories they weren’t always ready to tell.

When she met her husband, Damien, she stopped at nothing to win his heart. But in the end, their relationship seems more like a beautiful fairy tale, complete with the head-over-heels romance and the intimate wedding that finally seals the deal.

These are all moments Ella has locked away in her memory. But there are some she can’t recall to save her life. No matter how hard she tries, she can’t remember ever being pregnant, or the accident that stole her unborn son away from her. One would think those would be two things a woman would never forget, which is why even Damien finds it hard to swallow that she’s lost all knowledge of them.

Sadly, that’s not the only thing Damien is wrestling with. He’s also devastated that the child they had wanted will never take a breath and their home will never resonate with a child’s laughter. That being said, that’s a whole lot of drama for Ella to deal with on the home front, especially since she isn’t experiencing the same sense of loss that her husband is.

In an effort to seek answers and to try and get on with her life, Ella then takes on a new assignment for work. She tackles writing a story about retired celebrity adventurer Nathan Donovan. In doing so, she follows him from California’s snowy Sierra Nevada Mountains to Alaska’s frozen slopes. But all the while, she gets the sneaky suspicion Donovan knows more about her than he’s letting on. Yet he’s not the only one who makes her spidey senses tingle. Those closest to her also seem to be holding something back, and she’s confident they’re keeping secrets… the kind that are best left undisturbed.

With Last Summer, Kerry Lonsdale delivers a story that is rife with unexpected twists and turns. From the moment we are let out of the gate, we hit the ground running, turning pages at full gallop, pulled deeper and deeper into a tale that is both shocking and compelling. Even though Ella, Damien, and Donovan aren’t the most ethical people in the room, they are well drawn and alluring in a way that is reminiscent of characters created by the late Dominick Dunne (author of A Season in Purgatory and The Two Mrs. Grenvilles), people who live sordid lives, but ones we can’t resist watching to see what they do next.

Because there are so many surprises in this novel, it is difficult to review it without giving away too much of the story. But in my opinion, that is a good problem to have, because it means that this is a tale which is fresh, twisty, and absorbing. I will say this, however. If you enjoy reading psychologically suspenseful stories like Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train or Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, then Last Summer is a book you’ll want to add to your to-be-read pile. But be forewarned: the ending will hit you like a freight train you never saw coming. So brace yourself!

Kerry Lonsdale
(Photo by Chantelle Hartshorne)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kerry Lonsdale is the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Amazon Charts, and number one Amazon Kindle bestselling author of the Everything series—Everything We Keep, Everything We Left Behind, and Everything We Give—as well as other award-winning stand-alone novels.

Her books have been translated into 25 languages and are sold in more than 28 countries worldwide. She is also the co-founder of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, an international organization that boasts more than 1,000 writers.

She resides in Northern California with her husband, two children, two naughty kitties, and an aging Golden Retriever convinced she’s still a puppy.

To find out more about Kerry, visit her home on the Web at KerryLonsdale.com, like her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Goodreads, and Amazon.

LAST SUMMER
By Kerry Lonsdale
302 pp. Lake Union. $14.95

Purchase Last Summer at one of these fine online retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, IndieBound, and Powell’s.