A Word on 'The Last Word' by Taylor Adams: A Review

 by John Russo, guest contributor

Seeing as this story is about a psychopathic author who stalks, haunts, and terrorizes a reader over a negative review, one would probably think it wise of me to give it five stars just out of caution. After all, considering the wild ride this book just took me on, I’m entitled to some paranoia. Right?

However, there are two differences between Taylor Adams (who wrote The Last Word) and H.G. Kane (the aforementioned psychopath found in the pages of The Last Word). The first difference is that Mr. Adams is, from what I can tell, a good human being without any evil intentions whatsoever. The other difference is, unlike the psychopathic author in the story, Mr. Adams deserves and has fully earned a five-star review.

To begin, The Last Word surpassed my expectations by miles. That’s quite the compliment, given that my expectations were pretty high after reading No Exit, Adams’s nail-biting tale about a college student who finds herself pitted against the very face of evil at a rest stop on a Colorado mountain pass. Many of the elements that came together in No Exit also join forces here -- a troubled heroine running from a shattered past, a secluded location, a storm, and a dreadful villain lurking just beyond the reach of the motion-activated security lights.

Emma Carpenter, this story’s troubled heroine, turns out to be just as determined and strong-willed as Darby Thorne from No Exit, but I think I cheered her on a bit harder than I did Darby. The more I learned about her, and about the awful tragedies that drove her to that secluded beach house, the more I desperately wanted her to come out the victor in the nightmare that followed.

This amazingly original thriller accomplished so many daring feats, it would take me far too long to cover them all. For example, there aren’t many books out there that have filled me with such doubt, such uncertainty as to what’s real and what’s not, that I nearly went mad every time I tried to get ahead of the story and guess what might happen next. With this one, I simply couldn’t outsmart the plot. Granted, if one pays close attention, the clues are there, but even with the clues, it’s impossible to accurately predict.

I don’t wish to spoil anything, because to do so would be to rob future readers of the pleasure of each and every shock, each little twist that takes the story in jaw-dropping directions. And it’s not just the twists themselves, it’s the clever methods by which Adams reveals them to the reader. It’s pure, gritty, adrenaline-pumped delight, through-and-through.

Perhaps the best part about The Last Word is that, while it is a dark and disturbing book with plenty of human cruelty on display, it’s also filled with hope. I will admit, near the end, I almost couldn’t bear to go on. I almost laid it aside because I couldn’t bear the thought that evil would triumph, not after the heroine had gone through so much hell. Thankfully, I wasn’t disappointed.

But when I say it’s filled with hope, I’m getting at something deeper than just a happy ending. It’s a story about redemption, forgiveness, courage, reconciliation, and love – things our society needs right now more than ever.

So don’t waste any time. Pick this one up. You won’t regret it.

 

John Russo is a writer whose latest short story, "The Race," can be found at Amazon.