I was looking forward to this book but unfortunately I had a hard time getting into it. I think because I didn't really like Rose and her way of narrating with her very small flashbacks and her cynical attitude. But the writing was good and I did feel compelled to find out what was going on, so I did keep reading.

An atmospheric, intriguing and menacing page-turner, Jo Furniss’ The Last to Know is an intricate family drama that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

When American journalist Rose Kynaston agreed to move back to the childhood home in England where her husband had spent his youth, she was prepared for a culture shock, but she certainly never imagined the sombre homecoming she and her husband would receive. From the family’s crumbling mansion to her husband Dylan’s reclusive mother and the strange whispers and rumours that surround the family, not everybody is keen on Rose and Dylan being back. Rose was prepared for the very first weeks being a bit tough, but the more she hears about Dylan’s past, the more she begins to wonder just how well she knows the man she married.

Twenty years ago a dreadful incident happened at the family home which the villagers still gossip about. Everybody seems to know what happened that night. Everybody except Rose who gets more and more apprehensive with each passing day. But Rose’s fears intensify when an archaeological dig unearths human remains at the family home. Local police sergeant Ellie Trevelyan will leave no stone unturned in her quest to solve this cold case, but should some secrets be left dead and buried? Or has the time come for the dark deceptions of the past to be exposed by the harsh glare of the truth?

As Ellie begins to separate scurrilous rumours from cold hard facts, Rose begins her quest to clear her husband’s name. The truth might set you free, but is Rose ready for the revelations that will be uncovered? She was the last to know about her husband’s torrid family secrets, but when she finds out the truth will she stick by the man she swore to love, honour and cherish? Or will she realise that she has in fact been married to a stranger for all this time?

Jo Furniss is a talented storyteller who is brilliant at ramping up the tension and suspense and leaving her readers hanging onto her every word. The Last to Know is a multi-layered and densely plotted tale about the secrets we keep, the lies we tell ourselves and the lengths we go to protect ourselves and the people we love that will keep readers completely and utterly hooked throughout.

The Last to Know is a superbly written Gothic mystery with echoes of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca from an immensely gifted writer: Jo Furniss.

Dylan Kynaston returns with his wife, Rose and young son Aled, to Hurtwood House, his family home in Shropshire. In this sleepy English village Rose feels something of an outsider, especially as her American accent sets her apart and yet her journalist juices are intrigued by the secretive element of the place and the way that the very name of Kynaston sends a ripple of unease whenever it is mentioned.

There’s much to consider within the novel, not only about the myths and folklore which give the novel a darkly gothic feel but there are also some deeply concerning issues to sort out within the family as Dylan’s mother, Gwendoline is facing her own dark battles and the hint of a past trouble only serves to heighten the tension. 

There’s even further intrigue when an archeological dig brings an added complication with the  unearthing of human remans, and local police sergeant, Ellie Trevelyan gets drawn into a complicated investigation. Learning the secrets of this gloomy village only heightens the tension and the author does a great job in bringing both place and people alive whilst at the same time intertwining some dark secrets from the past which have a focus on what is happening in the present.

I enjoyed the ease of story-telling and the way that the many twists and turns kept me guessing. As each secret is revealed so the suspense of the novel gets a little bit darker and much more complicated. The Last to Know is a multi layered suspense thriller with a dark and gloomy edginess which kept me interested from first page to last.

I really enjoyed this book and the show burn mystery of finding out the history and secrets hidden within the story.
We follow Rose and Dylan who both work in television production and have been through quite allot and even escaped a kindnapping situation in Africa. They returned to his mother's farm, where Dylan spent his childhood in the town of Hurtwood. It quickly becomes obvious that his mother, Gewndoline is suffering from dementia. The town holds grudges against this family, and upon their return the rumors start again about the death of a football player, that was said to be suicide because of Dylan's father. During an archeological dig some remains of bones are found which leads to a greater investigation on the farm where another set of human remains are found. Dylan is accused and taken into custody as they try to determine what happened to the deceased. Once the secrets are revealed everything makes sense. 

An intriguing gothic feel read that had a unique spin on a mystery of who did it and secrets being hidden for years. The past catching up with you with secrets, lies and cover ups Finally surfacing made a really interesting read that kept my attention.

The Last to Know was a suspenseful and gripping novel that I couldn't put down. The story takes place in a small English town where once everyone knew everyone. Hurtwood House, the property at the center of the past and present events, is creepy and atmospheric. Furniss gives us two perspectives to read, that of Rose Kynaston, the wife of local boy Dylan who grew up in Hurtwood House, and Ellie Trevelyan, the local police investigator. These characters give us a balanced account of the rumors that have perpetuated for decades about the Kynaston family and the search for the truth about the bodies found on their property. 

This is a great mystery. I felt several times that I had figured out the twist but was happily proven wrong. The novel has multiple storylines occurring at the same time but they are inter-woven seamlessly. It is impossible to read this story without wanting to keep turning the pages to find out what is going on. Fantastic story about rumors, family, and the powerful urge we feel to protect the people we love.

Life takes a creepy turn for Rose, when she relocates to her husband Dylan's family home. An old deteriorating mansion. His reclusive mother and the talk of things that happened twenty years ago that Rose knows nothing about. This was a twisty thriller with gothic elements, legends and ghosts. I loved the eeriness and it kept me guessing. 

Dawnny Ruby 
Novels N Latte 
Hudson Valley NY

This book was received from the Author, and Publisher, in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own. 

The Last To Know by Jo Furniss is an eerie atmospheric psychological thriller that literally pulls you in from the from the very first page. A book that won’t let you go until the final page had been turned.

A suspense based on family tragedy and lies. Jo weaves delivers a sinister manor house  on a medieval estate, with local legends and lore. Dark family secrets. Written with descriptive prose. This one of the tingling down the spine of a dreadful thing that happened here twenty years ago? And why does everyone apart from Rose seem to know the secret of Hurtwood 

When archaeological dig uncovers human remains on the strange what looks to be a  manmade hill where lurking Hurtwood House sits. A local police sergeant, Ellie Trevelyan is tasked with the job of solving the cold case of the mystery surrounding the notable, haunted Hurtwood House. The story is told in alternating chapters by Rose and Ellie, that allows the reader to have the full experience.
The Last To Know is a ominous suspenseful filled tale, Jo Furniss delivers a well-written, unique and twisty read here that had me pretty much-questioning everything. 
With unique descriptive prose and intriguing characters, along with family dynamics makes this a superb book.

I love a good slow burn and this fabulous suspense thriller is just that. With it's vivid descriptions, intense intrigue AND family secrets and lies it will pull you in from the first car ride down the foggy, rutted road to the family home in an English village. Furniss' brilliant and elegant writing makes this novel just exactly perfect.  I loved it!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary advance reader copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

When Rose Kynaston and her husband Dylan move to his hometown with their 5 yr old son, Aled, she thinks she is finally putting down roots.
It appears Dylan hasn’t been completely honest with his small town, his house is a scary mausoleum on a hill that seems to be falling down, the towns people despise his family, and his mother whom Rose was hoping we have an active role in helping to raise their son seems to have dementia. Not only that but the house itself seems to have some weird goings-on, and there’s more secrets in the story then you can even count. I found the first part of the book kind of confusing with all the different storylines going on in parts of it seemed hard to follow and I hope that it would all be cohesive in the end. Some of the story was really interesting and well read I really enjoyed the history of Hurtwood House. There were so many side plot lines though, that it was kind of confusing and then by the time we got to the end of the book it seem to wrap it all up really quickly. I did enjoy the main ending of the story and there were lots of twists and turns to keep me reading well into the night.

I will definitely be checking out more books by this author.

// 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 / 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝗪 //⁣
⭐⭐⭐⭐⁣
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𝘘𝘖𝘛𝘋: 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘳 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘴?⁣
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It's my first stop on @katerockbooktours and I couldn't be more excited to share @jofurnissauthor's upcoming novel #TheLastToKnow. This book hit shelves on August 11th, so you can grab your copy today! Thank you #KateRockBookTours and @lakeunionauthors for my chance to read this!⁣
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𝘚𝘺𝘯𝘰𝘱𝘴𝘪𝘴:⁣
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American journalist Rose Kynaston has just relocated to the childhood home of her husband, Dylan, in the English village of his youth. There’s a lot for Rose to get used to in Hurtwood. Like the family’s crumbling mansion, inhabited by Dylan’s reclusive mother, and the treacherous hill it sits upon, a place of both sinister folklore and present dangers. Then there are unwelcoming villagers, who only whisper the name Kynaston—like some dreadful secret, a curse. Everyone knows what happened at Hurtwood House twenty years ago. Everyone except Rose. And now that Dylan is back, so are rumors about his past. When an archaeological dig unearths human remains on the hill, local police sergeant Ellie Trevelyan vows to solve a cold case that has cast a chill over Hurtwood for decades. As Ellie works to separate rumor from facts, Rose must fight to clear the name of the man she loves. But how can Rose keep her family safe if she is the last to know the truth?⁣
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They always say ... you can never really hide from your past and this book is certainly an example of how exposing the skeletons in your closet can affect everyone in your life! Your anxiety will definitely be through the roof reading this one. This one had so many characters that I thought were guilty at different points in time and once the truth finally broke, everything clicked perfectly into place. This is a slow burn thriller, but absolutely worth reading! And ... the cover of this book is so gorgeous and does a fantastic job capturing the creepy town where the novel takes place!

This was a slow burn, so if you like fast paced thrillers you should be aware. It was a very enjoyable slow burn for me as Rose Kynaston has just moved back to her husband Dylan’s childhood home in the English village of Hurtwood (that name tho) and Rose slowly starts to realize things are not quite as they seem. For one, this house on a hill appears to be haunted, Dylan’s mother probably has dementia and of course he is in denial, and something happened at the house 20 years ago that she knows nothing about but everyone in town cannot stop talking about as they, specifically Dylan, are back. Oh and I forgot to mention there is an archeological dig on the hill and human remains are found….

This goes back and forth between Rose and Ellie, the police sergeant trying to solve the case that has been cold for decades and gets new life once the remains are found, and both women are trying to piece together what happened all those years ago. As I said, I really enjoyed this one, and as Rose / Ellie began to each figure things out on their own I could not put this down. I loved the ending,  the overall creepy atmosphere and also the haunted house element that was added in. I definitely recommend this one!

Thank you to Kate Rock Book Tours for the gifted book to review.

Rose Kynaston, an American journalist moves to England with her husband Dylan and their son Adel from Kenya to start a new life in Dylan's childhood home and town, in Hurtwood. The crumbling mansion is occupied by Gwendoline, Dylan's mother who seemed to be suffering from dementia. While Rose is trying to get used to living in a small village, she discovers how much the villagers seemed to despise the name Kynaston, a rumor about a soccer player who seemed to have committed suicide some twenty years ago and how Dylan's father is responsible for the apparent suicide. And now that Dylan has returned back, those rumors seemed to have resurfaced once again. Then one day, while doing an archaeological excavation, human skeletal remains are found on the hill and the local police sergeant, Ellie vows to solve the case. Rose meanwhile is determined to clear her husband's name.

Initially at first, the book was a bit slow paced but soon, it got it's momentum, towards the middle, with the discovery of skeletal remains. There were so many suspects with Dylan being the main suspect and as a reader, you would hope that Rose was right to defend and clear her husband's name. The secrets, the twist towards the end was something that was unexpected. I actually started liking the book by the middle and I was hooked into the story.

The story was told from Rose's perspective mostly, with her sheer determination to investigate more about the alleged soccer player who committed crime. She is a journalist and she would do anything to save her husband and clear his name. I really like Rose's determination and she became a favorable character to me. The story itself is somewhat realistic. Gwendoline's dementia problem was outlined well in the book. I must say the book was well written although as I said, the first few chapters were a bit boring to me. 

Overall, this is a good psychological thriller and also a quick read although at the beginning, to me it was a bit slow paced. Worth four stars in my opinion!

This is my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it. Dylan, Rose and their son Aled move back to Dylan’s family home in Shopshire England from their jobs as journalists in Nigeria. Dylan’s mother puts them in a cottage on the expansive property but not in the main house with her. She has lived here as a recluse since her husband died. Rose starts to realize the family is not well liked in town and that Dylan’s father was under suspicion of sexual abuse of a boy he coached in soccer. The boy died after falling off of a cliff at the property. Was it Suicide or something more sinister? More questions arise when another body is found and Rose realizes she doesn’t know a lot about her husbands history growing up. She starts to look for answers and realizes everyone has secrets to hide. Overall the book flowed well and gave me an uneasy feeling about what would happen in the end. I liked the two person view point between Rose and Detective Ellie. I wished a few things had been fleshed out more regarding Roses ex fling but mostly it was wrapped up well and I wasn’t able to predict all of the twists and turns. Thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for an advanced digital copy.

The Last to Know is creepy, twisted and fantastic! I found myself holding my breath in spots. This book is perfect for the big screen!

The Last to Know is an interesting, engaging and mysterious read.

Rose moves with her husband and son to the family mansion in an English village. It doesn’t take Rose long to understand that there is more to the family history, the home and the village than she bargained for.

Will Rose cope with her past, sort through the troubling present and make the right decisions to ensure a hopeful future?

I was immediately drawn into the story. That’s because you have a glimpse of what is to come and you have to read on to find out how it came to be.

The writing is eloquent and enjoyable. The setting descriptions elicit a sensory experience and you imagine yourself visiting the countryside. The characters are likeable (mostly) and believable; a typical small village mix of characters. All in all it is an enjoyable story with some predictability and some surprises. 

I recommend this story if you enjoy an intriguing English countryside mystery. However, be warned there are some uncomfortable topics: mental illness, sexual abuse, abduction. 

Thanks to the NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rose has been working as a broadcast journalist for a decade in Africa, where she met her husband, Dylan. After marrying and having a son there, the couple have decided to move to Dylan’s hometown in England. Rose finds right away that she stands out in the village, first because of her American accent, and next because of her marriage into the Kynaston family. Unfortunately, she learns soon enough that the villagers talk about Dylan’s late father in connection with some kind of shameful scandal in the past.

Soon after their arrival in town, an archaeological dig on the family’s land started in connection with a TV series turns up human bones — from about two decades earlier, the same time of the questionable incident that sullied the Kynaston name.

Local police sergeant Ellie Trevelyan gets involved, trying to get to the truth behind all the rumors. Rose works with her and with the village’s sole newspaper writer/editor to look for information from the past to know the truth for herself and, she hopes, to clear her husband of any suspicion. Meanwhile, her mother-in-law has been a recluse for years and now may be exhibiting signs of dementia — and while she needs her help watching her little boy when she works, Rose worries for his safety at the crumbling-down family home and in certain particularly dangerous parts of the property.

I enjoy stories with old secrets, and I admit I’m a devoted Anglophile. So the setting of an old mansion sitting on a centuries-old manmade hill, with suspicious deaths in the past, checked my boxes quite nicely. The Last to Know is a satisfying read for those who share these interests. It’s not one that is going to stick in my mind for long, but it was entertaining.

Loved it. So dark and twisty. The perfect book to curl up with on a rainy afternoon in your favorite chair with your preferred drink and loose yourself in. How much do you know of the man you married? Not as much as you thought. Come along with Rose as she struggles to decipher what she thought she knew and what the truth really is. Happy reading!

In "The Last to Know" by Jo Furniss follows pre-retirement cop Ellie and journalist Rose Kynaston as they circle around a twenty year old murder. Ellie claims that this is the case that still keeps her awake at night. Rose is married into the family that was destroyed by the case. The only person who really knows what happened is dead... or does someone know more than they're sharing? Who is actually the murderer?

This book was so so good. One of my biggest pet peeves is when I can figure out the murderer too quickly and honestly this book had me guessing until the end. I felt like all the clues were pointing to one character, but then I was wrong! This book provides so much background for the different characters, but the more info you have the harder it is to see the truth.

I will admit that some parts of the book felt unnecessary, like the tv show producer who lived at the foot of the mansion. But overall, this book felt well constructed. There were some parts that I didn't quite grasp, maybe because it's set in England? But those things can be easily overlooked. In the end, I gave this book 4 stars and recommended it to some friends because it was a great quick thrill!

Thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review! This book comes out today!

The Last to Know by Jo Furniss had everything I was looking for in a book right now; it was creepy, atmospheric, and super suspenseful which included a bit of the supernatural kind. I loved that it had alternating viewpoints between police sergeant Ellie Trevelyan and Rose, and that plus the short chapters helped the book speed by. It's definitely a slow burn and I read it a bit slower than other books, but I loved every minute of it. I absolutely adore the cover of the book and I think it goes so well with the plot that it's worth pointing out.

I could tell that Furniss has had a career in journalism because it really shines through in the novel. I really enjoyed the mix of police procedural and a journalist's POV (Rose), especially when the human remains are found, and the mystery really begins. I didn't remember the synopsis prior to diving in, and The Last to Know is a great book to go into knowing very little. There is such an eerie vibe to this book, and I loved that so much.

I thought the ending was shocking, although I did have a couple of suspicions that ended up panning out. These suspicions turned into what I expected plus more that I hadn't figured out, which was great since it's always kind of a bummer to guess twists. This was my first read from Furniss, but it will certainly not be my last. I loved the creepiness and how well thought out the plot was, plus the fact that it kept me glued to the pages despite the slow burn. I highly recommend checking out The Last to Know if you are in the mood for a super dark, atmospheric mystery!

Thank you to NetGalley for my advance review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

I’d seen quite a few positive reviews about The Last To Know and was intrigued by the book description, but to be honest I feel like I read a completely different book to other people.

I was expecting a gothic vibe, which was unfortunately missing. I felt the characters lacked depth and I didn’t particularly like any of them. Least of all Rose. Then there was this entire background story that didn’t add anything to the story whatsoever and a character I assumed would have a part to play at some point but then seemed to have been forgotten about, 

Yes, there’s a mystery to solve. However, I always felt the outcome could only possibly go one way and I was right. The Last To Know is a story full of secrets and finding a place to call home. It’s undoubtedly a quickie read, which quite obviously appeals to a lot of readers. Sadly, I wasn’t one of them.