I really enjoyed the first book in this series (Allegation) when I read it a couple of years ago, so The Last House was a highly anticipated read for me.

Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. I found Kit, the main character, to be very different in this book. She seemed very cynical, very whiney, and very selfish. I didn’t get that impression from her in the first book from what I can remember, so it was a shame for her to come across in such a way this time. I appreciate she has been through a lot, but she was constantly moaning! And as a newly qualified social worker, she certainly took a lot of risks and didn’t seem to like listening to anyone’s advice. I just didn’t really like her in this book and that is a big part of my three star rating.

Kit has taken on a case (that she wasn’t actually meant to) of a teenage boy and his Mother who live in a secluded area just the two of them. The boy has stopped attending school, the locals harass them for being ‘weird’, and social services received an anonymous report about being concerned for Dylan’s welfare.

Kit’s views on mental health really annoyed me. She was put into her place by a few other people in the book over this but I sincerely hope that there aren’t social workers out there who have such incorrect assumptions about mental health like she did!!

It all seemed a little bit far fetched for me this time around. I was intrigued about what was going on, but the climax ultimately seemed unrealistic. Like I say, it’s a shame as I didn’t really enjoy the first book!

Wow, this story had me on the edge of my seat from the very beginning!!! I couldn't put it down & pretty much read it in one sitting!!!

To be honest the pacing of this book made it hard to connect. It was all over the place. I found it also hard to connect to the characters.

A good thriller, fast paced and tense. It kept on the edge and I appreciated the storytelling, the solid plot and the characters.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Having earlier been taken into care herself, social worker Kit Goddard has stronger feelings and a deeper emotional investment than most in making sure that the social services system actually takes proper care of those it has been set up to serve.

When the case of a 17 year old boy comes up, it is shunted from pillar to post, making its way through various departments until Kit becomes convinced that the system will fail this teenager in the same way that it failed her brother, over a decade ago.

Her gut instinct, that something is seriously amiss with Dylan Meredith and his family, is reinforced by an anonymous phone caller who provides some useful additional information, particularly regarding the psychiatric treatment provided to Dylan's grandmother.

The question is how the various bits and pieces of information that she has gathered actually fit together. So Kit heads off to the town of Rock to investigate further - and ends up unearthing more than she expected...

The pacing of this story is a little uneven, and it starts off slow but there is no question that the writer has put her passion for the issues - not mention her professional experience with the care system - to good use, crafting a story that demands empathy and engagement from the reader.