I hadn’t read any of the others in this series but it doesn’t matter. I found myself to be quickly reading through and enjoying the tension too. It seemed like a Agatha Christie book in places but obviously modern. Great read!

I've loved the other Rachel Abbot books I've read, but this one wasn't quite as good.

I normally love a revenge theme - and this time, three women wronged by the same man, which sounded like a good read. When he is murdered there are plenty of twists and turns along the way to discover whodunit. Unfortunately I did find it a bit slow and hard going.

The ending was a surprise and really sad. Not one of her best, but she's a cracking writer who had already set the bar high - so this one won't put me off!

An exciting thriller read with twists that keep you guessing till the end! Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

This is the second DS Stephanie King book I have read and I really enjoyed it. Three women met in a hotel in Cornwall and they all had one thing or one person in common - Ellis Cobain. None of the women had been treated well by Ellis and they were likely part of a larger group of women that Ellis had wronged in some way.

Celia was Ellis’s second wife; Juliette had had an affair with Ellis despite being married to Russell and Nadia had also had an affair with Ellis. Ellis was controlling and narcissistic and once he was fed up he just moved on.

All three women didn’t know about the others. Nadia and Juliette were shocked to see Ellis at the hotel and wondered what he was doing there.

As great book and I l really enjoyed the in-depth detail as we followed the investigation. I changed my mind a few times about the outcome.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you're a fan of psychological thrillers that keep you on the edge of your seat, The Last Time I Saw Him is definitely a must-read. From the very start, the novel pulls you in with the mysterious and unsettling premise of three women—Celia, Juliette, and Nadia—coming together to face a man who has wronged them all in different ways. The setting of a secluded Cornish hotel adds a layer of tension, and the quiet, sinister undertone of the story keeps you guessing.

Abbott’s writing excels at building suspense and creating a claustrophobic feeling, making you wonder if anyone is truly trustworthy. As the women form a pact, the stakes get higher, and the twists really hit hard. You're never quite sure who to root for—each character has their own secrets, which makes the story all the more unpredictable. Just when you think you have it all figured out, a new twist will throw you for a loop, leaving you questioning everything.

The dynamic between the three women feels authentic—it's not just about revenge; it's about their survival, their need for justice, and their growing doubts about each other. The tension doesn’t let up until the very last page, making it one of those books where you’ll find yourself devouring it, eager to know what happens next.

Overall, this is a tightly crafted psychological thriller that keeps you second-guessing until the end. If you love stories with dark secrets, unpredictable characters, and an ever-present sense of danger, you’ll want to add The Last Time I Saw Him to your reading list.

Another great book by Rachel Abbott in the Stephanie King series.
Ellis Cobain thinks he can do no wrong - but Stephanie King notices that there is an unusual dynamic going on at a small hotel in Cornwall Celia, Nadia and Juliette are strangers who meet at this hotel - and they all have one thing in common - they have been wronged by Cobain.
When he is found dead, Stephanie stays on to try to solve the murder - but will the women realise they have something in common, and will they do something about it?
Thank you to @Netgalley for the advanced copy of #TheLastTimeISawHim

This is the fourth book in the Stephanie King series, I have read the previous one, but not the first two. This is a bit of a whodunnit (you have a few to pick from) as well as a how did they do it!
There are a few twists and turns along the way, but I think the biggest shock is the ending! I did enjoy this book and I enjoy Rachel Abbott's other novels. I look forward to reading more from her.

Every chapter of this book has me guessing what really happened as each of the women tell their story and of each other and how they’re linked. As the story was coming together towards the end, I totally didn’t see the ending coming. I enjoyed the book as I thought it would end one way but went a completely different way!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Mixed feelings about this one, it was a so-so read for me. I wasn't keen on the ending.

First book I have read of this author, it is part of a series but the book was fine to read on its own. The plot had lots of twists and turns and really did keep me guessing. Not sure I really liked any of the main characters, but maybe that was the idea. Certainly I had to get to the end to find out what was going on

This is the fourth (and possibly the last) in Rachel Abbott’s brilliant Stephanie King series. I suspect it works fine as a standalone, but for the full, emotional experience of knowing Stephanie‘s background and her relationship with DCI Gus Brodie, I would highly recommend reading the first three installments.

Abbott excels at crafting crime thrillers that combine detailed procedural elements with a fast-paced, twisty plot. This one was especially absorbing, as it wasn’t just a simple case of whodunnit but more importantly, how the heck DID they do it?

The plot revolves around the mysterious death of Ellis Cobain, a wealthy philanthropist, who is found murdered on his yacht. What has everyone baffled is that the yacht is moored offshore, and there is no evidence of it being accessed during the critical time.

The story is told from the alternating perspectives of three women, Celia, Juliette and Nadia, strangers to each other but all sharing an axe to grind where Ellis is concerned. Their alibis, however, are watertight.

What follows, as the plot plays out, is a compelling, twisty tale of bluff, collusion and revenge. Abbott teases with tantalizing foreshadowing; a piece of the puzzle here, another there, slowly building the tension, until everything finally unravels and explodes.

I’m used to Abbott’s clever plotting, but this was genius-level smart. What I wasn’t prepared for, though, was the way the book came to a close after the case was solved. Will there be another installment? I’m sad to say, I just don’t see it happening.

A very dramatic read with good twists. Kept me hooked until the end and unable to sleep until I had finished. I'll definitely be looking into other books by Abbott

A new author for me but one I’d read again. This was a suspenseful, well plotted story that had a number of twists and turns I didn’t expect. Great characters- though not very likeable - and a great ending.

This is another suspenseful story from Rachel Abbott. The tension remains throughout. I recommend it to fans of the author and anyone who enjoys a good old fashioned who done it.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and to Netgalley for this advanced copy.

Book four in this series
A good read you will not want to put it down
An ending I didn’t see coming
Thanks NetGalley

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced reader's copy and the opportunity to read this early. Review has been posted on Waterstones and Amazon.

Holiday read

A psychological thriller with a few too many coincidences and twists. I couldn’t get invested in the characters and struggled to get into it.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Headline for a ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When detective Stephanie King is staying on the Cornish coast, she doesn't expect to meet three women she will soon be investigating. Woven together by shared wrongs from Ellis Corbain, the three women never expected to be caught up in the investigation into his death. But who is telling the whole truth, and who has more to hide?

When I finally got into this, I actually really enjoyed it, its just that I have to say, it didn't grip me until maybe the last third of the book. The twists weren't that shocking to me either, but that doesn't really matter to me in a detective book - I actually like having a good idea who the murderer is. I also think a twist near the end would have hit harder if I'd read the previous Stephanie King books, but this was my first.

It was quite interesting having a victim who you weren't that upset was dead - in some ways I quite enjoyed that no-one was particularly devastated by his death, but it did also mean you weren't as invested in his murderer. I didn't really see this as a thriller, more of a mystery, and if I'd gone in expecting a twisty thriller I'd have been disappointed.

I did enjoy the ending, though I think people who have read the previous books might have been more likely to not like it. It felt right for the story for me, and like it was a satisfying end.

Okay I like horrors but unfortunately I don't think this book was for me. I think I wasn't in thf right mindset at the time.

As always a fantastic book by a consistently brilliant author. I always regret their ending and always look forward to the next book thanks