Do you ever find yourself scrolling Instagram, minding your own business, when all of a sudden you see a post for a book you’ve never heard of by an author you’ve never heard of? You read the description and think, “Oh my gosh, I have to read this!” And then you see that the author has said to message if you’re interested in an ARC so, naturally, you reach out and BAM! Next thing you know, an ARC is on the way. Well, that’s exactly what happened with The Last One to Fall by Gabriella Lepore and I am beyond happy that it did!
Savana Caruso and Jesse Melo have known each other since they were kids and so Savana doesn’t think anything of it when Jesse asks her to meet him at Cray’s Warehouse in the middle of the night. Before Savana can find Jesse though, she sees a mysterious figure falling out of the fourth floor of the warehouse. Six teens were there that night and, when the investigation points to murder, five of them become suspects. As the police circle in on the killer, Savana worries the wrong person will get charged, all while someone is making it their mission to keep the truth from coming to light.
Teen drama and murder, what more could you ask for? The book is divided into two parts, the before and the after. You are left completely in the dark in the first half - seriously, you don't even know who was murdered! Told in a kind of dual timeline, you see all the events that lead up to the murder (past) interspersed with bits of the police investigation (present). This lays all the groundwork for understanding the relationship between all the suspects and the victim and leaves your mind churning with all the potential motives once you reach the second half.
Each of the characters is complex and you are constantly questioning what you know about them as new things are revealed. They are also very much teenagers and act as such, which gave me flashbacks to watching teen dramas like One Tree Hill in my younger years. In this way, it felt a bit nostalgic and comforting, even when you remember that the whole plot is trying to figure out who is a murderer.
The story moves quickly, but the revelations come slowly. You are kept on the edge of your seat waiting for each new little clue to help you make your predictions. It’s not until just before the murderer is revealed that I was able to figure out who the murderer was, but the clue are all there from the start if you know where to look. Lepore’s ability to sprinkle in all the evidence against the murderer and still keep you in the dark is magnificent and her grasp on the makeup of a thriller keeps me coming back for more.
The Last One to Fall by Gabriella Lepore is available now and you can pick up your copy here.
Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from the author for free and have voluntarily written this review. If you purchase a copy using my Bookshop affiliate link above, not only will I receive a small commission (which will fuel my coffee and tea addiction and help to keep me up all night reading more books to recommend to you), but you will be supporting indie bookstores as well!
