The Last Sister by Kendra Elliot

Three sisters’ secrets collide in a shocking novel of suspense by the Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author of the Mercy Kilpatrick series.

Twenty years ago Emily Mills’s father was murdered, and she found his body hanging in the backyard. Her younger sister, Madison, claims she was asleep in her room. Her older sister, Tara, claims she was out with friends. The tragedy drove their mother to suicide and Tara to leave town forever. The killer was caught. The case closed.

Ever since, Emily and Madison have tried to forget what happened that night—until an eerily similar murder brings it all back. It also brings FBI special agent Zander Wells to the Oregon logging town. As eager as he is to solve the brutal double slaying, he is just as intrigued with the mystery of Emily’s and her sisters’ past.

When more blood is shed, Zander suspects there’s a secret buried in this town no one wants unearthed. Is it something Emily and Madison don’t know? Or aren’t telling? And Tara? Maybe Emily can’t bear to find her. Because when Tara disappeared, she took a secret of her own with her.

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
~  Also Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
I stayed up way too late finishing this book. It’s a fabulous story about two grisly murders in the same small town. It’s a story about a family torn apart by secrets and lies – and it’s also a story about the same family pulling together and rebuilding after a series of unthinkable tragedies. The FBI must untangle years of Bartonville history before they can put an end to the town’s terrible history.

I like the FBI agents, Zander and Ava, but I’m still a bit frustrated that even though this is advertised as the first book in the series, the agents are actually introduced in Vanished. I feel like we’re expected to know them before this book starts and we don’t get too much character development from them in this story. The story is saved only because the Mills sisters are actually more interesting than the agents and they are wonderfully complex and secretive women that keep readers guessing until the end.

This story is a puzzle but it’s one that readers can solve alongside Zander and Ava. I enjoyed piecing together the many fragments from various points in time and I like that while I didn’t guess the whodunnit straight away, it makes perfect sense and provides a satisfying ending. I love the suspense in this story. It’s a gory read, full of action, blood, and bodies and there is one especially terrifying scene at the end that suspense fans will love.

I’m really excited to start a new series from Kendra Elliott but I hope we get to see more character from Zander and Ava in the next installment.


Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
M/F Thriller
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

Emily knows that something is terribly wrong when she finds her employee, Lindsay, dead in her home. What makes the situation worse is that Lindsay's husband is found hanging in the backyard, just like how Emily's father was killed. When she calls the local sheriff, she knows that they are going to need more help, so she calls the FBI too.

Zander Wells is an FBI agent who shows up to try and figure out why this new crime is so eerily similar to the death of Emily's father. He and his partner are as close as partners can be, but one look at Emily, and Zander is intrigued not only by the woman, but by her family.

Emily's family has kept secrets for her entire life. Her sister Madison, her aunts, and her long-lost sister, Tara. All of them have something they've kept hidden, but since nobody talks about it, it will take Zander digging around to uncover who is behind these crimes and why.

This is filled with a great mystery. I really like how it was woven around. I do think that the strange romance was a distraction. The story might have been slightly stronger without that. But I did like how it came together. It's not as good as the Mercy Kilpatrick stories, but it's along those lines.

Kendra Elliot has landed on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list multiple times and is the award-winning author of the Bone Secrets and Callahan & McLane series and the Mercy Kilpatrick novels. Kendra is a three-time winner of the Daphne du Maurier Award, an International Thriller Writers finalist, and an RT Award finalist. She has always been a voracious reader, cutting her teeth on classic female heroines such as Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, and Laura Ingalls. She was born, raised, and still lives in the rainy Pacific Northwest with her husband and three daughters but looks forward to the day she can live in flip-flops.

Connect with Kendra

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of The Last Sister (Columbia River #1) by Kendra Elliot to read and review.