The Last Girl to Die: the absolutely jaw-dropping new Scottish crime thriller with an unmissable, shocking twist

This Scottish mystery has it all: An interesting location on an island in the Inner Hebrides, a mysteriously missing girl, and a stubborn sleuth from outside, trying to solve the mystery. The story offers lots of local flavor. The hero is stubborn and easy to like. And her opponent will keep even the astute reader guessing to the very end. As other reviewers have noted, the shocking ending may indeed haunt the reader for a few nights. Very well recommended.

Overall I really liked this book, although I thought Sadie, while tenaciously fighting for justice for the dead and her surviving family, made some fundamental mistakes. The descriptions of the dead was graphic, but the Island of Mull was it's own character, beautiful and mystical, and a pleasure to read about. The ending was unexpected, but in it's own way quite stunning. It left me with a tear in my eyes.

Liked that it kept you guessing and trying to figure out where it was going. Full of every possible emotion

Wowee! I was up until 1 AM finishing this. I'm generally pretty good at figuring these things out but this one ?! I came close once but nope, wrong. This book builds layer upon layer of possibilities and creepiness, leaves all the appropriate clues for the reader but never gives up its secrets (and there are many secrets) until Sadie figures them out. And the ending! Don't get me started. I DID NOT see that coming.This was an amazing thriller/mystery that kept me on the edge of my seat. There was only one nit picky thing I had about one scenario, but it didn't really detract from the story - more like a "huh?"This my be one of the best mysteries I've read all year.

Fields is an excellent writer and I was excited to find her until the end. This is not the kind of mystery I enjoy, I’m not a fan of this kind of “shocking twist”. I would have said I’d never read any of her books again but I’m glad I gave her Luc/Ava procedurals a try, I’m really enjoying them. The three star rating merely reflects how much I hated the resolution

A crime novel with a little folk horror mixed in.

I have read all of Ms. Fields books and she has never failed to entertain. I was disappointed with this one. Sadie Levesque is a private investigator looking into the disappearance of a teenager. For someone as smart as she is, she makes some really boneheaded mistakes that became irritating. The book is well written but I don’t think it shines or intrigues as her other books have.

Overall, not bad. I liked it until the main character became stupid. I found the ending infuriating. I've not read anything else from the author. I'm not sure I want to now.

‘The Last Girl to Die’ is Helen Fields’ latest novel. As I am a fan of Helen Field’s series of Edinburgh based police procedurals featuring DI Luc Callanach, I was excited to read this standalone thriller set on the Isle of Mull.I complemented my reading with its unabridged audiobook edition, narrated by Jaimi Barbakoff and Robin Laing.Its lead and narrator is Canadian private investigator Sadie Levesque. The parents of missing 17-year-old Adriana Clark hired Sadie five days after she went missing. They are Americans who have only recently moved to the island, and felt that the local police were not overly motivated to find her. Sadie flew to Scotland and began to methodically search Mull for the missing girl.On the sixth day she discovers Adriana’s body in a cliffside cave. Bizarrely her body has been posed with a seaweed crown placed on her head… as Sadie continues to investigate the island’s secrets are slowly revealed. Then another girl goes missing …. No further details to avoid spoilers.This was a cracking thriller with plenty of twists. I was delighted that there was an undercurrent of folk horror. There is also a priest stirring up the locals with fears of witchcraft and the like. The ending left me stunned.With respect to the audiobook, this was my first experience of Jaimi Barbakoff as an a narrator and I felt that she did well, especially with the range of accents of the various characters. Robin Laing, who has been the narrator on Field’s other books, provided the voice of the Island in the occasional chapter.Overall, I was totally captivated by this atmospheric thriller.Highly recommended.

I love a dark, twisty, mystery laden thriller and, with The Last Girl To Die, Helen Fields has delivered just that. Brooding and atmospheric, there is a real sense of danger and almost resignation that underpins the narrative​ from the very beginning right through to the final, almost mystical, haunting, conclusion. 

This is not your ordinary murder mystery and it’s all the better for it. Set on the Scottish island of Mull, the story taps into myth and legend and long held belief of the history of the island which is set to lead to some absolutely devastating consequences. Drawn to the island to investigate the disappearance of an American teenager, Sadie Levesque is a Private Investigator used to seeing the worst and best of people, but who is perhaps still unprepared for what she is about to find on the island. Suspicion and animosity - and that’s just from the local police force. What the islanders will make of her intervention in their business … well that is somewhat of a mixed bag too.

I love that this story blends all the hallmarks of your classic PI investigation with something a little more mystical and ethereal. On the face of it we have a missing person investigation that takes a dark and possibly predictable turn. Delving back into the history of the island, Sadie learns that this case may not be so unique, and that there are many things about Mull that have the capacity to surprise and upend any firm beliefs she may have about the many characters she meets. 

It is one of those stories where it is hard to know who to trust, where conspiracy seems to be around every corner, and even the clients do not appear to be entirely honest. It gets those spider senses tingling and I found myself second guessing the motives of nearly everyone that Sadie met, even, and maybe especially, the police. A conspiracy of silence is perhaps the best way to put it, but as to what people were hiding and why it was very hard to gauge. The author kept motives hidden right until the critical point, leading us as readers down blind alleys, or into darkened dead ended caves as would serve the setting better. 

Sadie was a character I warmed to quickly even though she was occasionally aloof, but seeing and hearing the story through her eyes gave us a clear feeling of how it was to be an outsider in such a close knit community. There was one other narrator in the book, an unexpected one at that, but one who held a very unique perspective on the lives, history and behaviour of the inhabitants of Mull. It is a somewhat unique point of view, but it really did fit the style of the story and helped to enhance the atmospheric and sometimes claustrophobic tone.

The setting of Mull was absolutely perfect, although I’’m sure the island and it’s inhabitants are far more welcoming than may have appeared on these pages. Artistic licence in full flow here. But that whole sense of the isolation, of being cut off from the mainland and being beholden to the tides and the weather if ever in need of real help, that whole closeted community vibe and the natural suspicion of outsiders, is something that could only have worked on an island. And the importance of myths and legends in forming the story are really helped by this rugged and sometimes unforgiving landscape.

The book is, beneath everything, a celebration of the strength of spirit of the women of the island, and the overwhelming sense of masculinity and misogyny that still prevails in many communities. That image of the menfolk storming with pitchforks to keep their women safe popped into my head so many times and yet, ironically, it is more often than not, the menfolk that women need to fear. Whether that turns out to be the case in this story … well you’ll have to read to find out. Nothing is ever quite that straight forward.

Cleverly plotted and haunting, this is the kind of story that really captures the imagination, a mix of history, modernity and maybe even mysticism in one neat package.

This is very much an initial slow burner of a book. It draws you in bit by bit, until you are so entrenched, you don’t want it to end!I will leave no spoilers, the main character for me, was definitely Mull! Unspoilt, rugged, secret carrying Mull!The human characters were flawed, human and surrounded by the mystery, intrigue and history that comes from thousands of years of island life!This is a book that provides humour, shock and awe in every chapter! But the last few pages……will stay with me for a long time!!One last thought, perhaps Hilda had the right idea in living??!!

Better than the last book I read by this author but not a patch on the earlier ‘Perfect’ crime series. (They petered out into rather mundane efforts)An American family move to the island of Mull where the daughter goes missing. Canadian Sadie, a private investigator, is employed to help locate the missing teenager. Obviously, the ins and outs of the islanders and American family are brought to life. So far so good……Then comes the dabbling into witchcraft. Not a favourite subject of mine but will entertain other readers. What I really couldn’t understand was why the author chose the island as a narrator when basically it’s a method of summing up or adding past history so that readers are not confused. I found this a poor idea, particularly at the end of the book where each character’s present situation is outlined.The book is well written but without any sense of atmosphere. Action could’ve taken place anywhere. The beginning drew me in then the witch bit and island narrator spoiled my interest. The perpetrator was beyond realistic. …… generous 3 stars.

I am a huge fan of Helen Fields and have read all the Perfect Series. The book had such potential. Set on Mull, with a strong female character and some very gory murders. Lots of tension with twists and turns in the plot to keep the reader on their toes. The supporting characters were interesting and left me wanting to see more of them. Unfortunately I found the main character unbelievable. The situations she got herself into, the stupid risks she took and the information she withheld left me wanting to give her a good shake. The unexpected and dramatic conclusion left me frustrated but relieved that this was destined to be a stand alone novel. Perhaps a series with Nate and Lance working together would be a goer.