The Last Goodnight: A Riveting New Thriller by Kat Martin

"The Last Goodnight was an excellent read featuring a romance between a rancher and the private investigator he hires to look into his late wife's murder. When Kade Logan's wife Heather drove off eight years ago, he never thought it would be the last time he saw her. After her car is found in a nearby lake, Kade decides to hire someone to help him get to the bottom of her murder. Private investigator Eleanor Bowman specializes in undercover work so she integrates herself in Kade's ranch in the hopes of learning what happened to his late wife. After another young woman's body is found nearby, Ellie believes the deaths are connected and they're closing in on the killer. But when the killer sets his sights on Ellie, Kade will risk everything to save the woman he's come to love. Kade has spent his life working on the family ranch and he's never wanted a different life for himself. Kade is definitely an alpha male which personally I enjoy but I can see how his possessiveness could put off some readers. Ellie is a great character and I liked how independent she is. She's fantastic at her job and has a way about her that gets people to open up to her. She's very thorough in her investigation and I liked that she left no stone unturned. Kade and Ellie's romance develops quickly as they work together to solve his wife's murder. The attraction between them was immediate and their chemistry was fantastic. Kade definitely struggled to treat Ellie like an employee as a result and I liked seeing them fall for each other. When their relationship turns physical, the steamy scenes were well done. I enjoyed the two working together to solve Heather's murder as Ellie pushed Kade and took the case in directions he wouldn't have thought of. The suspense picks up quite a bit as we get closer to the end and I thought the final confrontation with the killer was very well done....."

성인 로맨틱 서스펜스 장르라고 말할 수 있는 장편소설이다. 주 배경이 농장이기 때문에 다른 작가들의 작품처럼 지명이나 자연 배경에 대한 묘사가 많을 줄 알았는데... 그런 묘사들은 별로 없다. 주로 민간 조사관 여성과 사건 의뢰자인 농장 주인과의 로맨스가 많은 부분을 차지하고 있다. 연속적으로 발생하는 사건들의 미스터리적 요소는 마음에 들지만 이야기를 풀어가는 과정이나 인물들 간의 역할분담에는 문제가 있다는 생각이 든다. 성적인 장면이나 심리적 묘사가 많아서 싫어하는 독자들도 있는 거 같은데... 로맨스 장르이기 때문에 이해해야 하는 부분이다. 다만 경찰의 무능함, 존재감 없는 해커, 범인을 찾아가는 과정의 지루함 등은 단점인 거 같다. 그럼에도 진도는 정말 잘 나가는 작품이다. 장르의 성격상 복잡한 문장이나 표현은 거의 없다.