Audiobook Review: Her Last Word by Mary Burton

Her Last Word
Author: Mary Burton
Narrator: Brittany Pressley
Publication: Montlake Romance (May 8, 2018); Brilliance Audio
Length: 365 p.; 10 hours and 29 minutes

Description: An unsolved crime pits a desperate woman against a relentless killer in New York Times bestselling author Mary Burton’s heart-stopping novel of psychological suspense…

Fourteen years ago, Kaitlin Roe was the lone witness to the abduction of her cousin Gina. She still remembers that lonely Virginia road. She can still see the masked stranger and hear Gina’s screams. And she still suffers the guilt of running away in fear and resents being interrogated as a suspect in the immediate aftermath. Now Kaitlin has only one way to assuage the pain and nightmares—by interviewing everyone associated with the unsolved crime for a podcast that could finally bring closure to a case gone cold.

But when a woman Kaitlin questions is later found stabbed to death, she fears that she’s drawn a killer out of hiding. It’s Detective John Adler’s fear that the murders have only just begun. Now his job is to keep Kaitlin safe.

As a bond between Kaitlin and Adler builds, the past closes in just as fast—and it’s darker than Kaitlin remembers. Soon, her wish will come true. She’s going to find out exactly what happened to Gina. Someone has been dying to tell her.

My Thoughts: This romantic suspense title stars Kaitlin Roe who is determined to make a podcast to try to find out what happened to her cousin Gina fourteen years earlier when she disappeared while walking home with Kaitlin.

Kaitlin was a difficult teen. She turned to drugs and alcohol to try to dampen the pain she felt because of her brother's suicide. She was sent to live with her aunt and cousin to give her a chance to change. She wasn't happy there but did like her cousin Gina. She had managed to stay dry for 11 months until the night Gina disappeared but social pressure and drugged alcohol made the night a blur for her. She knows she saw a clown-masked man grab Gina and she knows she was told to run, but the rest is lost in her memory. 

Now she's clean and straight and determined to find Gina and bring her home. She's interviewing anyone who will talk about the crime. Detective John Adler isn't willing to be interviewed. He's busy with his current cases and getting over being inside a house when a bomb exploded which caused his partner to lose part of his leg. 

But when people Kaitlin talks to start being murdered, Adler becomes involved. He's intrigued with Kaitlin but not at all sure that he can trust her. 

The story includes transcripts of interviews and flashbacks to the original kidnapping in 2004. These are woven into the contemporary (2018) story of Kaitlin's building of a podcast. It is clear that someone is very upset about Kaitlin's attempt to find answers. There are lots of suspects including an old boyfriend of Kaitlin's who is in jail after killing a store clerk with a knife and who agrees to tell what he knows about Gina if he can make a deal to avoid the death penalty. 

This was a great story ably narrated by Brittany Pressley. 

I bought this one January 3, 2022. You can buy your copy here.