By Kaylie Seed
Penelope Berkowitz is a bestselling author unable to find inspiration for her second novel. But when she stumbles upon the myth of the Stone Witch in an old journal, she puts together a research team of seemingly unfamiliar strangers who all end up being connected to someone who has recently passed away. Last One Alive is a locked door mystery and thriller that takes readers to Stone Point, a remote island off the coast of the Pacific Northwest in British Columbia. Penelope and her boyfriend lead a ragtag team on a research expedition to the boat-in-only resort with a haunting past. When bodies begin showing up, Penelope and the remaining group members are forced to solve the mystery of the Stone Witch and hope that they can catch the killer before the weekend is over.
Locked door mysteries are a type of plot that I am always a little leery about reading. I find that I am usually able to guess what is going to happen when I am wanting to be completely thrown off guard. Sadly, Last One Alive was too predictable for me; however, Cowie’s prose kept me engaged right until the end. As with most locked door mysteries, there are a lot of characters, and I found a couple of them to blend into one another. At the same time I found others to be unique enough that they were memorable throughout the story.
The subplot about the history of Stone Point and the myth of the Stone Witch had me intrigued and wanting to know even more about this part of the story. This is only a short part of Last One Alive and I would have liked to see it fleshed out more. I found this subplot to be more entertaining than the main plot, as it felt like the main plot lacked originality and zest. Last One Alive is an atmospheric novel and readers who enjoy books written by Ruth Ware and Lucy Foley will appreciate this one.
Thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.