Last Day

I gave up on Luanne Rice a long time ago; the novels she released in the 1980s and 1990s with interesting, nuanced characters gradually evolved in the 2000's into shmaltzy melodramas with cardboard heroines and hokey dialogue. But this was a cheap Amazon “First Reads” option so I took a chance again, only to remain woefully unimpressed. There was way too much info-dumping and too many unnecessary details, which made getting through the book a chore. The detective investigating the murder seems to have an unhealthy obsession with the dead woman's sister based on another tragedy that happened in their lives 20 years ago, but nobody thinks it's strange that he is fixated on a woman who was a teenager when he first met her. There are other inconsistencies and behaviors that make the characters feel very unrealistic. And as for the ending....well, I don't want to spoil anything but I will say it didn't make a whole lot of sense to me and felt like it came out of nowhere. Sorry, but I'll continue to pass on this author. I still recommend her earlier books such as [b:Angels All Over Town 282983 Angels All Over Town Luanne Rice https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320506804l/282983.SY75.jpg 286823] and [b:Summer Light 496042 Summer Light Luanne Rice https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1175226050l/496042.SY75.jpg 4725157] though.