“The Last Girl To Die” by Helen Fields – Book Review

Sadie Levesque – A Canadian from Banff who has made it her life’s work to find missing teenagers. Her latest case takes her to the Scottish Isle of Mull where a teenage girl named Adriana Clark has vanished. After four days she finds Adriana, killed brutally in an apparently ritualistic way. The police resent her presence and for finding Adriana when they were unable to…Then, another teenage girl is found murdered. The crimes hold many similarities. More investigation causes Sadie to question her line of work and whether she will ever take another case again.

“That was what heartbreak did to you. It dissolved your smile, and you never really got it back. You just forced your muscles to make the shape it used to be.”

“Small islands have long memories. The more dreadful the memory, the longer it endures. Listen hard enough and you’ll still hear its echoes.”

“Parenting seemed to me to be like skiing in stilettos. An impossible task that inevitably ended in injury.”

Wow! What an unexpected, twisty, compelling novel! I know that this book will undoubtedly make my 2022 ‘Best List’.

Difficult to review without spoiling it for others, so I’ll keep this very short.

First of all I adored the protagonist. Sadie Levesque was a feisty young woman whom I both admired and empathized with. The writing was both powerful and absorbing. The plot was original and engrossing – packed with red herrings, unexpected twists, and Scottish folklore.

The themes covered in this story are many. Parenting and its many challenges. Consequences of actions are far-reaching and can often involve ethical compromises. Today’s modern world is only a hair’s breadth away from ancient folklore and pagan ritual and history has lost some of its veracity in the re-tellings over time.

The ending was surprising, original, and left me bereft. I absolutely loved this crime thriller and will recommend it highly to all my crime fiction loving friends.

This review was written voluntarily and my rating was in no way influenced by the fact that downloaded a complimentary digital copy of this novel from Avon Books UK via NetGalley.

Publication date: Sept. 1, 2020 Publisher: Avon Books UK

ISBN: 9780008379377 ASIN: ‎ B09JLDNHPT 384 pages

Helen Fields’ first love was drama and music. From a very young age she spent all her free time acting and singing until law captured her attention as a career path. She studied law at the University of East Anglia, then went on to the Inns of Court School of Law in London.

After completing her education, she joined chambers in Middle Temple where she practiced criminal and family law for thirteen years. Undertaking cases that ranged from Children Act proceedings and domestic violence injunctions, to large scale drug importation and murder, Helen spent years working with the police, CPS, Social Services, expert witnesses and in Courts Martials.

After her second child was born, Helen left the Bar. Together with her husband David, she went on to run Wailing Banshee Ltd, a film production company, acting as script writer and producer.

Helen self-published two fantasy books as a way of testing herself and her writing abilities. She enjoyed the creative process so much that she began writing in a much more disciplined way, and decided to move into the traditional publishing arena through an agent.

“The Last Girl To Die” is set in Scotland, where Helen feels most at one with the world.

Beyond writing, she has a passion for theatre and cinema, often boring friends and family with lengthy reviews and critiques. Taking her cue from her children, she has recently taken up karate and indoor sky diving. Helen and her husband now live in Hampshire with their three children and two dogs.

Connect with Helen Fields via her Website, Twitter, or Instagram.