Scan barcode
A review by bxboricua7
The Last Laugh by Mindy McGinnis
4.0
Received a free ARC from NetGalley
Wow! What a conclusion to this duology!
It had so many twists in the plot that I did not see coming. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where all characters are morally grey or straight up villainous, as these characters were. Who do you root for? The fact that people were willing to turn on their own family members just to acquire more money and power. Tress and Felicity get appropriate endings; while not exactly happy, they do make sense, as former besties torn apart by tragedy find closure.
Edgar Allen Poe references:
The town is Amontillado, Ohio.
Felicity is bricked up behind a wall. (The Cask of Amontillado)
Tress Montor- Montresor
Felicity Turnado - Fortunato
Tress feels Felicity’s heartbeat through the best friend necklaces they both have. (The Tell-Tale Heart)
Kermit and his mom are Ushers. (The Fall of the House of Usher)
Kermit’s mom is Lenore. (The Raven)
The wild panther running around is a Black Cat. (The Black Cat)
Things I did not expect:
Tress’ aunt, Lenore, her husband and her cousin Kermit (called Ribbit) are responsible for the deaths of her parents. They were shot and buried on Usher land.
The reason for the killings- Annabelle and Lenore were sisters. She knew the land Lenore was promised in their Grandmother’s will had a natural gas pocket that was worth a lot of money. She had the Grandma change the will before she died to get the land. Lenore wanted the land back so she killed her.
Kermit kept his mom from killing Felicity, who was in the car with Tress’ parents. He has been obsessed with her ever since and feels that she owes him. Creepy!
Kermit has been trying to kill Tress FOR YEARS and she didn’t realize it until it’s almost her 18th birthday.
Tress and Hugh are siblings- their moms were best friends and their parents were swingers- until Annabelle grew jealous of Heather Broward and ended their friendship.
Kermit tricked his popular kid bullies into dying in a bonfire- which also kills Hugh.
Tress’ grandpa and his friend also tries to kill her. The friend is torn apart by Rue the orangutan and she barely escapes her grandpa by setting their marijuana fields on fire.
Tress gets a still alive Felicity out from behind the wall.
Kermit tries to kill her but is killed by the panther.
Felicity lies to the police and says Kermit kidnapped her- she knew he was responsible for Tress’ dad’s death.
Turns out Heather Broward had hired a PI to look after Tress since it was the 7th anniversary of her parents disappearance and her 18th birthday- she was set to inherit A LOT of money that everyone wanted. Even Heather wanted it- Hugh was Tress’ brother and would have been entitled to money if Kermit hadn’t killed him.
Lenore goes to jail for murder and the Usher house is torn down.
Felicity sticks to her story and she and Tress close that part of their lives for good.
Tress has money now and leaves to go to college and takes Rue the orangutan with her.
The book was wild!
Wow! What a conclusion to this duology!
It had so many twists in the plot that I did not see coming. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where all characters are morally grey or straight up villainous, as these characters were. Who do you root for? The fact that people were willing to turn on their own family members just to acquire more money and power. Tress and Felicity get appropriate endings; while not exactly happy, they do make sense, as former besties torn apart by tragedy find closure.
Edgar Allen Poe references:
The town is Amontillado, Ohio.
Felicity is bricked up behind a wall. (The Cask of Amontillado)
Tress Montor- Montresor
Felicity Turnado - Fortunato
Tress feels Felicity’s heartbeat through the best friend necklaces they both have. (The Tell-Tale Heart)
Kermit and his mom are Ushers. (The Fall of the House of Usher)
Kermit’s mom is Lenore. (The Raven)
The wild panther running around is a Black Cat. (The Black Cat)
Things I did not expect:
Tress’ aunt, Lenore, her husband and her cousin Kermit (called Ribbit) are responsible for the deaths of her parents. They were shot and buried on Usher land.
The reason for the killings- Annabelle and Lenore were sisters. She knew the land Lenore was promised in their Grandmother’s will had a natural gas pocket that was worth a lot of money. She had the Grandma change the will before she died to get the land. Lenore wanted the land back so she killed her.
Kermit kept his mom from killing Felicity, who was in the car with Tress’ parents. He has been obsessed with her ever since and feels that she owes him. Creepy!
Kermit has been trying to kill Tress FOR YEARS and she didn’t realize it until it’s almost her 18th birthday.
Tress and Hugh are siblings- their moms were best friends and their parents were swingers- until Annabelle grew jealous of Heather Broward and ended their friendship.
Kermit tricked his popular kid bullies into dying in a bonfire- which also kills Hugh.
Tress’ grandpa and his friend also tries to kill her. The friend is torn apart by Rue the orangutan and she barely escapes her grandpa by setting their marijuana fields on fire.
Tress gets a still alive Felicity out from behind the wall.
Kermit tries to kill her but is killed by the panther.
Felicity lies to the police and says Kermit kidnapped her- she knew he was responsible for Tress’ dad’s death.
Turns out Heather Broward had hired a PI to look after Tress since it was the 7th anniversary of her parents disappearance and her 18th birthday- she was set to inherit A LOT of money that everyone wanted. Even Heather wanted it- Hugh was Tress’ brother and would have been entitled to money if Kermit hadn’t killed him.
Lenore goes to jail for murder and the Usher house is torn down.
Felicity sticks to her story and she and Tress close that part of their lives for good.
Tress has money now and leaves to go to college and takes Rue the orangutan with her.
The book was wild!