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A review by lilythebibliophile
The Last One to Fall by Gabriella Lepore
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Thank you so much to Inkyard Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader’s copy of this book!
I thought I was a Gabriella Lepore fan before I read The Last One to Fall, and now that I’ve finished the book, she has been cemented as one of my favorite YA mystery authors.
I truly believe that everyone who likes YA mystery novels should read Gabriella Lepore’s books. The YA mystery genre as a whole is rife with repetitive, predictable twists and flat, static characters, but Gabriella Lepore is a refreshing voice in the YA mystery genre. She subverts tropes and writes captivating, character-centric mysteries where all the character relationships and motivations are believable.
The plot of this book is excellent. The Last One to Fall begins by showing that a murder has happened, and then the story goes back to before the murder occurs, telling the story in chronological order. Because the murder occurs well into the book, and the only flash-forwards we get are cryptic documents that the police are sending each other, I had no idea what was going to happen while I was reading.
In mystery books, murders are usually the inciting incident of the novel, and the plot is fairly formulaic and straightforward from there. Not in The Last One to Fall, though! Secrets are revealed, and mysteries not related to the murder (or are they?) arise every 40 pages. I got so wrapped up in all of the characters’ tension-filled interactions that I forgot that the murder was coming up. Only Gabriella Lepore could make the set-up to a murder just as interesting as the aftermath of it.
And the aftermath? Woah. Because there are only five or six characters suspected of the murder, you would think that that would make it easy to guess who did it. Wrong. Gabriella Lepore did such a good job at building the characters that she got me to believe some of the things they were saying after they were suspected of murder. I actually wanted to believe everyone rather than suspect everyone. This made it so difficult for me to tell who had committed the murder, especially because Lepore did a great job at having not only the person who killed the victim be a mystery, but keeping their motivations in the dark as well, while simultaneously foreshadowing them perfectly.
I was absolutely shocked at the reveal in this book, and then I was shocked by how everything goes down after the killer is unmasked.
I won’t go into detail about the themes in this book, but let’s just say I think they’re really important for young people to learn.
The romance in this book was actually cute and well-placed. Usually, I hate romances in YA mystery books because they feel forced and unnecessary, but Gabriella Lepore totally sold me on this one.
If you are looking for a YA mystery novel that will keep you guessing and keep you entertained, you should definitely pick up The Last One to Fall.
I thought I was a Gabriella Lepore fan before I read The Last One to Fall, and now that I’ve finished the book, she has been cemented as one of my favorite YA mystery authors.
I truly believe that everyone who likes YA mystery novels should read Gabriella Lepore’s books. The YA mystery genre as a whole is rife with repetitive, predictable twists and flat, static characters, but Gabriella Lepore is a refreshing voice in the YA mystery genre. She subverts tropes and writes captivating, character-centric mysteries where all the character relationships and motivations are believable.
The plot of this book is excellent. The Last One to Fall begins by showing that a murder has happened, and then the story goes back to before the murder occurs, telling the story in chronological order. Because the murder occurs well into the book, and the only flash-forwards we get are cryptic documents that the police are sending each other, I had no idea what was going to happen while I was reading.
In mystery books, murders are usually the inciting incident of the novel, and the plot is fairly formulaic and straightforward from there. Not in The Last One to Fall, though! Secrets are revealed, and mysteries not related to the murder (or are they?) arise every 40 pages. I got so wrapped up in all of the characters’ tension-filled interactions that I forgot that the murder was coming up. Only Gabriella Lepore could make the set-up to a murder just as interesting as the aftermath of it.
And the aftermath? Woah. Because there are only five or six characters suspected of the murder, you would think that that would make it easy to guess who did it. Wrong. Gabriella Lepore did such a good job at building the characters that she got me to believe some of the things they were saying after they were suspected of murder. I actually wanted to believe everyone rather than suspect everyone. This made it so difficult for me to tell who had committed the murder, especially because Lepore did a great job at having not only the person who killed the victim be a mystery, but keeping their motivations in the dark as well, while simultaneously foreshadowing them perfectly.
I was absolutely shocked at the reveal in this book, and then I was shocked by how everything goes down after the killer is unmasked.
I won’t go into detail about the themes in this book, but let’s just say I think they’re really important for young people to learn.
The romance in this book was actually cute and well-placed. Usually, I hate romances in YA mystery books because they feel forced and unnecessary, but Gabriella Lepore totally sold me on this one.
If you are looking for a YA mystery novel that will keep you guessing and keep you entertained, you should definitely pick up The Last One to Fall.
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse