The Last To Know

by Wendy Corsi Staub

Townsend Heights is the perfect small town. The sort of peaceful, suburban existence Tasha Banks dreamed of living when she left her fast-paced career for full-time motherhood. But now, Tasha's perfect dream is turning into a terrifying nightmare. Someone is targeting women in Townsend Heights -- and not just any women. A serial killer is looking for a particular kind of prey...young, stay-at-home mothers...exactly like Tasha. One by one, Tasha's friends are disappearing, only to die in horrific ways. Suddenly, terror is transforming Townsend Heights into a sinister place of fear and foreboding -- a place where evil lurks behind every corner, hiding behind the mask of a familiar face -- a face that may be the last one Tasha ever sees.

Genres: Mystery, Suspense, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook, Psychological Thriller

462 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

New York Times bestseller Wendy Corsi Staub is the award-winning author of more than ninety novels, best known for the single title psychological suspense novels she writes under her own name. Those books and the women’s fiction written under the pseudonym Wendy Markham have also appeared on the USA Today, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Bookscan bestseller lists.

Her current standalone suspense novel, THE OTHER FAMILY, is about a picture-perfect family that that moves into a picture-perfect house. But not everything is as it seems, and the page-turner concludes “with a wallop of a twist,” according to #1 New York Times bestselling author Harlan Coben.

Her critically acclaimed Lily Dale traditional mystery series centers around a widowed single mom—and skeptic—who moves to a town populated by spiritualists who talk to the dead. Titles include NINE LIVES; SOMETHING BURIED, SOMETHING BLUE; DEAD OF WINTER; and PROSE AND CONS, with a fifth book under contract.

Wendy has written five suspense trilogies for HarperCollins/William Morrow. The most recent, The Foundlings (LITTLE GIRL LOST, DEAD SILENCE, and THE BUTCHER’S DAUGHTER), spans fifty years in the life of a woman left as a newborn in a Harlem church, now an investigative genealogist helping others uncover their biological roots while still searching for her own.

Written as Wendy Markham, Wendy’s novel HELLO, IT’S ME was a recent Hallmark television movie starring Kellie Martin. Her short story “Cat Got Your Tongue” appeared in R.L. Stine’s MWA middle grade anthology SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN and her short story “The Elephant in the Room” is included in the Anthony Award-nominated inaugural anthology SHATTERING GLASS.

A three-time finalist for the Simon and Schuster Mary Higgins Clark Award, she’s won an RWA Rita Award, an RT Award for Career Achievement in Suspense, the 2007 RWA-NYC Golden Apple Award for Lifetime Achievement, and five WLA Washington Irving Prizes for Fiction.

She previously published a dozen adult suspense novels with Kensington Books and the critically-acclaimed young adult paranormal series “Lily Dale” (Walker/Bloomsbury). Earlier in her career, she published a broad range of genres under her own name and pseudonyms, and was a co-author/ghostwriter for several celebrities.

Raised in Dunkirk, NY, Wendy graduated from SUNY Fredonia and launched a publishing career in New York City. She was Associate Editor at Silhouette Books before selling her first novel in 1992. Married with two sons, she lives in the NYC suburbs. An active supporter of the American Cancer Society, she was a featured speaker at Northern Westchester’s 2015 Relay for Life and 2012 National Spokesperson for the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation. She has fostered for various animal rescue organizations.

Reviews

[Jennifer Jowsey · Rating 1 out of 5]

lots of whining about being a stay-at-home mother, or complaining about their kids, anti-working women ... the mystery and murders were all secondary to what the kids were wearing or playing with. yawn.

[Ralph McEwen · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is the hook in the prologue. Then there is about 100 pages describing a bunch of whiney self centered characters, which left me hoping the murder killed most of them. Then the mystery of showing possible murders while giving them alibis. Finally the murderer is revealed and who it is was not as shocking as the author wanted.
(IMO -YMMV)

[Jill Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's perfectly adequate as a thriller book, though mostly I regret that more of the characters in the book don't die, because they're almost all detestable.

[Cynnamon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Der vorliegende Roman beschreibt eine Mordserie in einem Kreis wohlhabender Vorstadthausfrauen.

Gut gefallen hat mir, dass das Buch gegen Ende punktuell sehr spannend war und dass die Autorin die Aufmerksamkeit des Lesers immer wieder auf neue Verdächtige gelenkt hat. Es ist flüssig geschrieben und lässt sich gut weglesen.

Nicht gefallen hat mir, dass die Hinweise für die Leser mit dem Holzhammer verabreicht wurden und die ganze Geschichte schier in Klischees erstickt. Außerdem fehlte mir jegliche Identifikationsmöglichkeit mit den Protagonistinnen, so wie sie von der Autorin beschrieben wurden.

Das Buch hat mich deutlich zu wenig unterhalten, um hier eine ausführliche Rezension zu schreiben. In meiner Einschätzung 1,5 Sterne, großzügig auf 2 aufgerundet.
Ein Buch für Situationen, in denen es an Lesestoff mangelt.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a fan of Wendy Corsi Straub. However, this book was a chore to get thru. Too much about complaining moms and their kids.

[Mark Giordano · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a book that took me a while to get into, only because there were so many characters and their families that I had a difficult initially keeping every straight. It was a well-written mystery that ultimately turned into a page turner, making everyone a suspect and ending every chapter with a cliff-hanger. Upscale suburbia is turned upside down when a series of murders strikes their small town. This turned into a story that I had a hard time putting down.

[Optimus Prime · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the worst thing ever. This is the best thing ever. I’m so indecisive about it. I hated every character and wanted Joel’s brain matter to be splattered everywhere, and Victoria is the next Ted Bundy, but other than that it was fine. I definitely stopped understanding what was happening not even half way through. So many different POVs that really didn’t matter in the end. anyways. that was fun.

[Rhonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written book that gives you at least 4 people that "could of done it". As the book progresses, if you catch the clues, you will start dropping suspects.
Be warned, the book is bloody, but suspenseful.
It's one of those that you won't want to put down, but be careful where you leave off if reading in bed at night. Might be hard to fall asleep!

[Melissa Arenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this longish book with only a few days left on my library loan. I was super worried that I wouldn't be able to finish it but I found that I simply couldn't stop reading it! And I was also quite surprised by the ending, which is more rare than not in mass-market thrillers. So all around this was a pleasant read that I highly recommend.

[mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had this as an audio book and was annoyed by the narrator who made no pause at breaks in the text that signaled focus on other characters. As a result, I struggled to follow along.

As for the story, it’s a decent enough mystery with myriad potential suspects, and the ending was both logical (well, almost) and satisfying.

[RW · Rating 4 out of 5]

SPOILER ALERT (albeit a minor one)

One character is revealed to be a crossdresser. He's referred to as a pervert and is sent to a therapist who specializes in fetishes. As a kinkster myself, with lots of crossdressing and trans friends, this treatment seems......outdated. The author should know better!

[Jolie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Whiny, ungrateful, one dimensional characters. I agree with a previous review, not enough of them die in the book.

[Lovviner · Rating 3 out of 5]

So so.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book. Quick moving. It introduces a lot of characters but it easy to follow.

[Brandy Cutchall]

Was hard to read, as I genuinely disliked all the characters.
That being said, the ending plot twist was great and I didn't see it coming.

[Julie Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic suspense. I was guessing all the way to the end. This is a thriller that you just cannot put down.

[Katy Mann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story! Well written.

[Nancy Behnke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Would give it 6 stars if I could. Didn’t figure out who it “was” until it was revealed 😯

[Joanne Purdy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant kept me guessing to the end.

[Barbara Short · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! Keeps you guessing till the end!

[Jennifer LaCour · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very Confusing. Too many storylines to follow.

[Ron Wade · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

[Susan Wedergren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Outside of the prologue, there is no action for the first half of the book. She spends too much time on character building. The second half of the book kept my attention.

[Kristin Danko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Young mothers from a wealthy neighborhood in New York are being targeted for murder.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have become such a fan of Wendi Corsi Staub and look forward with pleasure to her novels. They always keep me turning page after page after page and often find I read the novel in one sitting. She writes a good suspense novel, just when you "think" you've got it figured out, BAM another twist!!

From back cover:

"Townsend Heights is the perfect small town. Sleepy, treelined streets. Good schools. A quick commute to the city. The sort of peaceful, suburban existence Tasha Banks dreamed of living when she left her fast paced career for full-time motherhood.

But now, Tasha's perfect dream is turning into a terrifying nightmare. Someone is targeting women in Townsend Heights-and not just any women. A serial killer is looking for a particular kind of prey...young, stay-at-home mothers...exactly like Tasha. One by one, Tasha's friends are disappearing, only to die in horrific ways. Suddenly, terror is transforming Townsend Heights into a sinister place of fear and foreboding-a place where evil lurks behind every corner, hiding behind the mask of a familiar face-a face that may be the last one Tasha ever sees..."

[Lori Henrich · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say that it took me longer than normal to read this story. When you are slightly tired and trying to read this, it is confusing when the story changes from one perspective to another. The copy I was reading didn't have a break or space between each persons part of the story.

When Jane's baby girl is found and her mother is nowhere to be found the police are baffled. When more tragedy occurs the clues lead the police in the wrong direction. This story definitely gets you hooked and takes you on a wild ride with twists and turns that keep you guessing until the end. Definitely a wild ride.

[Sheyna Galyan · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I figured out the "whodunit" about halfway through, I mostly enjoyed seeing how the author resolved all of the red herrings. The biggest things that tripped me up throughout the book were two characters named Fletch and Mitch. One is an adult, the other a teen, unrelated to each other. but the "tch" names meant that I could not keep them straight. When I first tried to read this book, I had small children, and the opening scene terrified me. Now, years later, I could handle it. But if you are the parent of young children and sensitive to suspense, you might want to wait on this one for a while.

[Jim C · Rating 3 out of 5]

My actual rating is 2.5 stars.

A thriller where wives in a well to-do town are being murdered. This book keeps you guessing till the end who the killer is. This is not the author's best book. My problem with this novel is the author explained how these wives who seem to have everything are miserable and not leading the perfect life. The suspense took too long to build. Also, there were some aspects of characters that just were not needed. If you want a book where you have no idea who the villain is, this is the novel for you.

[Teresa mcgaha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have read others by her and is on my list "to get current" this year with, I figured I had another good suspense novel to read. It needed some serious editing, I actually skipped about 100 pages and didnt lose the meaning of the book. It had too many characters, too many red herrings and too much of everything else, to be a good novel. What it did have was a stellar ending, that made it worth the read.

[Ladyslott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good suspense story. There is a serial killer on the loose in quiet suburban Townsend Heights. Young stay at home mothers are the victims, all friends of Tasha Banks, and Tasha is afraid she's next. Staub's book is well plotted, with plenty of suspects and lots of red herrings. I have to say I didn't figure out the killer until the very end, and was taken completely by surprise, a rare thing for me. I will be reading more of Ms. Staub's books.