The Last Child (Johnny Merrimon, #1) in Around the Year in 52 Books

Feb 04, 2014 Book Concierge rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: crime, concierge, southern-lit, library, coming-of-age, tragedy, audio, contemporary-fiction, mystery, adventure

Audiobook performed by Scott Sowers

Johnny Merrimon is a troubled young man. At thirteen he is shouldering far more responsibility and guilt than any child his age should carry. His twin sister disappeared a year ago, his father has left the family, his mother is lost in a fog of drugs, and his father’s former boss has insinuated himself into their home. Detective Clyde Hunt hasn’t given up searching, but he’s increasingly concerned for Johnny and his mother. Johnny won’t trust anyone – except h Audiobook performed by Scott Sowers

Johnny Merrimon is a troubled young man. At thirteen he is shouldering far more responsibility and guilt than any child his age should carry. His twin sister disappeared a year ago, his father has left the family, his mother is lost in a fog of drugs, and his father’s former boss has insinuated himself into their home. Detective Clyde Hunt hasn’t given up searching, but he’s increasingly concerned for Johnny and his mother. Johnny won’t trust anyone – except his best friend Jack, who accompanies him on his search for the truth.

What a ride! Plenty of twists and turns in the plot. I was sure I had it figured out (and, in fact, I did guess one of the bad guys), but I was still surprised by several events. Hart took a crooked path with many side trips and more than a few dead ends. Unfortunately I felt he was repetitive – how many times do I need a discussion between Johnny and Jack about whether Jack will succumb to his fears or stick by his friend to help him search. Ditto repeated descriptions of Hunt’s speeding through town to get to his next locale. I also wasn’t sure that much of the story regarding Levi Freemantle was necessary to the main plot. A good editor might have trimmed this by a hundred pages without losing any of the momentum or most of the plot twists.

I loved Johnny. He was intelligent, tenacious, courageous and sensitive. If his success at figuring things out was a little unbelievable, I’m willing to forgive Hart for that. This is a child grasping at straws and truly left to his own devices to make sense of what has happened to his family and to try to put it back together. I couldn’t help but cheer him on.

Scott Sowers does a fine job reading the audio version. He has good pacing and was able to sufficiently differentiate most of the characters. Occasionally, when two similar characters (Jack and Johnny, or Hunt and Yoakum) were in conversation it was a little difficult to tell who was speaking, but that was really minor.

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Mar 23, 2015 Lisa rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2015

Wow!! I read some reviews that weren't very favorable and about 20 pages in thought maybe I should just skip this one. Oh No!! So glad that I didn't cause it was awesome!! There are so many twists and turns and the author keeps you guessing all the way. I couldn't put it down! ...more

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Jun 15, 2010 Kim Whiting rated it it was amazing

I absolutely loved this book. There is so much to it, so much depth. It was one I didn't want to end. John Hart has a easy writing style. I look forward to reading his other two books! ...more

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