Last Girl Standing grips you immediately.  It opens with the stabbing of a popular young doctor and we see him struggling for life in the Intensive Care Unit surrounded by three ex-lovers, who are all his former class mates, and all “best friends” of his sweetheart wife.

Should be a juicy, gripping mystery, right?  Ummm...no.  Long on exposition, and told from the multiple POV of its annoying cast, we quickly learn that these shallow, self-serving, disloyal snobs were completely obsessed with popularity, superficial appearances, and money status in high school.  And they never really grew up or became better people.  Fifteen years later, many of them remain as distasteful as ever.  Oh, how difficult it can be to escape the wounds of childhood!  A challenge made more difficult by the tragic events of their graduation BBQ party haunting the class of West Knoll School.  

I was eager to know what “really” happened at that high school graduation party, something so malicious that classmates start dying under suspect circumstances.  A very juicy mystery indeed.  The stakes end up being highest fifteen years later for the young wife of the stabbed doctor, as she predictably becomes the prime suspect.  If she didn’t try to murder her husband, then who did?

The story feels really, really long.  Part of the reason is the nastiness of the primary characters.  The “ick” factor may be entirely intentional and designed to manipulate our emotional responses to these people.  But it’s effect leaves a bad taste even after the mystery comes to its brilliant conclusion.

I almost DNF this book but I decided to keep reading it because I usually like Lisa Jackson's books. This is a hard book to review because it had so much potential but it was so annoying to read. Too much teenage drama and the dialogs are very predictable. This book is divided by parts and it begins as a thriller with Tanner being sent to the hospital badly injured and three women, that apparently knew him very well, standing next to him. Then it goes back to their high school years and tell you everything that happened in the past instead of showing flashbacks throughout the book. I confess I skipped some parts because I was getting annoyed by all that drama.  A group of popular girls formed a clique called the Five Firsts: Amanda, Bailey, Carmen, Delta, and Zora (That took Ellie's place). During a bbq before graduation one of the girls drowned and perhaps it wasn't an accident. Then it goes back to the present, where Delta was trying to find out who tried to kill Tanner, her husband and the 'high school god' that cheats on her non-stop and had also slept with her 'friends'. After that, people starts to die. First was Carmen at the bbq back in high school, then two more dies after the 10 years reunion, then 5 years later someone tried to kill Tanner, and then another two people dies as well. That's when I started getting into the book. The ending wasn't predictable and it was fine. It was a good read (after half of the book) but I wouldn't tell my friends to read it.

The story is told from the viewpoints of a clique called the first five's, Amanda, Bailey, Carmen, Delta, Ellie (of the original three but not included into the "first fives"), Zora and Chris McCrae (former jock presently law enforcement). It goes back and forth from high school to present and from one narrator to another.
The book keeps you thinking who did what now or who did what back at that fateful pre-HS graduation barbecue. 
Amanda (the leader of the first fives), with Bailey, Carmen, Delta and Zora (the rich girl they included into their group), and Ellie (the one not included into the group) they all had one thing in common - they all wanted Tanner Stahd. In actuality the five girls could be call frenemies they didn't know the meaning of sisterhood and staying true to each other. They were jealous and spiteful and wanted Tanner.. 
Delta and Tanner dated throughout high school even though he could not remain faithful he didn't know the meaning of the word. All the girls threw themselves at him constantly and he would not say no to any of them. 
The pre-graduation bbq was planned and chaperoned by teachers but things still go very wrong and one of the first five didn't make it home. So many things went on at that bbq as the boys and girls slipped off to the surrounding woods.  Delta the steady faithful one who didn't go into the woods and just observed all the girls trying to seduce Tanner. Tanner who got drunk and lead others into danger. 
Fast forward to the present, Tanner has not changed. He is now a successful doctor but still is not faithful. They have a little boy and Delta has finally had enough she tells Tanner. When Tanner is stabbed she becomes suspect number one. 
Chris McCrae former classmate and also a jock back in HS just not as sought after as Tanner is now the detective assigned to the case. Tanner is fighting for his life and Chris has a hard time believing Delta can be responsible or is he too close to his former classmate. 
The first five A to Z's are slowly losing members and just maybe it all comes back to that fateful bbq fifteen years ago. 
I did like the book because they keep you wondering who and what.  It is almost trite in the shallowness, jealousy and meanness of many of the first five A to Z clique that seemed to carry on to adulthood.  There were only one or two characters with any real character. However, it did keep me interested to find the answers that were not revealed until very very close to the end. 
Two talented authors did a great job keeping it simple going back and forth in time and from one narrator to another. Thank you Lisa Jackson, Nancy Bush, NetGalley and Kensington/Zebra Publishing Group for the ARC these are my thoughts on the book.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Last Girl Standing by Lisa Jackson and Nancy Bush that I read and reviewed.
This book was full of surprises from start to finish. This book follows the story of five friends and their lives and it alternate between high school and present time. During a party right before graduation one of five friends sees something she should not have and she ends up dead. Everyone believes it was a tragic accident accept her best friend who believes she died because of what she witnessed but was unable to share with anyone else at the party. Over the years tragedy seems to happen to all of the friends and the people that attended that party and death is a common thread. Now, the rest of the five friends are dying.
This book had me guessing who the killer was from the start. I would think it was one person then go with anther and keep changing my mind. I loved how I could not stay with one suspect until
The very end and then I was wrong again. This was a great book by a great writing duo. 
Last Girl Standing gets five out of five stars!

Thank you to Kensington Books and Net Galley for the chance to read and review this book. I have read other books by Lisa Jackson and Nancy Bush, but I didn't really care for this one. The characters were not likeable and there was too much time spent on their teen-age years. It might appeal more to the younger crowd, but it was somewhat boring to me.

Our story starts in the present where we find ourselves in the hospital and a group of women hovering by the door looking at the patient .  We do not know exactly who they are or their relationship to the patient.  The authors then bring us to the beginning of their story of The Five Firsts., a group of girls who were the popular girls in high school.  The story follows these girls through high school and how their lives have changed since those days of popularity.  But, death follows them.  It starts with one of the girls drowning at a graduation party.  Then years later, it happens again then yet again.  This prompts the remaining girls to figure out if their class is just filled with bad luck, or if something sinister is going on.

This is another collaboration between Lisa Jackson and Nancy Bush.  I like how they "hook" you in the beginning since you do not know who these women are or if they had anything to do with the man laying in the hospital bed.  As you learn more about these girls and their class members from their high school days to present times, you think you understand what is going on.  But, there are twists and turns that you do not anticipate and keeps the reader interested and wanting to turn the page.

I look forward to seeing what adventure these ladies will bring me on next.  I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.  I would like to thank NetGalley and Kensington Books for this privilege.

This is a go to writing team for me!  This story was a great romantic suspense that kept me guessing til the end.  Good characters and plot.  I definitely recommend!

I received this ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review

An entertaining and gripping romantic suspense that kept me guessing till the end. 
It's well plotted, the characters are interesting and the mystery is solid.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Delta finds her philandering husband lying in a pool of blood and then she slips and falls on the knife, then picks it up not thinking of of the consequences but only of getting help for her husband.   As the police question her, three of her high school friends are in the hospital waiting room wanting answers because when they were all in high school together, all of them were in involved with Delta's husband in some way.   Why are Delta's friends at the hospital now especially when Delta hasn't had much if any contact with her old friends in years since their last class reunion.   Detectives have a long and time consuming job ahead of them because they will have to go back in time to find out who really stabbed the dying man or maybe it was Delta and she is very good at playing the long suffering wife.   There will be many potential suspects and twisting turns before you read the final chapter.I

I thought that book wouldn't be very good due to many of the substandard reviews but I was pleasantly surprised and I did enjoy the story after a slow start.   Fifty percent into reading the story went fast with lots of fun twists and turns that were unexpected.   I wouldn't consider this a thriller but it turned out to be a good mystery.   Most of the characters were shallow and unlikable and reminded me of some of the afternoon soap operas that used to be on television.   If a reader enjoyed the old soaps, I think they would find this book very appealing.   A great majority of the book plays out the last year in high school but that storyline is essential to everything that will take place in the present time.   All in all it was a good book not a great one but it ended up being very entertaining. 

I want to thank the publisher "Kensington Books" and Netgalley for the.opportunity to read this ARC and any thoughts and opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given this book a rating of 3  1/2 Twisty 🌟🌟🌟✴ Stars!!

After a rather slow start, I found this to be an enjoyable mystery.  As is typical of the sisters Lisa Jackson and Nancy Bush, this mystery had plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing until the end.  My only complaint was the beginning set in the high school years, I thought that could have been done more as flashbacks rather than spending so much of the story in the past.

I don’t really know how to write this. I’ll be honest, I almost didn’t read it because of other reviews but once I started, I couldn’t put it down. Im not fond of books that go back and forward between past and present. So I’ll try to give a little something about this.
Delta is one of the Five Firsts, a nickname given to her and her friends, when in high school, they had a senior picnic and one of the classmates drowned. Ten years later at the reunion two more are killed in a supposedly murder/suicide. Now Delta’s husband is stabbed and she’s the blame.MaCrae is a classmate and a police officer now. He’s investigating the stabbing and still looking into the murder/suicide when two more are killed in a car wreck. Can he find the killer before more of their group dies?
* Voluntarily read and reviewed this for NetGalley *

Last Girl Standing leaves you asking questions. When do you leave high school experiences behind and move on with your life? What is friendship? What is love? Your first large group check in with those you knew in high school is likely your 10th year reunion when everyone looks closely at how you look, who you’ve married, are you successful etc. It’s not easy and more difficult as you realize past, present and future, there will be some who you may never meet again particularly when suspicious events unfold as in the saga of the 5’s.
It’s the story of the 5’s and Ellie, who started in the group prior to high school, their high school class, and one particularly guy, the hunk Tanner. The story opens with Tanner at death’s door 15 years after high school. From there the story takes you back to senior year, then their 10th year reunion and finally events 5 years later. It’s a nightmare as members of the class start dropping and all start looking behind them.
There is suspense and suspicion and you’ll keep on guessing where the story will take you. You may not like the characters, who remain mean girls even in adult life, but the authors will keep you guessing to the surprising conclusion.

OMG wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  This is one of the best thrillers I have read all year and I've read ALOT!!!!!!!!!!!  This is a total standalone book and trust me.......  you will NOT guess the who did it in this story of corrupt group of people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I was shocked and like "WTF??????!!!!!!" when it got revealed.  This is a story of a group of teenagers first.....the" first fives" and the boys that they hung around with. These kids are right while they're teens but grow apart as they all become adults but when members start dying shit gets real!!!!!!!!  Are these deaths a coincidence or is someone slowly murdering the members of this group???  Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington/Zebra Publishing

Who would want to kill the most popular all American boy from high school? Tanner Stahd had all the girls in knots and the boys all wanted to be like him but he wasn't the nice boy everything thought. He was a player and he was always got what he wanted. No matter what he did nothing got him down until that night at the party. They did drugs got drunk and someone dead. 
They are no longer in high school and Tanner has just used up all his excuses with his wife Delta but before they can talk he is stabbed and everyone thinks that it was her. How can she prove that she would never hurt Tanner no matter how much he hurt her?
Zora, Amanda & Ellie all can't believe that the great Tanner Stahd has been taken so cruelly and they want to know the truth. They all had their own secrets about Tanner and they know that not everyone liked him and that he used people but they want to find the person responsible. 
Ellie won't rest until she proves that Delta killed him and she will find out the truth about why Carmen died all those years ago at the party. And just maybe she can find justice for Bailey another classmate that was killed years after. She knows that there is so much more to that story.
Zora can't believe that he is gone but she doesn't believe that Delta killed him and she knows that she will never reveal her own secret about Tanner. She has enough problems happening at home right now.
Amanda only went after Tanner because he was with Delta and she got what she wanted for a while but she grew up and moved on and she missed Delta throughout the passing years and she hopes that she can help her fight these charges.
Chris knows that he needs to keep a level head when it comes to Delta he has always wanted her but she would only ever look at Tanner and he never had a chance. Can he keep things professional as he is the enemy here? He knows that she didn't kill Tanner but he needs to take a step back. And he has to continue looking into Bailey's case he needs to find out the truth for him & her father. He has to be careful about how he moves forward.
Delta has only ever loved Tanner even when he cheated on her she stayed but she knew that she would have left soon but now there is only her son Owen left and that is all she cares about. 
But someone else is out there ready to keep the secrets buried and they will start picking off the classmates one by one. Who will be left standing at the end?
A good thrilling read. I was lucky enough to receive a copy via Netgalley & the publishing house in exchange for my honest review.

ister bestselling authors, Lisa Jackson and Nancy Bush have released a well-written thriller, Last Girl Standing which takes readers back to high school. The Five Firsts are the elite clique at West Knoll high school, and just before graduation at a pre-graduation party, one of them drowns under suspicious circumstances. As the years go on and the girls go on with their own lives, reunions and other happenings bring them together again. 

The authors do a good job of developing the characters. However, the characters are typical of the generation today – entitled, spoiled, and very unlikeable. It may be that readers from this generation care about characters who are like them, but those of us who are disgusted with the behavior of the entitled, will not care about what happens to these characters. Although the protagonist, Delta, is the least spoiled of her group of five frenemies, she marries a despicable jerk, Tanner, who was the hottest jock in the school and the one everyone wanted (and the probably the main reason one of the First Five girls drowned). He is a class A jerk, and has cheated on Delta through the high school years and afterward. When he is stabbed, most readers won’t care if he lives or dies. 

Although the authors fill the novel with building suspense, and ups and downs, some readers will not want to finish because they don’t care who did it and will just be happy karma was there to take Tanner down. I am one of those readers, and find that being surrounded with people just like these characters is not pleasant, and it is something that is avoided.

These authors are both excellent storytellers, and the novel is well-written. The subject matter will not grab some readers, and they should avoid the novel. Otherwise, fans of Lisa Jackson and her sister Nancy Bush will want to pick up this book.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

I will leave a review on Amazon or B&N on May 26, 2020

Last Girl Standing is written by one of my favorite authors, I love a good suspense thriller but for me this book just didn't grab me in the way I would like for a book to do. I really found it almost impossible to like any of the characters, although she did work to redeem one or two before the ending of the book. The book did improve the longer you read it, and I wasn't really able to figure out the main culprit until it was revealed. Overall I would suggest those that enjoy suspense thrillers read the book for themselves, what one person really likes others may not. 

I received a Advanced Readers Copy from NetGalley and the publisher, and this is my fair and honest review.

Last Girl Standing (3.5 stars) by Lisa Jackson and Nancy Bush is a modern-day thriller filled with teenaged angst.  The thriller part works well, with many viable suspects and intricate clues, while the earlier events of the high-school age characters serves as an impetus for the latter-day happenings.  Overall, it is an enjoyable book that gets better and better as the story progresses.

The story begins in the senior year of high school for the Five Firsts – a group of popular, but sometimes mean, girls – and Ellie, a former member of the group who has fallen out of favor.  The first part of the book is the sketchiest, and by this, I mean that you have to like a high level of teen drama to get past it.  While I tend to veer away from these kind of YA books, I read it with an open mind, and really got a flavor for the characters.

Of course, the book wouldn’t be a thriller without a death, so by the end of senior year, one of the girls dies under mysterious circumstances.  Was it an accident?  Murder?  Suicide?  These questions continue to haunt the girls throughout the book.  A second death following the high school reunion ups the stakes, and the remaining girls are on notice that something bad is definitely afoot.

Fast forward to the current day, and another suspicious death, and that is where the mystery and suspense truly begin.  From that point forward, Last Girl Standing propels the reader on a high-octane race to find a killer.  And with such a vast array of suspects and motives, guessing the solution is quite a hefty task.

While I do believe the authors would have been better served by eliminating much of the teenage angst from the first part (by showing bits and pieces in flashback), the intrigue developed in the current-day mystery makes Last Girl Standing a book worth reading.

Note: I received an ARC of Last Girl Standing from NetGalley and Kensington Books. The above is my honest review.

I don’t know if it’s just me or not but lately it’s been very difficult to get into mystery stories and this one was no exception. I honestly could not get into the spot at all. I found the characters dry and dull and the story line to be subpar at best.  This is definitely not a book that I would recommend which is unfortunate because I normally like Lisa Jackson books.

This is a good read, but not the best of these two authors. The plot was a bit predictable. I felt like I had read this story before because I've read several like it. That being said, I loved the characters! Some I rooted for, while others I loved to hate. The way the past interweaves with the present made me want to know who the villain was. The reveal of the who and why came as a shock. I also was satisfied by the ending. So while not my favorite, still worth the read.

Things happen at a high school graduation bbq that bring terror to them years later. Delta was in the popular girls group. She married the most popular guy, Tanner. They have a child together, Owen.
One of their classmates died that night of the graduation bbq. It was called an accident,  a drowning. Now, years later that may not be what happened. The clock has turned, time has progressed forward. Someone is killing all of the girls that were part of the elite. There had been five.
Delta is now being looked at as a suspect in her husband's murder.
The past is catching up to the future. 
The police must hurry before more lives are lost.
This is an exciting and mind boggling read! Keeps you guessing right up to the very end. Recommended!