Outstanding plot aside, Caroline Lee (who narrates Liane Moriarty's books) did a phenomenal job bringing this book to life!

This was a really enjoyable read, although possibly more long winded than it needed to be.

Quite different to many books with 5 children being abducted at the same time with no explanation, and then four of them returned 3 years later. This book raised so many questions, why abduct five and then return them? Why only return 4? Did the fifth one die or was there some other reason the fifth child wasn’t returned?

All through the book it maintained my interest and there were some good plot twists and links in the book. It was interesting to see the reaction to the family whose child wasn’t returned, as well as following the investigation to the final resolution.

Most definitely a very good book and I would be more than happy to read more by this author. I read this in audiobook format and it was narrated very well and was an enjoyable book to read in this easy. Happy to recommend this book. I would like to say thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing a copy of this book to me for an open and honest review.

Sadly it would not download like most of the books on netgalley shelf. Not sure why but hope it's just teething problems

One Last Child, the first book in the Tallman’s Valley Detectives series is certainly a chilling beginning. I really enjoyed the audio version with the beautiful Australian accent.

The nursery school is on an outing at The Ponds nature reserve. Nineteen three-year-olds are having a ball as they roll in the grass, kick pinecones, and run all around. A picnic is being laid when the senior carer notices some kids are missing. They must be playing hide and go seek. Meanwhile, Nola Hobson is off requesting the noisy ice-cream van up the hill to cut the music and move on. Justine and Kaylee search everywhere but to no avail: five children are missing! How do five children get abducted all at the same time?

Detective Kate Wakeland usually works homicide, but her granddaughter Ivy is one of the missing five. For this reason, her boss wouldn't allow her onto the team until over three years later, where there is still no trace of the kids. Suddenly things begin to happen. Miraculously four of the children are returned, unharmed and well, to their parents. Could this act be some sort of revenge against Kate by or on behalf of a criminal she put in prison?

Kate doesn’t think this is the case and, ignorers the strikeforce team leader’s direction, and employs her own methods to hunt for the abductors. But her pending murder cold case is a distraction, as is her ongoing troubled relationship with her daughter, Abby who is Ivy’s mother.

The book is a page-turner but for some reason I didn’t find it completely fulfilling. I will wait for the next book in the series to see if addresses the abduction or if it will be a completely new story. I want to know more about what happened to Ivy.

Thank you NetGalley for this opportunity. It was my first audio book offered by Netgally. The narrator for this book was perfect.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Digital Services for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.* This book has me gripped right from the very start and continued to hold my attention as the mystery of where the children had gone was unravelled. The book starts at a park in regional NSW, when five kindergarten children disappear when in the care of their nursery school. One of these children, Ivy, if the granddaughter of the book's protagonist, homicide detective Kate Wakeland. Fast forward three or so years and the children are slowly returned to their family. But not Ivy. A thrilling mystery read, but the book also provided an honest examination of the dynamics of families, especially in times of stress. I notice on Goodreads that the book is labelled as #1 in the Tallman's Valley Detectives series, so I look forward to reading future books in the series.

Another very good domestic thriller by Ms Taylor. The narrator has done a good work reading all the characters with voice modulation for each one distinct from the other and maintaining it to the conclusion. The suspense is good and the topics are heavy and last in our mind. The effect of kidnappings on the family of victims and on the victims themselves is well written and accurate. A good book and I would definitely recommend it.

As soon as I saw this title -narrated by one of my very favorite performers - I was so excited to listen to it! On top of being drawn in by Caroline Lee's stellar performance, the Australian setting, in their equivalent of Silicon Valley, also appealed to me. And of course, the. plot of five missing toddlers also reels in the listener from the very start. Told through multiple perspectives, the book's main character is Kate Wakeland. Though she's a young grandmother, she's still fast approaching retirement age when her granddaughter and four other toddlers are take from a nursery school picnic outing. Spanning years, the book not only covers this investigation, but also a separate brutal murder that Kate is assigned to as her job as a detective. Family dynamics of not only the Wakelands, but the other families as well are included.

It's a riveting listen - very well-performed - and I can see that the sequel is already available in Australia, so I am genuinely torn between tracking down a paper copy or waiting for more from the excellent audio narration of Caroline Lee! This makes a great start to a new series. No real loose ends are left, but there are some intriguing hints at what might follow in the next volume. And I am thankful that it didn't end on a cliffhanger. The plot includes a few big coincidences but there are also some genuine shocks. Either way, I definitely plan on continuing on with the series (and keeping an eye out for Taylor's earlier novels - especially if they too are narrated by Caroline, as I just love her voice!

One last child is a very well written mystery. Well developed plot and characters. Mystery fans will love this book. I received a advance ebook from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

This was a very well written thriller - so many twists and turns but everything connected well together.
Great, vibrant characters and lots of intrigue too!

3.5 years ago 5 three year olds were taken from a preschool picnic and there has been no sign of them since. One of the children taken happens to be the granddaughter of Detective Kate Wakeland. She has not been allowed to work the case until now when one of the detectives falls ill. Just days after getting assigned to the case the children start being returned to their families. All except Ivy, Kate's granddaughter. Why wasn't Ivy returned?

One Last Child is an interesting story that covered a lot. You have a murder case, a missing children case, a contentious family relationship, and jealous coworkers. The murder case felt more like a vehicle to make the family relationship issue to become a bigger issue. It did not really help with missing children case which from the title and the premise of the book would seem to be the story being told. The real story of the children begins with their return and that does not happen until about halfway through.

I did like the story but knowing that this is the first in the series does not make me inclined to read the next ones. Kate seems to be towards the end of a career but maybe not so are they a series about her or are these going to be like the Dublin Murders where each book features different detectives. I think I might be more likely to read book 2 if they were more like option two.

This is the first book in the Tallman’s Valley Detective series set in Australia and what an explosive start! I had the pleasure of receiving the audio book, although long in its narration, it did not detract from the story as it was one of those where you just had to know!

Five 3 year old children go missing whilst at a weekly picnic in the park with their preschool. Despite the fact that there were three people supervising the children, there wasn’t one witness as to what happened…..

Roll on 3 years later and 4 of the 5 children are returned, but why, the children say that Ivy is dead.

I loved Kate Wakeland’s character, usually the main detective is young, male/female with a lot of baggage/drama, however, Kate is nearing retirement age with less baggage on her shoulders until now! After the abduction, she is only allowed to sit in on the briefings as one of the missing children is her granddaughter but when 4 of the 5 children are returned, all except for Ivy (her granddaughter), there is no way Kate is sitting on the fence, she wants in on the team and she will stop at nothing to get to the truth and find the abductor.

This book kept me up reading through the night, I literally could not put it down, I had to find out what happened the children and the build up to the finale was brilliant, like a slap in the face it took me by surprise and left me saying “WTF”, couldn’t believe it! This being the first book, I absolutely cannot wait for Book 2!

What a great story. I enjoyed listening to this book. The narrator was awesome! The story was unique and exciting. I will be looking forward to the next book in this series.

Quite a twisty tale! 5 children go missing after a day at the park with their daycare group. No one seems to be telling the complete truth about their actions that day. But why? Three years later, all but one child is returned. The missing child is the granddaughter of one of the detectives on the case. What really happened that day, and where is her granddaughter. While everyone is hiding something - she is trying to tracking down the kidnapper. Great twist at the end. Did not see it coming!

Thank you to NetGalley and Podium Audio for the Advance Audio of this book.. Narrator did a good job giving each character their own voice. I really enjoyed this audiobook. The characters were great. Each one having their own part in the story. Great character development. The book followed two mysteries but was not difficult to follow at all while listening. All in all I would/will recommend this book and looking forward to the sequel...

The good, the bad, and the ugly. I know that's so over used.

The good was pretty good. This was a long, winding, and dark story about the abduction of 5 children from a picnic with their preschool. Three adults were there to take care of them and they still just disappeared all at once. What I expected was another child abduction story. This one was not that. The mystery of who took them and why doesn't seem like it should have held my attention for the shear length of this audiobook, but it did. A lot of misdirection, hope, and suspense throughout the entire thing.

The bad was pretty bad. The narrator was grating and her voice kept taking me out of the story. I was especially distracted by her attempt at accents. The first came quickly with a fellow officer from California. The description was of his quick California accent (totally fair, we talk fast) but the narrator decided to somehow read it in a slow drawl. Pretty much the same accent was used for a character from Florida. It wasn't consistent, but most of the time it sounded like she was basing it either on old reruns of Andy Griffith (more midwest) or a bad actor from New York trying to do a southern drawl.

The ugly made me cringe. At least one non-Australian character came off as a completely racist take on that culture.

Overall, I give the story a 4 and the narrator a 2. If you are just reading it, you will probably enjoy it immensely.

What a stellar read! Absolutely fantastic plot and wonderful narration that complemented each other beautifully!
I was a little concerned by the length of this audiobook but I needn't have worried! The narrator was so easy to listen to and drew me in right from the start and before I knew it, it was over!
Fantastic characters and a fast paced plot that kept me guessing the whole way! I was thinking about it even when I wasn't listening!

Finally!!! A 5 star read!!!
I loved this book and could not stop listening! I needed to know WHO! and WHY? so desperately and I was not disappointed with the results!
This plot was highly original, I really loved Kate and would easily follow more stories of hers.
The narrator was fantastic too. 🇦🇺🇦🇺

My thoughts

Rating: 4

NetGalley audiobook

Would i recommend it ? Yes

Would i read else by this author? Yes

Would i listen to this narrator again ? Maybe

First off I want to thank Podium Audio as well as NetGalley for letting me request it as well as for me to review it. Second because this is a new to me author and with out them I might not have know about it or about this author. As for the story itself the author does a great job of telling a story that is well written with quite a few red herrings and unexpected twists even though at first it feels a bit slow but it actually works for this story because it helps set the atmosphere as well as set you to feel what the families are feeling and going though, as for the narrator she has a way of using that atmosphere when she's tell the story to give it a bit of something extra , that makes it a bit more dark.

I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to listen to an advanced copy of the audiobook version of this book. It was a gift for me. The narration was stellar. Kate is a homicide detective. It was really wonderful to listen to a book about a strong, smart woman who is doing her job well and respected for it. Not a “she is good even though she is a woman” in what is typically a mans domain, but just doing her job and being treated like a person and a part of the team. We need to read more of that. From chapter one I was drawn in to the mystery of what happened. How were five children were kidnapped from a school picnic with not a witness in sight? Why four were returned three years later? What really happened to the fifth child, who was Kates grandchild? Was she really dead? So many twists and turns along the journey. Initially Kate is only allowed to sit in on the investigation, but eventually is allowed to be an active participant. Its a slow build to the finale and well worth the journey. I am very much looking forward to the next in the series.

One Last Child starts with the kidnapping of several students, in broad daylight and while they were being supervised. What ensues is a suspenseful read full of twists and turns. The audiobook was well done and the narrator brought the story to life.

Each character was nicely developed, including the portions of the book involving children. The author tapped in to the psychology of their personalities and how they behave under extreme stress. There are strained family relations and complicated reunions. The Last Child is an emotional read and is recommended to those who enjoy psychological thrillers.

Note- Content warning relating to crimes against children.

Thank you to NetGalley and Podium Audio for the opportunity to review this audiobook!
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