Hilary Davidson delivers a suspenseful and emotionally charged thriller with "Her Last Breath," a tale that explores the chilling aftermath of a predicted murder. From the bestselling author of "One Small Sacrifice," Davidson weaves a web of secrets, suspicion, and family ties that keeps the reader engaged from start to finish.

The story unfolds with Deirdre, grieving the sudden death of her beloved sister Caroline. However, the plot takes a sinister turn when Deirdre receives a message from Caroline, forewarning her own murder. Davidson skillfully navigates the complexities of grief, introducing a protagonist who, long accustomed to being an outsider in her family, must now confront a truth that could shatter everything.

The narrative takes us through Manhattan as Deirdre investigates the claims made in her sister's eerie message. The tension builds steadily as she unearths the disturbing secrets hidden within Caroline's life, particularly concerning her husband, Theo. The revelation that Theo may have killed his first wife adds a layer of unease, and Deirdre's confrontation with him sparks a chain reaction that unravels a web of suspicion and deception.

Davidson excels in creating multifaceted characters, each harboring their own secrets and flaws. Deirdre's journey is both relatable and compelling, as she navigates a world of paranoia armed with just enough information to make her dangerous. The author cleverly keeps readers guessing, introducing twists that challenge assumptions and heighten the stakes.

The pacing is commendable, with the plot steadily building toward a satisfying climax. The psychological tension adds depth to the narrative, as Deirdre realizes that her pursuit of the truth may place her own life in jeopardy. The exploration of family dynamics, buried secrets, and the consequences of unchecked obsession is both thought-provoking and gripping.

While "Her Last Breath" is a riveting thriller with well-crafted suspense, some readers may find certain aspects of the plot a touch predictable. However, the strength of the characters and the intricate unraveling of family secrets compensates for any minor shortcomings.

In conclusion, Hilary Davidson delivers a solid four-star thriller with "Her Last Breath," offering readers a compelling mix of suspense and emotional depth. The unpredictable twists, engaging characters, and exploration of familial intrigue make this a recommended read for anyone seeking a captivating psychological thriller.

2⭐️⭐️


Not much in to detail as I dont want it to be negative as such . But this book is not what I expected .
Very bland and not understanding some of the thoughts here . Very let down .


thankyou netgalley and booksocial for the opportunity.

❤️shaye.reads

This one was not for me.
Thank you NetGalley for providing a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Great read! Looking forward to reading more from this author! I highly recommend this book and author to all!

The best way to describe this book is that it’s about secrets. But that doesn’t do it justice, because the plot, with it’s flawed - and, occasionally, warped - characters are the ones who carry the secrets, which is what makes the plot so interesting.

Deirdre, the family pariah, has lost her beloved sister Caroline after receiving a message from her that her husband, Theo, had killed his first wife and gotten away with it. Heartbroken, Deirdre heads to Manhattan for the funeral where she confronts an angry and defensive Theo, who claims that Caroline was having an affair.

Long estranged from her family, Deirdre sets out to find out who killed Caroline. In the process discovers the dark secrets of each of her family members, as well as those of others - secrets that they would very likely kill to keep from being revealed.

Every one of the characters, including the protagonist, is deeply flawed. Because I am a fan of books - especially thrillers - about dysfunctional families - flawed characters are a major plus for me. The characters’ flaws in Her Last Breath provide the basis for plenty of plot twists.

Davidson keeps the suspense building at the perfect pace as Deirdre digs further and further to find out the truth about her sister’s death and in the process discovers not only the truth about Caroline died, but also the truth about Caroline herself as well as about others.

Sometimes I just really love a book told from two POVs, so I couldn't wait to start reading Her Last Breath! After Caroline's death is ruled a complication from an undiagnosed heart condition. her sister receives a mysterious message that says her death was no accident at all. In fact, the message points to Theo, Caroline's so-called grieving husband. Her sister Deirdre decides to get to the bottom of it.

Each chapter switches between Deirdre and Theo. I enjoyed hearing both sides of the story, though I did feel it was really lacking in character development. The book started out so promising, but it just didn't seem like the story was fleshed out quite enough.

With that said, it was still a good read and the unreliable narrators really worked out.


* Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I did not connect with this book. The concept was not believable and the characters lacked a depth, making. It hard to care about any of them.

Such a great mystery suspense book that kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. The story has so many good twist and turns. I couldn't put this book down and is definitely worth reading.

This story is about dark secrets, family drama, corruption and what it’s like to marry into it.

There are a lot of twists and turns in this story but not to the point you can’t figure out the ending. Regardless of that, it was still a great read abs well worth your time.

So good! This story has so many twists and turns that keep you guessing! I couldn’t put it down. I rate this book a 3.7

This was such a perfect thriller. It's creepy, mysterious, unpredictable, and definitely kept me on the edge of my seat! Would recommend.

This book was great! I highly recommend it. It was a non stop page turner! For sure will read more by this author!

A good domestic thriller that left me guessing throughout! It alternates between Theo and Deidre as they navigate the death of Caroline. There’s lots of intertwining secrets that shows nothing is as it seems. The plot was decently paced abs I liked the descriptive writing that painted a picture of what was going.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

This one was a tough one to finish. The first half was a little too detailed to the point of feeling like it was dragging. Lots of back and forth with characters that seemed hard to follow at times.
The second half picked up and I ended up enjoying the resolution.
Thankful for the ARC! Decent mystery/thriller.

I really enjoyed this title. I liked the twists and turns and the writing style is nice and smooth. The story flows well and kept my attention. Thank you for the opportunity to read this title. I will be recommending this one to friends.

Another thoroughly enjoyable plot from Hilary Davidson that centres around family dynamics in murderous plot where more than one person is trying to seek the truth of the past but for very different reasons.

A very easy page turner which keeps you guessing and leaves you satisfied with the ending that ties everything up nicely.

When her sister Caroline dies Deirdre is devastated. What she does not expect is that her sister left her a message days before her death. Caroline claims that her death would not be an accident and that her husband Theo would likely be responsible. Deirdre confronts Theo, who claims he would never hurt her sister. Is he telling the truth? Did someone else kill Caroline? The deeper Deirdre digs, the more she suspects that someone else in Theo's family may have had a motive to hurt her sister. This book was interesting in some parts but I felt like it lagged towards the end, which made the conclusion feel less satisfying.

I wanted to love this - I think the cover is haunting and the blurb made it sound so good. But I felt like this read much more like a cheesy movie on tv than a mystery I was absorbed in. I didn't like either character and I wasn't invested to know more about the family or the hidden life of the sister.
I wish I'd loved this one, but it just wasn't for me.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

“Her Last Breath” is a modern-day thriller, told in the voices of two survivors of a high society woman’s untimely demise. The main voice is that of her sister Diedre, who works for a instacart-type company where they not only shop for their clients, but refill soap dishes and take out the trash and organize the fridge, sometimes for creepy pervy clients. The secondary voice is Theo, Caroline’s husband who Diedre suspect’s of killing Caroline. Theo is from an ultra wealthy family who owns and operates a major chain of hotels.

The family has been at odds and Diedre knows little about her sister’s life except that she gets a post-death email stating that if Diedre gets the email Caroline is dead and it’s no accident. From there, Caroline finds corporate secrets, hidden affairs, and a secret prior spouse of her brother in law.

Unfortunately, this thriller failed to deliver for this reader, lacking believability from the start, lacking depth in the characters, and simply was not compelling.

I had really high hopes for this book. The blurb for this book really interested me and I was very excited to read it. It is a slow build-up to the situation, which at times made it difficult to continue but I really wanted to know what happened to Caroline and the situation surrounding her death.

I do wish there was more back story to this book, the information kept the characters one dimensional instead of 3 dimensional which I feel would have added more to the story. The book felt a bit rushed at times and there were characters that seem like they were just added for "fluff".

I liked that the book was told from the point of view of two characters: Deirdre and Theo. I enjoyed the unreliable narrator, It adds that extra layer to the story. I feel like this adds a lot to the book, which I loved. A twist of an ending, which I did not expect.