This was a good book, but there was nothing that just grabbed me and wouldn't let me go. I could easily set it down. It is well written and I enjoyed the setup and the story but it was just missing something for me. We have Holt Hawley who is a disgraced soldier of common blood. This has his fellow soldiers looking down on him and even willing to end his life. We then have Enelda who is part of an extinct group of detectives/magic users. And lastly we have Iveta, a young woman from a royal family whose friend is kidnapped from their castle. The story was slow moving as Holt finds Enelda, they investigate the kidnappings of many children and finally get to the climax. In some places, I was frustrated with Holt and Enelda's relationship. There is just some frustrating lack of communication. There are demons and angels that are influencing their world from beyond the veil. The current government has greatly limited what women are allowed to do and have conspired to change history with book banning/burning. The beginning had some action but for the most part it is all investigation, etc. It is setup as if there will be more books but for now the majority of this plot line seems to be finished.

The Last Vigilant begins a new epic fantasy series focused on a soldier named Hawley and a Vigilant named Enelda Drake. The Vigilants are magic users from the past who can supposedly commune with the dead and have extremely heightened senses of deduction. Hawley has been tasked with asking Enelda to aid in the search for a missing child. However, there is definitely more going on than just one missing child, and myths and legends seem to be returning to the world.

I really appreciated that this book combined elements from high fantasy with elements from mystery novels. I thought Hawley and Enelda worked really well as the main characters, and I was cheering for them to succeed. Some more of the supporting characters having some moral complexity and not just being straight up corrupt and evil would have been appreciated.

I really enjoyed this novel and thought it was a great start to a new series. I am really curious to see what direction book two is going to take. If you are looking for a new high fantasy series and enjoy elements of a mystery novel, give this book a look!

What happens when you combine elements of epic fantasy with a flair of mystery? You get The Last Vigilant, an ambitious fantasy mystery that captivated me from page one until the last, engrossing moment. There is so much to love about this book!

In a world where Vigilants, those who command great magic, have become nothing but stories of myth and legend, grouped in among tales of gods or things that go bump in the night, a child goes missing. This particular child happens to be a political prisoner and the offspring of the leader of a neighboring nation, meaning that if the child is harmed or lost, it would lead to war. Sargent Holt Hawley and his command are given the task of following whispers of one last remaining vigilant, in the hopes that this vigilant can find the child. Hawley is more shocked than anyone when he actually succeeds in locating her. What follows is a mystery set in a beautifully realized fantasy setting.

Sargent Holt Hawley has been knocked down and kicked around by life. Despite having a command position, he is looked down upon and mistreated by- well, most people, who feel he’s not pure enough of blood. Despite the mistreatment, Hawley is determined to follow the tenets of the Third Company soldiers. He’s made mistakes and is far from perfect, but he has a good heart. It made it easy to cheer for him, to want him to succeed.

When everyone cared only about the missing political prisoner, Hawley noticed the many other children of lesser birth who had also disappeared. He noticed how some of the soldiers treated those they considered beneath them. He noticed quite a lot. He also provided loyalty and strength to Enelda Drake, the last remaining Vigilant. Basically, he was awesome.

Enelda reminded me a bit of Gandalf. She was brilliant and powerful, but never above playing the feeble elderly person, if she thought it would put others off their guard. This felt very Gandalf-esque, although her character was unique in its own right. I loved watching her friendship with Hawley develop. They made a great team.

I have a pet peeve about mysteries. If the clues aren’t there throughout the story, then I’m not going to enjoy the book, no matter how interesting the final reveal is. While I missed most of the clues (I was delightfully off in almost all my suspicions!), they were there in retrospect, and I could then follow the trail to its culmination- and wow, did the ending deliver!

The Last Vigilant provided the best of two genres, mystery and fantasy. I loved the duo of Vigilant Drake and Holt Hawley, and I can’t wait to see what they get up to next!
Thank you to Orbit Books for providing me with a review copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I saw people saying this was a mix of the Witcher meets the tainted cup and of course I had to check it out. This was a great start to a series super action packed and really great character work. I love a fantasy that bends genres and the added mystery in this book was fantastic. Highly recommend can’t wait to read more in this series!

Sergeant Holt Hawley and his men have been sent to find the last Vigilant – a magic user and truth finder of a defunct order– in the hopes that the Vigilant can locate a missing child. But all they find is Old Nell, a mysterious and cantankerous old woman who is revealed to be that last Vigilant Enelda Drake. Enelda and Holt find themselves mired in political intrigue as they desperately try to untangle a mystery.

A lot of other reviewers compare this to Robert Jackson Bennett’s The Tainted Cup and with good reason. They’re both set in fantasy worlds, and the investigative team consists of a wily older woman in a Sherlock-esque role and her younger companion who plays the Watson/straightman. It’s a great combination and the interplay between Enelda and Holt is probably the highlight of the book, but I think that’s where similarities end.

While TTC is set in a sort of Attack on Titan bio-horror world, The Last Vigilant is a more traditional Western fantasy world with political intrigue and relatively little magic. There’s A LOT of worldbuilding that might exhaust some readers, but time will tell if this pays off in future volumes. Fans of books with exhaustive exposition and a slower pace – Malazan, Wheel of Time, etc–will enjoy this more. The pace, to be clear, is pretty slow, and there’s a lot of talking.

I feel like there were some tantalizing bits of worldbuilding that didn’t get fully addressed in this book, so maybe this is fodder for future volumes. This is a world in which women once had far more equality– able to rule, fight, and so on. This is exemplified by Lady Aenya, a legendary female knight chronicled in now-forbidden books. This history, combined with Enelda’s presence, primed me for a more overt exploration of gender equality in a Western fantasy world, perhaps with some parallels to the present day. This really excited me, but the book didn’t really go in that direction. I’m disappointed, but perhaps that’s me projecting on the book a little too much.

To wrap up, I’ll return to the mystery at the heart of the book. I think fantasy mysteries are particularly hard to do well because a good mystery leaves room for the audience to make informed guesses, but the audience often doesn’t understand the rules of the fantasy world. It means that the denouement can feel unsatisfying if the reader doesn’t have enough to plausibly put together the puzzle themselves OR it feels like important bits were spoonfed to them and thus the mystery is solved far too early. I think this book, alas, falls into the second category. I am not being modest here, but I am TERRIBLE at mysteries. I easily knew what was going on in this one because of a lot of overt hints and emphasized worldbuilding. Some readers might find it delightful to put the pieces together so quickly and some might find it pleasurable– depends on the reader.

After much debate, I’ll rate this 4 stars rounded up from 3.5. I think the world has a lot of promise, I love a critical female character being past middle age, and I’d like to read about Holt and Enelda again.

Keep yours eyes peeled for "The Last Vigilant" by Mark A. Latham (out 27June 2025). Long time enjoyers of my silly reviews might notice that I have a fondness for corruption being dealt with.

Sargent Holt Hawley has the unfortunate task of finding a near mythical person to find a missing child, who disappeared from behind locked doors. Also his troop just tried to kill him so it's not a great day. Enelda Drake is the answer to his problems, the claiming to be a Vigilant and seeming a bit batty. Holt and Enelda take us on an investigation with the resurgence of powers forgotten (via the king's order), uncovering (ordered) forgotten history, and machinations the Kingdom of Oak and Steel might not be prepared for.

Reasons to read:
-I am a fan of this dynamic for the cast
-A justified, but messed up, reason for why people don't know things. Being the generation after magic isn't really a thing discussed is awkward
-Super good reason not to trust beings from outside
-Competency of characters
-OH that's a lot of guilt

Cons:
-Don't cover for that!

The Last Vigilant
by Mark A. Latham
Kingdom of Oak and Steel #1
Fantasy
NetGalley eARC
Pub Date: June 24, 2025
Orbit Books
Ages: 16+

Holt Hawley is sent to find one of the last of the original Vigilants, a legendary order whose magics and skills might be the only way to find missing children, before the mother of one declares war on the kingdom. But nobody, including Holt, expects him to find one, believing they had all died. Then, in a forest of dark rumors and secrets, after his troop is attacked, the last Vigilant finds him.

Enelda Drake is old, her joints stiff, but her mind is keen. She has been hiding from others to train her mind to fight off the corruption from both human and the things that lurk in the Rift, but with the possibility of war and the missing children, she agrees to help him.

Following along the trope of Sherlock Holmes, Drake being Holmes and Holt, Watson, the story has Drake basically degrading Holt when he draws his own conclusions about the issues because she says he is wrong. I didn't like her. She was rude, but Holt felt like a lazy character only there to show how 'smart' Drake was, so that took a lot of enjoyment from the story. Also, these characters closely resembled the MCs from Robert Jackson Bennett's books, and I'm not too fond of them either, but those characters and the stories flowed a lot better and had more 'fantasy' action.

The plot was typical; corruption and backstabbing, but according to the blurb, there was supposed to be magic... Eh... it was touched upon. The 'myths' mentioned, while interesting, didn't pack a punch because they were only talked about here and there in the 'stories' told by the characters. Without action, they didn't feel that important during the rare times they did show up. It felt as if they were written as people, then in later drafts, changed to myths in the attempt to make the story more entertaining. But I was bored.

More situations like the one at the beginning of the story (spoiler) would have added to the suspense and given credit to what the blurb claimed.

There are no adult situations, but there is violence, so this isn't suitable for readers under sixteen.

I guess this is the first of a series, but I won't be looking for the next.

2 Stars

For someone with a master’s degree in fantasy, a blog themed around fantasy, and a major writing project focused on fantasy, I really haven’t talked about fantasy at all here, have I? Well, we can change that here. I received a free ARC in exchange for honest feedback, and I’m excited about this one. It’s been a while since I read a fantasy that I really enjoyed and stayed up to finish.

For this one, imagine if Miss Marple had Sherlock’s skills and was also a wizard in a world where gods and demons can show up, assisted by a maverick detective who’s the black sheep of the police force. This is kind of what we’re looking at here. Children are going missing and nobody has really cared. The child of a neighboring general, in the kingdom as a political hostage, disappears, and now suddenly everyone cares.

Holt Hawley is a sergeant in the high companies, the elite royal soldiers, except he’s not from any of the military families, meaning his comrades hate him, his officers want to get rid of him, and he was blamed for a massacre. Sent off in disgrace on an impossible mission, he leads a small team of failures and washouts to try and find the last True Vigilant, famous for their powers and insight, as opposed to a current Royal Vigilant, known mostly for religious fanaticism and sadism. The true Vigilant order was disbanded decades prior, hence the impossibility, except for a ring that had shown up unexpectedly.

Expecting a hero, he instead finds an old woman who really doesn’t want to get involved with the messiness of politics and intrigue again. Fortunately, she relents.

We find ourselves with a traditional locked-room mystery: the child disappeared from his bedroom, right next to the duke’s daughter’s room and the nurse’s room. Nobody heard anything suspicious, nobody saw anything suspicious. He was there that night and the next morning he was gone. We have plenty of suspects though— the nurse, the duke, the older cousin, raiders from across the border, rebels, witches. It’s layer after layer of deceit and mystery.

And it’s a really good mystery, too. I never managed to guess the outcome, even though all the clues were present through most of the story. There was a story going on behind the mystery as well, dealing with ancient legends, rumors of saints, and conspiracies.

Take away the mystery and it’s a very traditional fantasy, but it felt very fresh. Part of it definitely comes from the mystery elements. The other part of it definitely comes from the fact it’s genuinely heartfelt. There’s no tongue-in-cheek, fourth-wall-breaking, winking-at-the-audience that pokes fun at the story. No cheesy one liners or Marvel-esque pauses to give time for a joke to land. Not very many jokes at all, if we’re being honest. It’s story is taken completely seriously. And rightfully so, considering how things all end up.

Like any good mystery, Latham keeps the focus on the core characters and the suspects. It’s still a fairly large cast, all things considered, and I struggled to keep some of them apart, especially on the duke’s council. As the book went on, the number of suspects decreased, which helped. Plus, as the story went on, the individual personalities started becoming stronger and easier to distinguish.

Unlike the last few books I’ve reviewed, grief is not a big theme here for our protagonist. Regret certainly is, and despair, and hopelessness. Holt is a black sheep among black sheep. His fellow soldiers hate him, the nobles despise him, the common people blame him for a massacre, and he feels all he’s good for is fighting and killing. The mystery, for him, is a chance to do something that matters. Something that will make the world a better place. It’s why he joined the army in the first place, before becoming disillusioned.

It’s not quite a redemption story, all things considered, but it’s something deeper. A resurrection story, metaphorically speaking? Perhaps, rather, it’s the story of finding purpose and direction not as a youth, but as an adult. And, glancing at the job market and economy, that seems pretty relevant.

The worldbuilding was familiar, but not derivative. Compared to lots of fantasy novels, this one had a relatively small geographic scope, which kept the focus on the mystery, even while hinting at events beyond the border as part of a broader story. The most unique elements were in its religion and cosmology— demonic and angelic both, as well as the true nature of saints. I’ve read very few fantasy novels that deal so explicitly with demons, saints, and angels, but I certainly appreciate them. The only one I can think of off the top of my mind is Elizabeth Moon’s Paksworld books. Lois McMaster Bujold’s Chalion books may also involve them, but it’s been a very long time since I read them, so I can’t say for certain. And it’s unfortunate that more people don’t include saints, because they were a huge part of medieval Catholicism.

I’m hoping there are lots more books in this series, because the end of the book certainly feels more like a beginning than an end.

Overall, 5/5 stars. Recommended for every fantasy fan.

A gripping blend of dark fantasy and mystery, this debut novel hooked me with its intriguing story and compelling main characters. While some parts felt a bit slow, overall, it's an enjoyable read that I’d definitely recommend.

Putting together a well-crafted mystery within an expansive fantasy world is no easy feat, but Mark A. Latham managed to combine both with his latest book The Last Vigilant, the first in a new series.

Even more than the mystery or the world, Latham’s two protagonists are the best part of the book -- a great foundation he can build a multi-book series off of. First up, we’ve got Sargent Holt Hawley -- a career soldier who has seen things and done things he can’t undo. His past haunts him even as he tries to fulfill his duties, which takes him to a remote woods at the beginning of the novel to find a Vigilant.

Understanding what a Vigilant is will go a long way to understanding the book. Years before the events of this book, there was an entire order of VIgilants -- people capable of magic and almost like agents of the FBI of Latham’s fantasy world. Hawley’s quest to find a Vigilant brings him to the doorstep of Enelda Drake -- the title character. She was once a powerful Vigilant and as the book progresses we see that wisdom and power slowly reveal itself as the mystery at the core of the book becomes apparent as well.

Of course, if we have a mystery, it’s only natural to put a character in the “Sherlock” role and that is Drake. And just like Sherlock had his own eccentricities, Drake has her own, including social anxiety and other quirks that present themself from time to time. If Drake is our Sherlock, then Hawley is the “Watson,” the eyes and ears for the audience. In that role, I’m not sure if he succeeds quite as well since Hawley has some major trauma from his past he must deal with, putting his career and his life in jeopardy just as the case is ready to reach its apex.

It’s only natural that there will be comparisons to Robert Jackson Bennett’s Ana and Din books (A Tainted Cup and its sequel A Drop of Corruption). Bennett’s books are truly some of the best books I’ve read the past two years, so the comparison is a little unfair, but both are mysteries and both are fantasy novels, so the comparisons will come.

The book’s pacing is a little lethargic at times and characters do a lot of talking in a room, but when the action comes, it really hits you over the head. The mystery at the heart of the novel appears bad, but perhaps benign early on, but the brutality of the truth is horrific when it’s all revealed. Overall, the ending is fantastic and Latham really sets up the characters for future sequels and has them in roles that are both at the same time new and old for them.

I enjoyed The Last Vigilant and look forward to what Latham has up his sleeve for the second Kingdom of Oak and Steel novel.

Thank you to Orbit for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

4.5 stars

Children have been disappearing. Nothing has been done about it.
Until an important child disappears. If he isn't found, war will break out.

Sargent Holt Hawley is an outcast. Even though he's good at his job, he isn't of noble birth, so the men not only disrespect him, some take it even further.

To find the missing children, Holt is being sent to find a Vigilant. Although none have been seen in many years, there have been rumors of one. Holt thinks it's nonsense, but he will do his duty.

This is so good! It's a mixture of fantasy and mystery, a blend that I am really starting to love. Holt and Enelda are fantastic characters. And there are plenty of other ones to love or hate as well.
I also liked the ending. I can't wait to see what the next mystery will be.

This is a wonderfully epic story. Taking place in a fantasy setting Sargent Hawley is sent on a wild goose chase to locate a member of an ancient order in the hopes that they can find a missing noble child. Being an enlisted soldier in a army formed of military families he is shunned, maltreated and punished unfairly. He is an honest man trying to find missing children of villagers, when only the one missing noble child is what his leader cares about. His path leads him to the last of her order, demons from another realm and a terrible conspiracy at home. He finds himself in the center of conspiracies, threats to his life and dwindling time to find the children before all out war breaks out. The world is well written, the plot fascinating and the characters have excellent depth. Great novel.

Thanks to netgalley for the e-arc!
Just when you thought you knew where this was going, this changed directions. I saw elements onf eye of the world in this but it is a refreshing new story and I am excited to see where it goes.
Pacing is a little slow in the beginning but I liked the writing and enjoyed how the story unfolded.

A solid start to a fantasy series. We follow Holt Hawley a disgraced soldier who is on a mission to find a missing child and to find a powerful being who may help win a war....he does not expect to find an old woman. Together they discover children are going missing and that nothing is as it seems.
Grimdark fantasy with murder mystery, political intrigue and eerie monsters...complex characters that you can't help but love. The pacing and plot were done well but did drag a little. Incredible world building, excellent plot twists you don't see and much more.
I can't wait for everyone to read this book. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

We primarily follow Sargent Holt Hawley, a disgraced member of the elite Third Company, on a mission to find the last member of a long-disbanded magical order in hopes of solving the mystery of a missing boy and saving his kingdom from the brink of war. Hawley knows no one expects him to succeed on his quest, but he is determined to try despite protestations from his squad. When Hawley stumbles upon an elderly woman named Enelda Drake, who claims to be the last Vigilant, he is not prepared for the world of political intrigue and magic that he is about to encounter.

The Last Vigilant is a fast-paced blend of high fantasy and mystery that kept me hooked from the very beginning. This book had it all for me - engaging action sequences, thriller-like suspense, surprising plot twists, complex and interesting characters, political intrigue, and epic world-building, I would recommend this book to fans of Richard Swan's Empire of the Wolf trilogy & Marina Lostetter's The Five Penalties series.

I more of a high fantasy reader but like how it was a good blend of mystery. It took me a bit to get into and about the 75% mark I started to vibe with the story.

I get the comparisons to the tainted cup I think if you're a fan of that this might for you.

It was a bit hard for me to get into at first but I am also a mood reader. This was on my list before I got the ARC and really wanted to see what it was all about and think it’s a good first entry. Look forward to book 2 and seeing what happens.

This was a super interesting mystery! With unique magic and super fun banter between the characters this book is a very strong start to the series!
There's super deep lore and lots of world building to get invested in. And I feel that it set a good standard of not everything having a happy ending or wrapping up all neatly, just like how in the real world we don't always get the ending we want but the one we need.
My only slight complaint was it could get a tad info dumpy with characters just talking for pages and pages on the history but it did help the world feel more lived in and thought out but maybe needed a better execution for it to work great!
The two main characters have nearly the same as Ana and Din from The Tainted Cup and it really scratched the itch I had from wanting to see more of those two!!

While I did like the overall story and characters.

The cover made me think it was going to be a high fantasy novel, however; it was more akin to a murder mystery than fantasy which was slightly disappointing

The Objective Review:

I should say first that this is a hard one to review. Mark A. Latham is a good writer that clearly worked hard on this story with a lot of love and care for its world and characters.

Unfortunately, I have a hard time recommending the book to the audience it's being marketed to. The Last Vigilant sells itself hard as a work of epic fantasy. It starts as such bombastically and eventually deliver on its promises, but it takes a long time to get there. This is actually a murder-mystery set in a world heavily inspired by the troubled relationship between medieval England and France.

The story is a comforting blend of mystery and fantasy tropes; from its Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson team-up, to the plucky noble lady and the evil villains with plenty of red herrings along the way. Sadly, the constant worldbuilding expositional dialogue, frustrating characters dynamics and really slow pace get in the way of a promising start. The ending hints at a much larger world to explore, but the lack of really fresh ideas could deter those looking for a subversion of tropes. Time and future installments will tell if this is going to be a strong series. More than a fair share didn't find their footing right away, we only have to think of the Wheel of Time, Malazan or Shannara. All of them had weaker first books. If Latham can sharpen the focus and go beyond mixing the classics tropes from multiple genre, we could have a great addition to epic fantasy pantheon. 3 Stars

The ADHD review:

Granny "Sherlock" Enalda and angry Hawley "Watson" are on the hunt in this epic fantasy that's like 90% not that. This is a great story of gaslighting, exposition and chin-flapping villains you'll want to choke with a snake. People are snapping at each other left and right while riding the trope train hard. I hope you're ready for a lot of talking because this thing is like being stuck in a 10 hours drive with the worst blabbermouth in existence. It wets your appetite with a truly brutal opening and then leaves you hanging with the worst case of blue pouch (gotta keep it PG) ever recorded. You'll finally get some relief but it'll feel like trying to race while riding a snail. Good lord, 1 Star

This book was so good from the very first page! I'm not even sure what to say. I feel like I've been missing a good long fantasy novel for a while, something fresh and fun, and this filled that void. My only "complaint" is that it was relatively slow, especially once they arrived in Wulfshael. But even at the slowest points, I couldn't put this book down. The characters are all very well written, and the plot is just so fun! I honestly thought this was going to be an old-school epic quest fantasy, but while it doesn't follow that a bit, it's not the same, and I will say I loved it. I can't wait for book 2!

Thank you, NetGalley and Orbit Books, for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.