Hey I actually finished on of my first reads books close to when I picked it. Shocking!

This is a little different than the last book I read about going home. Instead of a heartwarming read, this one turns into an adrenaline packed roller coaster.

Shady characters kept me guessing on who to believe or even try to like. The multiple timelines and POVs gave me a lot of perspective on what was happening. The chapters from the killers mind were chilling.

There is a little bit of everything thrown in. The more I read the more i wanted to know. Towards the end this does get a little bit outside the realm of believable, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

I was kept on my toes and wanted to know what was up.

Saskia Maarleveld and Scott Brick did an excellent job bringing Halley and the killer to life. Scott is one of my favorite male narrators and it’s been a while since I listened to his narration. He brought the right amount of creep to the situation. Once I started listening I found every excuse I could to turn the book back on.

“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙙𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜.”

𝗣𝘂𝗯 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: 8/1/25

𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁: audiobook 🎧(60%)/ ebook 📖 (40%)

𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆: Halley James’s life unravels when she returns home and learns her mother was murdered, not killed in an accident—and her half-sister Cat was the prime suspect. Determined to uncover the truth, Halley follows Cat’s trail to a small Tennessee town, where charm masks disturbing secrets. The deeper she digs, the more she finds herself tangled in a deadly web of lies, cults, and danger.

𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀:
🔪 Mutiple POV
🌲 Unreliable Narrator
🔪 Slow Burn
🌲 Cults and Secret Towns

𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: I loved the southern, remote setting and the whole creepy isolated town vibe—that part totally worked for me. The narrators also did a fantastic job, especially the male “monster” character who came across as super unsettling in all the right ways. But the story itself got a little messy with confusing POVs and distracting inner dialogue that pulled me out of it. I usually don’t mind a slow burn, but this one dragged so much it tipped over into boring, which was a bummer given the strong premise. Still, if you love dark southern settings and an eerie small-town mystery, this one might be worth a try.

𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 2/5 ⭐️⭐️

*Thank you @NetGalley, @BrillianceAudio and Thomas & Mercer for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

#LastSeen

Halley James is trying to start over after she seperates from her husband Theo. When she looses her job the same day her father fell and is in the hospital , she heads home to help him out. What she doesn't expect to find out is the truth about her mother and older half sister's tragic death. Halley was six when her mother and sister were killed in a car accident and she was the only survivor, that was all a lie. Halley's uncovers the truth that her sister killed their mother and was sent to prison for it. Now Halley is trying to track down her sister to find the answers to all of her questions. This is a fast paced audiobook that will have you on the edge of your seat until the end. I would like to thank both NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing, Inc. for letting me listen to an advance copy of this audiobook.

I accidentally did not download this time, and can't find the audiobook anywhere to listen to! I'll keep an eye out and give feedback when I am able.

This book sucked me in from the very beginning and I could not put it down! It is a wild ride, with a few parts feeling a little unrealistic, but honestly it was too good for me to even care.

I also really enjoyed that the ending of this one did not seem predictable. It was hard to figure out, and I just love when a mystery/thriller surprises me. Just when you think you know whats going on, I can promise that you don't!!

This one is a bit darker than J.T. Ellison's usual works, but it was fantastic.

There’s nothing better than a psychological thriller that keeps you guessing. Just when you think you’ve figured it out, you realize you’re completely wrong. This one had me at the edge of my seat from start to finish.

JT does it again!! I absolutely loved listening to the audio version of this book. There were references to Good Girls Lie which I enjoyed. The ending leaves on a bit of a cliffhanger that makes you wonder if there’s going to be a sequel to this book. JT is one of my favorite authors and I always highly recommend her books.

🎧Song Pairing: Survivor - All Good Things

💭What I thought would happen:

I am a sucker for a generic looking thriller book with a simple title but painted in hot pink lettering. I guessed missing girl but that was easy.

📖What actually happens:

😥Divorced & jobless
🖤Family secrets
😱Missing sister
👀Answers needed

🗯Thoughts/sassy musings:

Everything I needed in a summer thriller - woman at rock bottom, radical missing (but not dead like believed) sister, weird town….what more does a girl need?!

I did not have it solved which is awesome (this one makes it pretty hard to figure out)

I am definitely going to read more from this author! So rude of me to skimp on her for so long!

Nothing funny or rude to say today. Blame my baby, he’s sucked the will to live outta me😂

OMGG…this book is SO twisty!! @thrillerchick is an absolute must read author for me!! No One Knows was one of the books that made me obsessed with thrillers. Just saying. So of course I jumped at a chance to read this!

Halley is in for the shock of her life..😳 No really… just you wait. She lost her job… her marriage… what else could go wrong?!! ALOT people!! 😬 Again.. just you wait. ..

I loved how this creeped me out.. the whole time. This perfect little town… 🤔.. was it too perfect?? Lies…secrets… and so many twists!! This is my 8th book by this author and she always delivers!! 🤩

The audiobook was fantastic! I could feel the intensity building and it kept me on my toes the entire time!

The plot really intrigued me at first, but I feel like it was poorly executed. The audiobook was well done.

From the very first page, you’re hooked—unsure where the story is headed, but compelled to follow every twist. Steeped in dark family secrets, betrayal, and deceit, this psychological suspense is as disturbing as it is intricately layered.

Told through shifting points of view, the fast-paced narrative pulls you into a morally grey world where a tense game of cat and mouse keeps the stakes high.

Ellison masterfully delivers blindsides and reminds you: trust no one.

I enjoyed this but the ending just didn’t wow me like I had hoped that it would. I felt like there was a lot of buildup and my expectations weren’t met.

Wooah!!! It started with lots of intrigue. It got dark and then the creepy factor took over. I stayed up way too late - I had to keep listening. The twist at the end made me gasp!
I had the good fortune of receiving / listening to the audiobook version of The Last Seen. The narration is very well done! The use of multiple voices really amplifies the creepy factor. I would highly recommend the audiobook version of this title.
Thank You to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook version of this ARC.

I would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. I will say I enjoyed the first half of the book, it kept my interest and I was interested in the main character. I was leaning towards it being a 4 star read but the last half petered off into another direction and it just didn't flow the same so it is a 3 star read for me.

I’ll make this short and sweet. I paired the audio and print versions of this book. While I quite enjoyed the writing and book itself, since this is an audiobook review, I have to be honest and say that the narration was not pleasing to my ears at all. I found the female voice to be quite grating.

I listened to the audiobook on this one and oh was it a good one to do that with! Two narrators (though I would have loved a third one, tbh.) One was a male who sounded like the narrator at Disney's Haunted Mansion, but without the sense of humor peeking through. It was perfect for the character! So spooky! And the female narrator was incredibly versatile as she navigated between all the various characters included in her chapters. As for the story, at one point I was worried it was going to get a little too off the rails for me, but thankfully this author is good and only takes her readers to the edge. This would be a great read, but having the voices narrating the story added to the tension and suspense! (Don't listen while driving through a dark forest! Just sayin'!)

This book had a little bit of everything in it: missing persons, serial killer, a creepy idyllic town. *chefs kiss* just couldn't wait to listen and finish this one.

3.75⭐️

This story had some strong points, but it also felt a bit clunky and disjointed. I think it could have used some smoothing over, and it also took a while for me to settle into it. I still enjoy Ellison’s work on the whole.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book. I was engaged. The second half was convoluted. I completely lost interest.

Thank you NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for the audiobook.

Last Seen is a gripping psychological thriller that explores so many elements—childhood trauma, blocked memory, marital issues, family secrets, cult culture, and more! Its storyline is very different from JT Ellison’s previous books, but it still has the author’s trademark intricate, multilayered storytelling and multiple twists.

The story follows Halley James, a forensics expert whose life is unraveling—her marriage is ending due to irreconcilable differences, and she’s been fired from her job for an unjust technicality. Returning to Marchburg, Virginia, to care for her ailing father, she unearths a shocking lie: her mother didn’t die in a car crash—she was murdered by her estranged sister, Cat, and her father kept it from her for decades. Halley’s search for her sister leads her to Brockville, Tennessee—a charming writers’ retreat town where Cat was last seen—but soon discovers the town is hiding a sinister underbelly.

The story is told from multiple POVs—it’s mostly told from Halley’s POV in the present day but also switches to Cat's POV in Brockville 15 years earlier and eerie chapters where the killer in the story directly addresses the reader—greatly amplifying the psychological dread! The atmospheric town of Brockville, where most of the story takes place, has a menacing feel to it from the moment Halley arrives. Halley’s gut instincts are screaming for her to leave, but her desperate need for answers ignores them and the many red flags thrown her way—readers will have to suspend their disbelief at the degree to which she knowingly puts herself into danger while still having the chance to escape.

Halley James is an emotional and impulsive protagonist. Her analytical nature is both an asset and a vulnerability as she faces emotional upheaval and threats to her life. Her relationship with her estranged husband, Theo, is a compelling subplot to the story—they clearly love each other, but their different views on having children have become a roadblock in their marriage they cannot overcome. Their relationship resolution at the end may be satisfying but doesn't quite add up. Catriona (Cat), Halley’s half-sister, may be the most intriguing character—she’s initially shrouded in mystery but quickly transitions into a tragic, morally complex figure, shifting from perceived monstrosity to emotional depth. The townspeople in Brockville, along with the Brockton brothers Noah and Cameron and their father Miles, are all pleasant on the surface but simultaneously shrouded in suspicion—they demonstrate how the facade of a perfect community can mask a sinister underbelly! A brief romantic subplot develops between Halley and Noah that doesn’t add much to the story other than giving readers a temporary respite from all the psychological tension.

The tight pacing and unrelenting tension are the biggest strengths of this book. Readers will feel like they are going down a rabbit hole that has consumed Halley—some of her reckless decisions will make the reading experience feel claustrophobic and extremely unsettling! There are also some things that don’t work in the story. Most of the murders happen off page and seem more like quick plot devices than anything else—and Halley’s reactions to them are underwhelming and unauthentic, especially when her close friend is murdered. Some of the plot twists are telegraphed too early, making Halley’s long journey feel less rewarding. The book also tries to tackle so many things at the same time, and once the cult elements come into play, the story gets a little bit lost and loses credibility. After Halley spends the entire book searching for the truth about her sister, the ending feels rushed and unsatisfying. The final chapter does leave the story with a cliffhanger that could garner a sequel—but with all the secrets seemingly unraveled, it doesn’t seem there’s more story to tell.

Overall, Last Seen is a gripping psychological thriller that will appeal to readers who enjoy fast-paced mysteries, intricate family dynamics, and psychological suspense. It may not be JT Ellison’s strongest book to date, but it’s still worth a read for those who have enjoyed her previous books or fans of psychological thrillers that blur the line between memory and reality!

Narrator Performances (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
The audiobook of Last Seen is an immersive, gripping listen performed by powerhouse narrators Saskia Maarleveld and Scott Brick. Saskia Maarleveld performs the majority of the narration using her polished, engaging voice infused with strong emotional layering to keep listeners fully engaged. Her portrayal of Halley is emotionally intense and convincing, making it easy for listeners to empathize with all the psychological turmoil the character is going through and understand her desperate need for answers. The dialogue scenes between Halley and her father and husband are a highlight of the audiobook—and are narrated with heartfelt emotion and authenticity to make the scenes feel cinematic and meaningful.

Scott Brick’s portrayal of the villain is a major highlight of the audiobook—he uses a commanding, deliciously sinister-sounding voice with perfect pacing and intensity to grip listeners while simultaneously giving them clues about what’s coming. The combination of the contrasting narrator performances offers a thoughtfully executed storytelling experience that’s rich in suspense, atmosphere, and emotional resonance. If you’re considering this book, the audiobook is definitely the recommended reading format!