The Last Goodnight: A Riveting New Thriller

Kat Martin has done it again! I absolutely loved The Last Goodnight the first book in her new Blood Ties series. I could not out it down and I loved every moment on every page of this page turner. Kat Martin has once again proven that she is an incredible storyteller. I love how The Last Goodnight is told from the perspective of the main characters in the story, I love reading books where the story is told from different character's viewpoints. I loved the characters in The Last Goodnight, I especially loved catching up with the Sam Bridger and Libby Hale, the characters from the prequel. The Last Goodnight is the story of Kade Logan, owner of Diamond Bar Ranch and Eleanor “Ellie” Bowman, private detective for Nighthawk Security. Kade hires Ellie to investigate who murdered his wife, Heather eight years ago after her car was recently recovered. While looking into Heather’s death, Ellie needs to help Kade investigate what is going on at the Diamond Bar. Two of his steers have been shot dead, and then his dog, and one of ranch hands are shot. As Kade and Ellie examine the incidents around the ranch, they spend more time together, becoming closer, and begin a romantic relationship, even though neither one of them is looking for a relationship. Both Ellie and Kade have been involved with cheaters in their past relationships, so each of them have trust issues. The Last Goodnight is filled with all the usual plot twists and surprises that I have come to love and expect in a Kat Martin story, and I was not disappointed at all. Kat Martin kept me guessing as to who was behind all the events surrounding the ranch and Heather’s murder. Love that there was a couple of stories within the story. I loved every page of The Last Goodnight and was so sad when I was finished reading it. I could not put it down. I was so happy that Kade overcame the disappointment of his marriage to Heather and opened his heart to Ellie. I love the epilogue and how it gave the readers Kade and Ellie’s happily ever after and how it goes above and beyond the happily ever after. I loved the wedding gifts that Kade and Ellie gave to each other, it was truly heartwarming, it was my favorite part of the story. I enjoyed how Kat Martin introduces the characters for the next book in the series. The Last Goodnight was an incredible story that I thoroughly enjoyed. Highly recommend this romantic thriller.

REVIEW The Last Goodnight by Kat Martin Blood Ties #1 Wanting to finally find out what happened to his murdered wife, Kade Logan hires a PI working for Nighthawk Security to come to his ranch and start an investigation. It is not the first investigation that has been made but eight years after she went missing her car has been found and it triggers a desire to put it all to rest once and for all. The investigator suggested is Eleanor Bowman who is great at undercover assignments and has a nose for unearthing information. Stepping in as the ranch cook…she is set to sleuth…and perhaps fall in love. What I liked: *Eleanor: bright, talented, knows her strengths, doesn’t like cheaters, grew up on a ranch, good at what she does, interesting back story, has chemistry with her new employer. * Kade: wealthy, bright, determined, has trust issues, has the trust of his employees and sees many as his friends, jealous, uses his fists from time to time, loyal, workaholic, protector, has chemistry with Eleanor * Kade’s employees on the ranch – good men with potential for romance in the future * At first thought this would be a series about Nighthawk Security and its employees but then realized it is probably about Kade and his brothers. That said, I can see that there could be overlap and the potential for a great number of books using the characters from the security firm and the ranch as well as the community Kade lives in. * The red herrings, twists, and turns * That Kade was not perfect…and neither was Eleanor * That the H/h both were able to express what they did/did not want * The side romance between Maria and Alejandro * Billy: would like to hear more about this youth * Zoe: Ellie’s friend and computer expert recently employed by Nighthawk Security * Gage and Edge: Kade’s brothers – great potential for them to have interesting books in the series * That the bad guy was found and dealt with * That there are more books to look forward in the series What I didn’t like: * The people and events I was meant not to like – easy to dislike this murderer * Not a dislike but, would have preferred that Kade was a nicer person, less stuck in gender stereotypes, and a bit less edgy BUT it worked in the story so perhaps he is just not my ideal book boyfriend. Did I enjoy this book? Yes Would I read more in this series? Yes Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review. 4 Stars

The Last Goodnight opens with Kade Logan's wife's car being discovered in nearby lake. He had served her with divorce paper years 8 years ago and everyone thought she up and left town right after. Two years later her body was discovered, and her murderer has never been solved. Kade decides its time to try again to find some answers so turns to a private investigator. He hires Ellie Bowman, who comes recommended as the perfect fit to go undercover on his ranch as the cook to try and see if she can turn up some new information on the case. What follows is an intense attraction and chemistry, intrigue and suspense as they work together to solve the mystery of his wife's murder. This has it all - romance, mystery and action! This not as steamy as I've been reading lately, but I enjoyed trying to figure out what had happened to his wife. Because of his experiences with her cheating on him, Kade has issues with trust and this creates problems for him with Ellie. Ellie is an interesting character in being a successful female investigator who has also grown up doing hard work on a ranch and knows her way around guns. What kept this from being a five star read for me was that certain inconsistencies with Ellie. As a female in a traditionally male's career there were certain things she did and didn't do that really didn't ring true and these happened multiple times where it felt like the author reverted Ellie to type forgetting who and what she was supposed to be and having her do and behave in way that a woman without her experience or career would act. Thank you to Kensington Books and Netgalley for the Advance Reader Copy. I have voluntarily left an honest review.