Title: The Last Affair by Margot Hunt
Publisher: MIRA
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 336 pages
Book Rating: B+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
Love may be blind, but obsession’s a real killer.
Nora Holliday is not that kind of woman. Not the kind who has an illicit affair with a married man. But Josh Landon is everything Nora’s alcoholic husband isn’t. And now she and Josh are so infatuated, they can’t stay away from one another.
Abby Landon, Josh’s daughter, is home from college nursing a broken heart. She’s seeking solace, not more scandal, so when she catches her dad kissing Nora, she vows to take the homewrecker down.
And as for Abby’s mother and Josh’s wife, Gwen? To anyone on the outside looking in, the mother of two appears to be living the ideal suburban life.
Until she winds up dead.
The serene seaside town of Shoreham has always been the perfect place to raise a family—not somewhere housewives are brutally murdered. So who killed Gwen Landon, and how many twisted secrets will be exposed as the vindictive plot comes undone?
Review:
The Last Affair by Margot Hunt is a spellbinding domestic mystery.
Popular food blogger and cookbook author Nora Holliday is unhappily married to husband Carter. But she is staying in the marriage for the sake of their children, Dylan, Matt and Katie. Nora is devoted to her kids but when the opportunity arises to go to a convention for bloggers, she impetuously decides to attend. This one decision sets in motion a chain of events that forever alter Nora’s life.
Orthodontist Josh Landon’s marriage to Gwen is also somewhat rocky. They have two children, Abby who is attending university and son Simon. In a surprising coincidence, Josh is attending a different convention at the same hotel as Nora. A chance meeting in the hotel bar leads to a shocking affair that neither Nora nor Josh can seem to end once they return to their small town of Shoreham.
Abby unexpectedly returns home in the middle of the semester and refuses to provide an explanation. She is very depressed and cannot get over a painful betrayal. But after she sees her father kissing another woman, Abby becomes obsessed with uncovering the woman’s identity.
Gwen’s discontent with her marriage and motherhood is rising with each passing day. Blaming Josh for her misery over the choices she has made, she is biding her time before leaving her miserable life behind. Gwen is suspicious that Josh is having an affair but has she correctly identified the “other woman”?
Alternating mostly between Nora, Abby and Gwen’s perspectives, The Last Affair is an absolutely riveting mystery. Despite their affair, Nora and Josh are sympathetic characters. However, Abby and Gwen are very easy to dislike (Gwen is a serious piece of work!). Margot Hunt does a brilliant job keeping readers guessing the killer’s identity right up until the shocking dénouement (but the ending is a little frustrating). I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend this outstanding mystery to readers of the genre.
