I’m thrilled to be The Last to Know for once
The Last to know
being a journalist, I can be a bit of a nosy parker at times. I suppose it comes with the territory. An occupational hazard, if you will.
It’s never out of malice, I’m not cruel, but I like to be kept in the know, so being told ‘don’t worry about it, you don’t really need to be worried about that’ can occasionally get on my wick.
So I can fully sympathise with lead protagonist Rose Kynaston in Jo Furniss’s latest novel, The Last to Know.
American journalist Rose has recently relocated to the childhood home of her husband, Dylan, alongside their fouryear-old son Aled, and it’s a bit of a culture shock.
Being in Hurtwood, Shropshire, Dylan’s mother Gwendolyn’s mansion is falling to bits, she’s living with the early signs of dementia and the rumours circling the hill it sits upon are enough to give anyone nightmares.
As if that’s not enough to deal with, Rose hears what the locals say about the Kynaston family, and there are devastating stories coming from Hurthood House from 20 years ago that have destroyed the family’s reputation.
Everyone knows. Everyone. Except Rose.And it’s all about to get worse.
When an archaeological dig unearths human remains on the hill of Dylan’s childhood home, it’s going to get a whole lot worse for the family.
In steps DS Ellie Trevelyan. Already intent on solving a cold case related to the house, this new revelation spurs her on to get to the bottom of what went on at Hurtwood House 20 years ago once and for all. Ellie’s working to separate fact from fiction, and Rose is fighting to clear the family name of her husband, whilst learning all about the town’s secret as the last to know.
You know when you find a book that’s so gripping, so enticingly well written and paced that you fly through it?
You immediately read a chapter as soon as you wake up, slip in another chapter while you’re eating lunch and immerse yourself in the story so deeply that if someone in your family speaks, you don’t catch a word? This is it. This is that book.
Jo’s writing is gripping and every metaphor she uses to describe the landscape, the chills that run over Rose’s back and the thoughts and feelings of her characters are so beautifully done that you close your eyes and you’re there.
You’re in Shropshire watching the Kynaston family struggle to live in a town full of rumours, and you’re in the police station with Ellie, or in her father’s home with her as she cares for him in his ill health.
The story isn’t predictable at all, which I adored. Suspicious characters creep up on you, and just when you think you know them, you’re pulled in another direction.
I devoured The Last to Know in two days. I was hooked and flew through the pages, desperate to know how the story ends. If you’re anything like me, this tale will have you addicted to Jo’s fantastic writing style, and wondering, what really went down at Hurtwood House because, believe me, now is the time to be nosy.