Review: Last Night by Karen Ellis

Last Night by Karen Ellis
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.  I've had this book on my TBR for much longer than I would care to admit, and did opt to listen to the audiobook.  

While this is marked as the second book in the Searchers Series, it can be read as a complete standalone.  It features Elsa, the main character from [book:A Map of the Dark|35605410], but there is no overlap  in the storylines.  Elsa does have a cameo in this book, but she is not the main character and her role is small. 

This follows a group of teenagers, who find themselves in a  world of trouble after making a slew of bad decisions.  Their parents report them missing when they don't come home and they are assigned Lex, a detective with the NYPD. The author tries to weave social commentary into the storyline, however I don't believe it is an own voices perspective.  There is nothing really done about the social issues and no solutions brought forth to try to solve them or change the situation, only that they exist and they are bad for those who have to experience them.  Each of the characters fits a stereotype, and they aren't developed much beyond that.  The main characters make alot of dumb teenager decision that they should have been able to avoid given the level of intelligence they were supposed to have.  They read alot younger 18/19.  There are a few side plots that don't really add to the main plotline, and I don't feel that they added to the story, but they do help you get to know Lex.

This is more of a police procedural type of thriller/mystery.  It doesn't contain the suspense and violence that you might expect from some other books in the mystery/thriller genre.  There isn't much violence or suspense.  I thought the police work was done well, and if you are into procedural type crime fiction, this might appeal to you.  It is not my favorite type of mystery. 

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