Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date: October 4, 2016
Last Seen Leaving, a young adult mystery by debut author, Caleb Roehrig, centers on Flynn Doherty and his girlfriend, January, who has just disappeared. Since January’s mother’s remarriage to a wealthy man running for senator and January’s subsequent transfer to a new school and mansion, the couple has not been spending as much time together. After the police come to his home to question him about January after her disappearance, Flynn discovers that he might not have really known January much at all recently. So many secrets seem to surround her. Likewise, he has his own secret that he is not ready to deal with either but will have to in order to discover the truth about January.
Once you start Last Seen Leaving it’s very hard to set it down. The compelling story leads you on a path of discovery as you find out who January is and who Flynn is as well. Since I didn’t look at anything except the blurb before reading this book, I hadn’t guessed Flynn’s secret. It was a twist that worked and added another layer to this already dense story.
I enjoyed spending time with Flynn. He is relentless in his pursuit of the truth surrounding January although he may do stupid things while trying to find it. Most of the characters rang true although there seemed to be a little stereotyping for the step-brother and the campaign manager.
There were some issues raised about January, not her disappearance, that I wished had been resolved to some acceptable degree, because although she’s not present-present throughout the novel, her presence is still very much felt and her character is intriguing. To some degree this aspect reminds me of John Green’s Paper Towns and Q’s quest to discover who was the real Margo and what happened to her, whether she just disappeared or committed suicide.
The mystery itself may be a tad predictable for people who read a lot of mysteries, but it’s all about the ride sometimes and this is a good one and hopefully the first of many from Caleb Roehrig.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Last Seen Leaving goes on sale on October 4, 2016.
From Amazon: Last Seen Leaving
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