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LAST LULLABY
by Denise Hamilton
Orion, September 2005
368 pages
18.99GBP
ISBN: 0752872443


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Eve Diamond is a reporter on the Los Angeles Times. She's not one of the high-flyers, so is always looking to make her name. So when she witnesses a bizarre shooting at Los Angeles airport, she can see her name on the front page splash.

She's been shadowing a customs supervisor at LAX, but soon realises the killing of three people, plus the disappearance of a strange globe-trotting toddler, is a much bigger story. It soon becomes apparent that those looking for her will kill if necessary.

As you'd expect from a writer who's worked on the Los Angeles Times herself, the scenes with Eve on the scent of a story are absolutely authentic. The newspaper itself is in the background, and Eve seems to have the most laid-back bosses who generally leave her to it.

The story is at its strongest in the ethnic melting pot that is LA as Eve careers round the city on the trail of the child. Eve is a very strong and compelling character, although there are one or two moments in the book where you roll your eyes at her actions -- one particular one was signalled so strongly I was worried Hamilton was going to take out an advert!

If you're fed up with characters and their complicated love lives, then be warned . . . Eve has two men dancing attendance in the shape of her ex, Tim, who has suddenly reappeared, and present partner Silvio. Colleague Josh seems an intriguing character, but isn't given as strong a role as you might expect, or Hamilton leads you to believe at one point.

I enjoyed LAST LULLABY a lot. It's well-plotted, has a strong character at its centre and the city is totally vivid. Hamilton has a tendency to tell you too much -- don't expect Eve to go into a room and pick up a piece of paper; Hamilton tells you every detail of how she gets there, what's around her and how she gets out of the room! But hey, that's small potatoes. This is an engrossing and intelligent book from a writer with something to say.

Reviewed by Sharon Wheeler, December 2005

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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