The Last to Die by Beverly Barton

I have a bunch of Ms. Barton's books on my bookshelf, so I decided to grab one and get reading some of the oldest books on my TBR shelves. While this one was the second in a trilogy, it didn't bother me and I still enjoyed it, rating it a B.

From Amazon:
Cherokee Pointe, Tennessee has seen murder before, but nothing like what has claimed the life of Jamie Upton, heir to the Upton fortune. The crime is so vicious, so personal and filled with hatred, the authorities are certain it had to be someone he knew...someone hiding an unimaginable sadistic'' streak behind a friendly faade. The number one suspect is Jamie''s former lover, Jazzy Talbot. But Jazzy knows she didn''t kill Jamie...just as she knows she''s being watched, stalked like prey. And then the killer strikes again...and again...with the same chilling signature. With no one to believe her innocence except enigmatic drifter Caleb McCord, Jazzy plunges into a small town''s long-buried secrets and shocking family sins...each startling truth bringing her dangerously close to a killer determined to make Jazzy the last to die!

I thought that the blurb on the back of the book wasn't completly true, as everyone in town pretty much did believe that Jazzy was not guilty. I felt that while the murders were rather graphic in some of the descriptions the suspense wasn't that well done. I felt that this book focused more on the romance and character building more than it was suspensful. Lately I have been shying away from heavily romantic suspense because the same thing always happens... there is some big misunderstanding and they break up and then it gets straightened out in the end. That's what happened in this book as well, and it kind of just gets old. The other thing that bothered me a bit was the reader isn't really given enough clues to have any idea who the killer is. That being said, it was a quick read and I did enjoy getting to know some of the characters. I think I have the third book in the series, though I probably won't read it right away. I read part of the prologue that was in this book and I can kind of already see where it's going. A lot of the character's relationships were left unresolved and I can guess that there will be happily ever afters all around. I am not saying that it is a bad thing, but I think right now I am in the mood for something a bit more gritty.

Not sure what I am going to read next though it will be something from my shelves. I have a bunch of books on hold from the library that should be coming in soon, but they haven't yet, so I am going to pick something out. I seem to be on a reading spree lately and want to keep that up. I had to go to the dentist again today because I am still in pain and got some really bad news. I have to go to see a specialist for a root canal and I also have an infection in my tooth and in my sinuses. Fun, fun... especially since I had to get up at 5:30 this morning and have to work all day and then at night as well tomorrow. Oh well, Spring Break is next week so I can relax then. However, a good book can hopefully lessen the pain. Hope everyone else is having a good week and Happy Reading!