The Last Word by Taylor Adams

 Not my favorite.

Well, the literary quality was there.  Lots of suspenseful elements and twists and turns.  But, my level of anxiety was elevated throughout every page of this book and nothing brought it down.  That's why it wasn't my favorite.  Don't get me wrong, I love a good suspenseful thriller, but holy, moly work up to it!  From the second I started reading until the very end, it was hard to catch my breath.  If that was what the author was going for, then kudos!  If not, then, well, it didn't work.

I will say this:  Great job putting it altogether in the end!  I didn't feel like there were any missing pieces and even the dog makes out ok!

Psychological Elements

Many different elements were brought into play, such as social isolation, anxiety, depression, suicidality, and psychopathy.  You get the sense that the main character is hiding something or that something terrible happened for her to retreat into isolation, but it is not what you think.  I did feel a connection to all the characters, even the aggressor.  The situation was believable, yet unbelievable.

Anyway, read it yourself and tell me what you think.

The Only Survivors by Megan Miranda

 For some reason, I tend to like books that are written from various perspectives.  I like how the author outlined the events in a certain order and described how each character saw the day/events differently.  I realize that the title is The Only Survivors, so perhaps Megan Miranda was not looking to include any of the perspectives of the non-survivors in the narrative by design, but it would have been interesting to get the point of view of maybe someone that did not survive or even who later became a victim.  When you read the story, you know what I'm talking about.

Psychological Elements

Survivor Guilt - by far this is the underlying theme of the book.  Each character had a different way of dealing with how they felt to be the only survivors of a traumatic event.  In the end, the main character appears to have a different reason to feel even guiltier, but that was a "pleasant" twist or good distraction.  I'm not certain if getting together every year on the anniversary is smart, as it drudged up many feelings, but research always seems to note that having a group of people with same experiences is always helpful to work through things.

Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter

 I love the way this author writes.  I get totally engrossed and wrapped up in the characters and she always provides a before an after time/sequence, at least in the books I've read by her.

Pieces of Her follows a mother and daughter through their young adult lives.  The adventures they both take are very different, but strangely intertwined.  These two ladies are the focus of the events, but mostly the mother and what she did to alter her circumstances in the future.  That being said, I'm not certain all the events are believable or possible.  I'll let you be the judge when you read it.

Psychological Elements

Stockholm Syndrome - I honestly believe that the mother suffered from this when it came to the relationship with Nick and her father.  They were definitely overbearing and abusive characters and she fell further in love with Nick to get away from her father.  Eventually this lead to one of their demise.  I'll let you read to find out who.

Psychopathology - definitely Nick.  He is so charismatic and able to captivate his audience.  He can convince them of just about anything, including internal and mass destruction.  Eventually everything catches up to him and people start to see through him, but it should have happened well before it actually did (in my opinion).

Social Anxiety - Definitely a concern for the daughter.  She has difficulty getting out into the world and making connections with others.  That is changed drastically throughout the book as she is forced into change.

By the way, the Series on Netflix is NOTHING like the book - read it and watch it, you'll love them both.