Last Seen Alive

Ellery Hathaway, Book Five

By: Joanna Schaffhausen

Narrated by: Seth Podowitz, Danielle Gensler

Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Last Seen Alive is the fifth book in Joanna Schaffhausen's heartpounding Ellery Hathaway mystery series.

Boston detective Ellery Hathaway met FBI agent Reed Markham when he pried open a serial killer’s closet to rescue her. Years on, their relationship remains defined by that moment and by Francis Coben’s horrific crimes. To free herself from Coben’s legacy, Ellery had to walk away from Reed, too. But Coben is not letting go so easily. He has an impossible proposition: Coben will finally give up the location of the remaining bodies, on one condition ― Reed must bring him Ellery.

Now the families of the missing victims are crying out for justice that only Ellery can deliver. The media hungers for a sequel and Coben is their camera-ready star. He claims he is sorry and wants to make amends. But Ellery is the one living person who has seen the monster behind the mask and she doesn’t believe he can be redeemed. Not after everything he’s done. Not after what she’s been through. And certainly not after a fresh body turns up with Coben’s signature all over it.

©2022 Joanna Schaffhausen (P)2022 Vibrance Press

Great Characters

I've listened to the five books in this series and truly enjoyed all five. Will there be a sign sixth? Will Ellery and Reed start a business together? Since this book came out in January 2022 and it's now February 2024, I'm thinking probably not.

A thrilling read!

I’ve been loving the Ellery Hathaway series. Book five, Last Seen Alive was an exciting installment (conclusion?) that I didn’t want to put down!

When the evil Francis Coban, Ellery’s now imprisoned captor, offers up the location of one of the murder victims never found only if Ellery comes to see him, she must facedown her tormentor. It’s the situation I knew would come eventually and things did play out a bit predictably with Coban. I was disappointed by TSTL moves by Ellery, and really, I wondered how she didn’t clue in on the identity of the person helping Coban! Even with all that, the story was thrilling! I was on the edge of my seat, and I had to set everything aside so I could read through to the end! I’m happy with how it all turned out.

There is a new mystery introduced and solved with each book, but with Ellery’s history and the progression of her relationship with Reed, (the FBI agent who originally rescued her from Coban), it’s a series best read in order.

I went back and forth between an e-copy and audio version. Seth Podowitz did a wonderful job with both male and female voices. I enjoyed Danielle Gensler's female voices, but wasn't thrilled with her performance of Coben's voice. Still, I'd recommend the audio version. I listened at 1.5x normal speed.

Excellent

I enjoy another chapter in this story. I hope there is many
more to come!

a fun read

For pure enjoyment, a great exposure of the past, and character arc I would give this one five stars. Its not a perfect book. But it was a great read.

another winner!

We finally get a resolution for Ellery. Written with the same dedication to the main characters as the previous books in this series.

Great story as expected, excellent narration

Wow, I’ve been waiting for this 5th Ellery Hathaway book to come out and it did NOT disappoint! Not sure why the last reviewer didn’t like the narrator, I thought she was very engaging and helped bring the story to life! Highly recommend this one.

Fix the awful narration

For the love of all that is holy, someone teach the female narrator how to pronounce… words. And how to read. I’m sure she’s a nice person, but she’s ruining these books! 🤦‍♀️