Famous Last Words by Katie Alender

Famous Last Words by Katie Alender

I had been craving a little something different when I decided to read this book. I remember enjoying Bad Girls Don’t Die by Katie Alender quite a few years ago, so I was interested when I saw that she had a bunch of mysteries that involved ghosties. I love me a good ghostie mystery, and this book did deliver.

Willa is seeing things. It all started after her mother and her move into her stepfather’s Old Hollywood mansion that beloved to a once beloved Old Hollywood actress. It is even said to be haunted by the actress herself, but perhaps that explains the writing on the wall, the footsteps in the hall, and someone dead floating in the pool when there’s no one there. If this wasn’t enough for Willa, there’s a killer on the loose, targeting young actresses. Who can Willa trust? And what happens when she becomes a possible target on the killer’s list?

I did enjoy this book. The mystery and ghost element balanced each other out so I wasn’t too creeped out by the ghosties (although, I mean, I totally was – this was far creepier than Ghost Hunters, which you already may know makes me pee my pants a bit) and I was intrigued by the mystery. It had enough for ghostie fans but also enough for mystery fans.

I liked Willa well enough. She’s not super memorable – I read this back in April, and writing this review, I had to go back to look up her name because I couldn’t remember what it was for the life of me…truthfully, I don’t remember anyone’s name in this book, but as I said, when I was reading the book, I liked the characters well enough.I wanted to root for Willa, and I could feel for her being thrown into this new life. The romance was

okay.

You and I both know that a good mystery always has a surprising twist, and sadly, I figured out this one decently early on. I will say that Alender did manage to make me second guess myself a few times, but overall, I will admit that I did figure out the killer way before it was obvious. I will give credit for Alender to making me doubt the killer’s identity a few times, but true mystery fans may be disappointed by the ability to figure it out. It didn’t detract too much from the story since I was too busy trying to figure out the ghost element – which did have me guessing until the end.

Overall, this was a pretty good read. It had likeable characters, a decent mystery, good writing style, and a pretty nice atmosphere. I loved the setting of the Old Hollywood mansion and the ghosties was a very nice addition. This book isn’t that memorable, though, and there was a certain feeling missing it from it for me. It was still a good read and I would recommend.

Four out of Five Crowns!

four-stars