THE LAST BROKEN GIRL

In Rice’s thriller, a traumatized woman’s victimizers reemerge as a looming threat.

Erin Moore-Jackson was kidnapped and tortured 20 years ago—now, the man who did it is up for parole. At the time, Erin told the police that the man, Stanley Duggan, was not alone; he conducted the torture under the direction of a woman named Veronica. The police never found Veronica, and Duggan was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Erin can’t bring herself to testify at his parole hearing and see him again. Worse still, a journalist named Richard Fitzpatrick won’t leave her alone. He harasses her and her family, revealing information in the newspaper that he obtained from Duggan himself. Erin’s marriage is on the rocks as she struggles to trust her husband, Cody, in his fight against addiction. Most of all, she fears for the safety of her daughters and wants to protect them from the kinds of horrors she has survived. Duggan gets parole after Detective Warren Osborne testifies on his behalf—Osborne is desperate to catch Veronica after all these years and is willing to use Erin as bait to do it. But Duggan goes missing, and Erin receives mysterious cards in the mail. Someone is out there who wants to hurt her, and they may be closer than expected. Rice has written a masterful debut thriller with a fantastic hero in Erin, who leaps off the page with her bravery and relatability. Erin’s trauma is believable in the ways that it influences her life and her decisions in adulthood, especially regarding her children. The threat of Duggan and Veronica feels real, and the high stakes support the fast-paced plot (“Veronica was out there, and she would be coming again, for Erin or possibly one of the girls. It was simply a matter of time”). For those who enjoy thrillers about strong women who face impossible odds, this is a terrific read.

An exhilarating page-turner that showcases this debut author’s talent for suspense.