The Last Night

A deftly handled, slow burning thriller across two distinct timelines, and with two heroines, linked by a secret that emerges gradually as the plot unfolds It s a technique that has been used to good effect before by Kate Atkinson, among others , but it works extremely well here, and the author s evocation of time and place is impeccable I suspect that fans of Kate Mosse and Kate Atkinson will find a lot to like here

The story begins in August 1952 with the discovery of a body Then it goes back to three months earlier and we meet Abigail and through her, her friend Mary Initially I thought Abigail and Mary, with their girly conversations about movie stars and clothes, were younger than what they are But maybe it was just their way of dealing with the aftermath of war The next chapter flips forward to Irina and 2016 A bureau has just been delivered to Irina to work on She restores furniture Irina is comfortab [...]

Without doubt The Last Night has been one of my most anticipated reads of 2016 Last year I was simply blown away by The Silent Hours, the calibre of the writing was astounding not to mention that twist that left me in floods of tears after reading it Cesca Major also writes women s humorous fiction under a pen name so it s clear she can write exceedingly well in two very contrasting genres and demonstrates what a superb author she is Incredibly The Silent Hours was a d but novel but it read like [...]

I adored Cesca Major s The Silent Hours and have been looking forward to The Last Night for a long time I m delighted to say that it is everything that I hoped it would be, and .Once again the author tells her story using different voices, set in different eras, this worked so well in her last book and it really is a clever way to tell this multi layered, moving and quite gripping story.Two women with two stories, and inspired by true events The modern day thread centres around Irina, a furnitur [...]

I must say, I rarely comment on a books cover, but this one is fantastic I love the summery feel and I am sure it ll have a lot of success as a beach read The novel opens in the summer of 1952 with the discovery of a dead body washing up in the sea An unknown woman, a corpse, a mystery The novels coastal location really enhances the atmospheric feeling I live by the coast and can actually see the Solent from my bedroom window, yet I am still a sucker for a coastal setting and love a good mystery [...]

jerasjamboree 2016 1I was hooked from the beginning Yes, from that first brief window into August 1952 I was intrigued Jenny s reaction really is palpable All my senses were drawn in.This is followed by a total change of scene, 3 months earlier in 1952 Abigail and best friend Mary are riding their bikes down to Bristol harbour Although quite a light hearted scene, the damage WWII has left on buildings and people is very much in evidence I loved Abi and Mary s open and warm friendship It was clea [...]

A body is washed into the rocks and the secrets surrounding it will reverberate across the years.I don t think I can write a review of The Last Night Occasionally there s a book that so appeals that it is nigh on impossible to find the vocabulary to express how I feel about it and The Last Night is one such book I absolutely loved it.The Last Night is similar in style to The Silent Hours, but is also subtly different and the suggestion of the supernatural came as a delightful and brilliantly evo [...]

Thank you to TBC for sending me this book to read The sun was leaking across the sea a beautiful picture painted with words on the very first page And the detail of Jenny s climb down to the beach is lovingly portrayed Then the mood changes, and I am engrossed in this evocative story taking place somewhere in the past.But the scene switches and Abigail appears a third chapter and we re in the present day with Irina I am somewhat confused.Gradually the strands of the story begin to come together [...]

After reading her other book I knew something bad would happen, and the blurb does hint at that too I so wanted to google and see what happened in that village But I braced myself.The book is told in present day and in 1952 I was not that fond of Irene who was fixing up an old bureau and started to wonder about its history See I was all about reading about what actually happened.In the past we follow Abigail who moves in with her sister Not the best place to stay But the village is nice, romance [...]

Book provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review Cesca Major created another captivating read Her first book The Silent Hours is brilliant and so is this one Reading her stories is a real pleasure, because it takes me away from all the chick lit books I read.The story is set around two women, during two different times Irina in present time and Abigail in the 1950s.Irina is a furniture restorer and is working on a large bureau Weird and mysterious begin to happen and she hast o ke [...]

Cesca Major is a new author to be and she is set to become a firm favourite Novels that flick back and forward through time are a favourite of mine and she handles the switches in the storyline brilliantly It s all too easy for a reader to become confused, but not in this case, because the narrative flows without a hitch and comes together to form a very satisfying conclusion to the story Characterisation is also spot on Abigail is just flawed enough to make her interesting, with Richard given e [...]

I volunteered to review this book, thanks to TBC for the copy Having read some other reviews I recognise I am in the minority I was not entranced by the book I think that may be to do with my reading habits As a busy working mum of triplets I find myself with half an hour here and there, particularly in the middle of the night I think that meant that I felt confused most of the time with the book skipping from one person to the other, usually I love that, but there was so little to connect the t [...]

Haunting and atmospheric tale of love and tragedy, which moves between narrators and decades.

It all begins when Irina receives a bureau that needs restoring in her workshop Her client has sent her many interesting pieces, but none such as this Soon Irina starts to get strange feelings, and, as her work evolve, so the strangeness becomes stranger There are hidden objects in the bureau, the remnants of a different life For, decades earlier, another young woman, Abigail, moved to her sister s house hoping for a new life after their mother s death, only to find out love has many barriers An [...]

Novel set in LYNMOUTH and LYNTON, Devon secrets and mysteries In 1952 Abigail arrives home one day to a shock, which necessitates her leaving her Bristol home and moving to Devon to live with her sister and brother in law.In 2016 Irina receives an antique bureau to restore, and her workshop becomes a place where odd things start happening, and secrets start revealing themselves.Abigail is a lovely character She wants to escape her ordinary life and dreams of moving abroad These dreams intensify [...]

Two women, separated by years, tied by secrets untold and haunted by tragedies that could not be foreseenThe Last Night by Cesca Major is her latest novel, following on from the wonderful The Silent HoursPublished by Corvus 3rd November 2016 , Cesca Major has written a fictional novel based around true events that took place in Cornwall in 1952.Yet again Cesca Major manages to bring to the fore a time in our history that many would be unaware of when tragedy struck the small village of Lynmouth, [...]

This was a page turner from start to finish and I didn t work out the final twist until just before the reveal.All the characters were well written and rounded which enabled me to connect with the two main characters and really want to find out their secrets.This was my first Cesca Majors but certianly won t be my last Higher recommended read

This beautifully written book held me from the first page until the carefully crafted ending It tells the story of Abigail a young girl in 1952 post war Britain who lives with her mother in Bristol and spends her spare time with her friend Mary It evocatively captures this era and Abigail is a likeable character whose life changes when her mother dies and she goes to live with her older sister in the village of Lynmouth in the West Country Her brother in law Larry is a creepy unpleasant man who [...]

The last night by Cesca Major is a mystery and thriller read Two women, separated by years, tied by secrets untold and haunted by tragedies that could not be foreseen.In a quiet coastal village, Irina spends her days restoring furniture, passing the time in peace and hiding away from the world A family secret, long held and never discussed, casts a dark shadow and Irina chooses to withdraw into her work When an antique bureau is sent to her workshop, the owner anonymous, Irina senses a history t [...]

I was given a copy of this book from the book club Thank youI ve never read this author before and I was intrigued by the synopsis, so I thought it was worth a read The style of writing is a little different from what I m used to, very heavy on setting the scene, describing everything however the pages seem to suck me in and I struggled to put it down when I found out this was based on a true event, I was determined to find out what happened The story flits between each character and time frame [...]

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book via TBConFB I don t know what I was expecting but WOW What a book I really did enjoy it so much that I know I ll struggle to write this review Apologies in advance The characters, storyline and setting really drew me in This story is based around true events in Cornwall Being based around the true events you can really tell the author has done the relevant research and made the book a success.As with the characters, you can t help but [...]

This was a slow burner for me Enjoyed the 2 storylines throughout the book waiting for them to join up A spot of mystery thrown in Especially enjoyed the parts set in Lyton and Lynmouth probably because I lived in North Devon for many years when we were posted down there with the RAF Story really picked up towards the end and I didn t want to put it down Will be reading the Silent Hours soon Thank you to TBC for a chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

The story of two women decades apart who are tied together by a secret.The book flips between the two characters which some readers may struggle with but as the event is based on true events, the research is second to none with the combination of the characters results in a great read.

After her fabulous debut with the silent hours I had high hopes for this one What a disappointment Didn t really care about the characters or what happened to them This felt like a very mediocre mills and boon Disappointing.

What a lovely, lovely read It was hard to put it down and harder still to make a review of it.

Well, firstly, this one has lingered far too long on my book shelf, and I have absolutely no excuses for not reading it before now, as I was a huge fan of this author s first book, The Silent Hours The Last Night is a dual time story, which takes us back to the 1950s, and to the Lynmouth Flood, a true event which happened in this beautiful part of the West Country To say too much about that would be to spoil a big part of the story, so, all I will say is that I was fascinated that something so c [...]

If you like a slow burning mystery unravelling like me , then this book is most definitely for you Irina is a furniture restorer and gets a beautiful piece with hidden compartments in hiding trinkets from years ago Suddenly odd things start happening to Irina A leak seemingly from the furniture, wet footprints and sudden chills Flash back to the 1950 s and we meet Abigail whose mum passes and she goes to live with her sister and her husband in Devon on the coast What connects these 2 women And w [...]

It is 2016, Irina lives in a small village by the sea and makes her living restoring old furniture She wants to hide away from the world as a dark family secret casts a long shadow over her life When an old bureau is sent to her to restore from an anonymous client, strange things that she cannot explain begin to happen All she has for her client is an email address and as she attempts to find out from them the history of the bureau she is persistently met with stony silence Slowly but surely, Ir [...]

3.5 I absolutely adored Cesca Major s debut novel, The Silent Hours and was so looking forward to reading this Sadly I didn t love this one quite as much I think it s a case of it s not you, it s me I love dual time stories normally and here I was thoroughly engrossed in the historic part of Abigail s tale but unfortunately Irina s part in the book left me cold I don t know why I didn t take to her but whenever the story was with her, I was itching to get back to Abigail The writing throughout i [...]

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