Barb's Book Reviews: Review of "The Last Kind Words: A Mystery" by Tom Piccirilli

Monday, December 5, 2016

Review of "The Last Kind Words: A Mystery" by Tom Piccirilli

Terrier Rand's family are "gentleman" thieves - no violence.

So when Terry's brother Collie goes on a murder spree resulting in the death of eight people, Terry leaves town, abandoning his girlfriend Kimmy.

Five years later, shortly before his execution, Collie asks to see Terry. Collie tells Terry that he's guilty of all but one of the murders, that of a pretty teenage girl. Collie wants Terry to find the real murderer.

Terry reluctantly looks into the claim while navigating the competing interests of various cops and crooks in his home town. Rather than being a straight murder mystery, however, the book is more an exploration of how a devastating act affects the other people in your life.

The characters - including Terry's card-shark uncles, Alzheimer afflicted grandpa, rebellious teenage sister, loving mom, and distracted dad - are well-drawn and interesting; one of my favorite characters was JFK - the family dog. The ending is a little too drawn out but this is a minor quibble. I enjoyed the book.

Rating: 3 stars

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Barb's Book Reviews

Monday, December 5, 2016

Review of "The Last Kind Words: A Mystery" by Tom Piccirilli

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