The Last Thing You'll Hear

By Author / Illustrator

Jan Dunning, illus Dan Couto

Genre

Suspense & Thrillers

Age range(s)

14+

Publisher

Scholastic

ISBN

9780702332937

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

20-06-2024

Synopsis

Have you ever been so obsessed with someone that you start to lose yourself? Wren and Lark are rivals first and sisters second, so when mysterious music producer, Adam, and his DJ prodigy, Spinner, come to their small town, the game is on to impress. Lark is soon taken under Adam's wing, but as she's pulled deeper into his web, distancing herself from friends and family, Wren starts to suspect that there's a more sinister side to Adam. And when the sisters get a chance to perform at Enrapture, the most talked-about festival of the summer, suddenly there is a lot to lose... Can Wren put her own ambitions aside to save her sisters life? One thing's for sure: after this summer, nothing will ever be the same again.

The Last Thing You'll Hear is a tense summer thriller perfect for those who like their festival season a little darker. This is a modern Pied Piper meets Sleeping Beauty, with Glastonbury vibes.

With themes of toxic masculinity, obsessive fandom and sibling rivalry, this is a rich and clever novel about deciding who and what to believe in. Featuring a #friendstolovers romance between Wren and her best friend Danny, who is deaf . Perfect for fans of Cynthia Murphy and Daisy Jones and the Six.

"A stylish summer thriller. Fast paced, compulsive reading... A fabulous five stars." Sue Cunningham, author of Totally Deceased. "A deliciously disturbing and unique exploration of the power of music, sisterhood, and finding your voice (literally!)" Tess James-Mackey, author of You Wouldn't Catch Me Dead.

Praise for Jan Dunning's debut novel, Mirror Me, winner of the Oxfordshire Children's Book Award 2024. "An original and layered fairy-tale thriller that explores the dark side of the fashion world - slick and entertaining." Ravena Guron, author of This Book Kills. "Fast-paced and accessible." Irish Times

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Reviews

The Last Thing You'll Hear is a compulsive read - I was gripped from the start. The story tells of two musical sisters, 17-year-old Wren and her older and more beautiful and talented sister, Lark . Both are musical and both get invited to sing at a new music festival which is to be staged in their small town.

In the background is the shadow of two girls who have gone missing but, with a promise to look after each other and Wren's close friend Danny next door, their parents allow them to go. Very quickly, Wren realises this is not what it seems and so begins a descent into a dark plot with echoes of the pied piper story and a brilliant exposure of the power of cults.

I thought that using the power of sound was clever and original, particularly in the way Danny has to use it (no spoilers!). The musical references are current and the feelings Wren has towards Danny and her sister are wholly believable. I highly recommend this - it's entertaining, intriguing and just a little bit worrying…

384 pages / Reviewed by Rachel Bolton