The Last Woman in the Forest by Diane Les Becquets

An adventure, a wildlife study, rescue dogs, a harsh environment and a hunt for a serial killer.

The Last Woman In The Forest takes us on an adventure through an atmospheric setting with some harsh conditions that send some chills up my back in more ways than one.   

Diane Les Becquets weaves an interesting and unique story as she takes us on an adventure with our main character Marian as she joins a wildlife research group using rescue dogs.  I really loved the addition of the dogs who track endangered wildlife. They became characters themselves. Marian meets daring yet charismatic and smart Tate and she starts to see some inconsistency in their life.  The tension and suspense increases as Marian searches for answers and we learn more about a serial killer in the area.

The story jumps around a lot between different timelines and settings and I found myself confused at times.  This took away a bit from the beautifully descriptive writing of the setting for me. I got confused at times with the different areas the timelines were in and in the end, I needed Norma to clear some things up for me.  

Diane Les Becquets does a great job creating some interesting characters and I could see them coming alive in their environment.  I could feel the connection they had to the study, their dogs and the land around them.

I enjoyed the way the story came together in the end and I pieced a few things together but was still surprised with some of the twists to this story making this one a satisfying read for me.

Slow burning, descriptive & eerily entertaining!

THE LAST WOMAN IN THE FOREST  by DIANE LES BECQUETS is an interesting, enjoyable, and chilling tale that immediately grabbed my attention and held steadily throughout.  Being from Alberta, Canada & visiting Montana often I absolutely loved the outdoor & wilderness backdrop to this story.

DIANE LES BECQUETS delivers a character-driven, atmospheric, slow-moving, intriguing and well-written read here that I wouldn’t necessarily say was all that suspenseful or gripping but the vividly descriptive details, the remote setting and the animals within this story made for quite the exciting, fascinating and intriguing read.  

So we are pretty much privy to what was happening and who we should be suspicious of quite early on but the execution and the unfolding are what intrigues and grip the reader.  It definitely didn’t interfere with my reading experience or hinder my enjoyment for the story at all.

The story is told through multiple timelines and perspectives from our main character’s Marian, and a retired forensic profiler Nick.  I really enjoyed the character of Nick and felt like we were actually put right into the investigation along with himself and Marian. His insight into the motivations and behaviour of a psychopath was extremely interesting and fascinating to read.

Norma’s Stats:

Cover: Beautiful, intriguing, eye-catching, haunting, appealing, isolating and an extremely fitting representation to storyline. I absolutely love the look and feel of this novel! 
Title: Intriguing, haunting and an extremely fitting representation to storyline. Love this title! 
Writing/Prose: Engaging, beautifully and descriptively written. 
Plot: Slow-building, steadily paced, fascinating, thought-provoking and powerful. 
Ending: A predictable outcome that left me feeling totally satisfied and pleased. 
Overall: I didn’t necessarily find this a thrilling read but I did rather enjoy the mystery, atmosphere and setting making this a great reading experience and escape! Would recommend!

Thank you so much to Elisha at Berkley Publishing for our copies to read and review.

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