The Last Child: A Novel

John Hart

May 2009 · Sold by Minotaur Books

About this ebook

Winner of the 2010 Edgar Award for Best Novel

Heralded by the Washington Post as a "a magnificent creation, Huck Finn channeled through Lord of the Flies", John Hart's The Last Child is his most significant work to date, an intricate, powerful story of loss, hope, and courage in the face of evil.

Thirteen year-old Johnny Merrimon had the perfect life: a warm home and loving parents; a twin sister, Alyssa, with whom he shared an irreplaceable bond. He knew nothing of loss, until the day Alyssa vanished from the side of a lonely street. Now, a year later, Johnny finds himself isolated and alone, failed by the people he'd been taught since birth to trust. No one else believes that Alyssa is still alive, but Johnny is certain that she is---confident in a way that he can never fully explain.

Determined to find his sister, Johnny risks everything to explore the dark side of his hometown. It is a desperate, terrifying search, but Johnny is not as alone as he might think. Detective Clyde Hunt has never stopped looking for Alyssa either, and he has a soft spot for Johnny. He watches over the boy and tries to keep him safe, but when Johnny uncovers a dangerous lead and vows to follow it, Hunt has no choice but to intervene.

Then a second child goes missing . . .

Undeterred by Hunt's threats or his mother's pleas, Johnny enlists the help of his last friend, and together they plunge into the wild, to a forgotten place with a history of violence that goes back more than a hundred years. There, they meet a giant of a man, an escaped convict on his own tragic quest. What they learn from him will shatter every notion Johnny had about the fate of his sister; it will lead them to another far place, to a truth that will test both boys to the limit.

Traveling the wilderness between innocence and hard wisdom, between hopelessness and faith, The Last Child leaves all categories behind and establishes John Hart as a writer of unique power.

Now with an excerpt from John Hart's next book The Hush, available in February 2018.

Ratings and reviews

I could not put the book down. It was amazing and thrilling, it's like there's always something to expect. And this is coming from a person who is extremely picky about what she reads....Yes I just spoke about myself in third person.

This book just takes off very early and it's just thriller after thriller and plot twist after plot twist! Its so amazing, and by being told from the point of view of a little boy, it really sets a different innocent mood than if it was told by an adult. Definitely Read!!!

I loved the first novel of John Hart's I read, Down River, and this one was just as captivating. He has a way of telling a story that puts you right in there with the characters and kept me guessing til the end!

About the author

John Hart is the New York Times bestselling author of Down River and The King of Lies. The only author in history to win the best novel Edgar Award for consecutive novels, John has also won the Barry Award and England's Steel Dagger Award for best thriller of the year. He was born and raised in North Carolina. For a time he practiced criminal defense law, but left to focus on his writing.