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Mindy Mejia
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The Last Act of Hattie Hoffman Paperback – 5 Jan. 2017

by Mindy Mejia (Author)
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SUNDAY TIMES CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH 'A haunting piece of fiction'

'Beautifully written . . . a future star in crime writing' Daily Mail

'Utterly absorbing and original' Elly Griffiths, author of the Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries

No one keeps more secrets. No one is better at hiding them. Full of twists and turns, with an ending you will never see coming and characters that will stay with you long after the book is finished, THE LAST ACT OF HATTIE HOFFMAN is a gripping psychological mystery perfect for fans of Emma Cline's THE GIRLS and Clare Mackintosh's I SEE YOU.

Eighteen-year-old Hattie Hoffman is a talented actress, loved by everyone in her Minnesotan hometown. When she's found stabbed to death on the opening night of her school play, the tragedy rips through the fabric of the community.

Sheriff Del Goodman, a close friend of Hattie's dad, vows to find her killer, but the investigation yields more secrets than answers: it turns out Hattie played as many parts offstage as on. Told from three perspectives, Del's, Hattie's high school English teacher and Hattie herself, The Last Act of Hattie Hoffman tells the story of the Hattie behind the masks, and what happened in that final year of her life. . .

Wonderfully evocative of its Midwestern setting and with a cast of unforgettable characters, this is a book about manipulation of relationships and identity; about the line between innocence and culpability; about the hope love offers and the tragedies that occur when it spins out of control.

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  1. Print length
    352 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Quercus
  4. Publication date
    5 Jan. 2017
  5. Dimensions
    15.1 x 3 x 23.1 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    1784295930
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1784295936
  8. See all details
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Product description

Review

Outstanding . . . quietly breathtaking ― NZ Herald

Exploits conventional ideas about female manipulation, only to challenge them . . . a haunting piece of fiction, full of characters whose self-obsession leads directly to tragedy ― Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month

Beautifully told, it is Mejia's first book to be published in Britain and announces her as a future star in crime writing ― Daily Mail

An utterly absorbing and original novel that explores the secrets and lies at the center of a small town in Minnesota.Mindy Mejia is an exciting new voice on the crime scene. ― Elly Griffiths

An exquisitely written look at the claustrophobic nature of small town life, Mindy Mejia has created an atmospheric psychological thriller, with a central character who will live on in your thoughts after the last page is turned -- Sinead Crowley, author of Can Anybody Help Me? and Are You Watching Me?

Mindy Mejia peels away the layers of a small-town crime of passion to leave your heart aching. Sheriff Del Goodman brings a war-weary humanity to a murder investigation that confronts youthful arrogance and presumption, a fear of settling for too little and the tragic force of love. A brilliant crime thriller -- Isabelle Grey, author of Out of Sight, The Bad Mother and Shot Through the Heart

Book Description

No one keeps more secrets. No one is better at hiding them.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Quercus (5 Jan. 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1784295930
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1784295936
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.1 x 3 x 23.1 cm
  • Customer reviews:

About the author

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Mindy Mejia

Mindy Mejia

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Mindy Mejia is an internationally acclaimed thriller writer, known for mixing compelling characters with page-turning suspense against the backdrop of the US Midwest. Her books have been chosen for People’s Best New Books Pick and listed in The Wall Street Journal’s Best New Mysteries. She lives and works in the Twin Cities. Learn more about Mindy at www.MindyMejia.com.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
545 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the story brilliantly crafted, suspenseful, and enthralling. They describe the book as a good read that keeps them interested chapter after chapter. Readers also appreciate the well-developed characters and superb portrayal of emotions. Additionally, they praise the writing quality as well-written and talented.

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Story qualityReadabilityCharacter developmentWriting quality
10 customers mention ‘Story quality’10 positive0 negative

Customers find the story brilliantly crafted, telling the tale from several viewpoints. They say the book has pace, real drama, and is suspenseful, enthralling, and thought-provoking. Readers also mention the book has many unexpected twists along the way.

"...This book, I find has pace, real drama and is written precisely - no extra explanation where none are ever needed, no verbosity at all...." Read more

"...Hattie Hoffman is, in my opinion, an extremely atmospheric and suspenseful thriller which kept me turning the pages and utterly gripped." Read more

"...A first rate story, and well worth it." Read more

"...An array of believable and interesting characters, a good story and, most of all, a superb portrayal of the emotions in illicit love, lust and the..." Read more

7 customers mention ‘Readability’7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book very readable. They say it's a good story well-told that keeps them interested chapter after chapter. Readers also mention it's a great holiday read and suspenseful thriller that keeps them turning the pages.

"...an extremely atmospheric and suspenseful thriller which kept me turning the pages and utterly gripped." Read more

"...Unusual, good characterisation, good story that keeps you involved until the end." Read more

"Good story well told, kept me interested chapter after chapter and read it over 3 nights as I was enthralled." Read more

"This was well written and zipped along nicely. A great holiday read." Read more

6 customers mention ‘Character development’6 positive0 negative

Customers find the characters well-developed and likeable. They also appreciate the superb portrayal of emotions in illicit love, lust, and talent.

"...have it all, she's popular, beautiful, intelligent, witty and a talented actress who has just been given the lead role in the school play...." Read more

"This is a 5 star read. An array of believable and interesting characters, a good story and, most of all, a superb portrayal of the emotions in..." Read more

"...The characters are well-developed and you get entirely caught up in their lives...." Read more

"...Fantastic sense of place. Flawed but likeable heroine. Literary sub-themes. The whole works. And I'm hard to please!" Read more

5 customers mention ‘Writing quality’5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well-written and an easy read. They also say the author is talented.

"...This book, I find has pace, real drama and is written precisely - no extra explanation where none are ever needed, no verbosity at all...." Read more

"...These characters come to life in this book. Ms Mejia is a very talented writer and I trust there is more to come from her." Read more

"Rather well written but left me cold as I never could take to any of the characters...." Read more

"This was well written and zipped along nicely. A great holiday read." Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A very good read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 July 2017
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I have ready many stories which deal with murder and overall drama. They all lack something at some point, or spend too much descriptive vocabulary. This book, I find has pace, real drama and is written precisely - no extra explanation where none are ever needed, no verbosity at all. A real Eye-opener regarding how these murders mysteries should be written.
One person found this helpful
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Tracy CompulsiveReaders
4.0 out of 5 stars The Last Act of Hattie Hoffman
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 December 2018
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I wasn't sure what to expect from this book as the reviews are pretty mixed but as it's been sitting on my kindle for the past year I thought I should read it anyway.

The Last Act of Hattie Hoffman (or Everything You Want Me to Be as it was originally published by) is a very atmospheric and slow burning thriller.  Set in a small town in America, 18 year old Hattie Hoffman appears on the outside to have it all, she's popular, beautiful, intelligent, witty and a talented actress who has just been given the lead role in the school play.  When she is discovered stabbed to death on the opening night of the play, the town is sent spiralling into shock and disbelief.

This book is narrated by the three main characters; Hattie who slowly reveals her true self to the reader and recounts the final year of her life; Sheriff Del Goodman, the police officer who discovers Hattie's body and is a close friend of the family and Peter Lund, the new High School English teacher who has transferred from the City to this small town for his wife and her ailing mother.

Throughout the book I was constantly double-guessing and even treble-guessing who killed Hattie and why.  There were so many moments I was sure I had cracked it and worked out the truth behind this crime and each time I was completely WRONG.  The Last Act of Hattie Hoffman is, in my opinion, an extremely atmospheric and suspenseful thriller which kept me turning the pages and utterly gripped.
2 people found this helpful
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Mr. John Frank Herbert
5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Even dream Of Missing This One!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 March 2018
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Every now and then a book comes along that slowly but surely gets
a grip on your day, creeps ever so slowly, to a point where you just
have to pop back into those pages every now and again, to find out
what Hattie's up to next.

There is a bumptious manner about this 17 year old which doesn't
endear you to her at all, but you nevertheless find that you daren't
take your eye off the ball, not for one moment.

The smart writing infuses you with the vivid atmosphere of a small town
where nothing much happens, which is suddenly gripped with a brutal
murder, with characters so real you feel you know them, and twists and
turns at the finale, that leaves you staring out in space when the final
hammer falls.

Don't even dream of missing this one.
Else you'll regret it.
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Book Inspector
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting topics...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 December 2017
The first thing what attracted me to this book was the cover, a lonely barn in a lovely setting. Another thing was – small town. There is such a low possibility of a crime, that when it happens, it is a centre of attention. It was the same thing in this book; no one expected it to happen, once it did, it became the main talk of a town, which brought out some very interesting and unexpected events and a very boring murderer.

As it was already mentioned in the description, this story is told from three different perspectives: Del’s, Hattie’s English teacher and Hattie. To be honest, the most interesting parts of this book were, when Hattie and her teacher told their story, I believe Del was just an add-on, because his investigation was not the best, and the whole story was opening up very nicely without Del. I think the characters lacked charisma and personality in this book, except for Hattie; she was well rounded and interesting. I really liked Hattie as a character because of her amazing talent of acting and manipulation, she knew what people wanted, and very nicely provided it to them.

The plot of this book didn’t really impress me. I did enjoy the story and the character’s feelings, but I think it lacked some spice in it. The twists and turns were not very story changing and the whole investigation just flowed smoothly. I really liked, that author opened quite a difficult topic of teacher-student love, and why teachers fall for it. I think that aspect was interesting, and along with Hattie’s personality, these were the things which kept me going. There was not much action going on in this novel, but I did like the way author was trying to sidetrack the reader with different possible killers.

The writing style of this novel was easy to read, but the length of the chapters dragged for me. (What can I say, I love short chapters) The ending of the book explained everything really nicely and I did like the conclusion and outcome of this book. So, even though it lacks some action, I still found some parts to enjoy, and if you like small town crime investigations, give it a try, you might like it. 🙂
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A. M. Attwood
4.0 out of 5 stars A compulsive read, but you can see the joins.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 June 2017
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Do you remember that dim and distant past, before Facebook and Twitter? This book is set, very carefully, just at the beginnings of the social media revolution, and it wouldn't work at all if it were set today.
The book stands or falls on the three different voices it uses - hard bitten Vet cop, veggie English teacher and Hattie herself. Only Hattie comes alive all the time because the other two are just a little bit too mannered to be really convincing, but they're not so bad as to spoil your enjoyment.
Together, however, they create a remarkable portrait of Hattie and her dreams, and the power of that portrait sucks you into the story in a compelling way that had me reading this book at twice the normal rate.
A first rate story, and well worth it.
2 people found this helpful
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disappointed Grandad
5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping, well written
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 June 2017
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This is a 5 star read. An array of believable and interesting characters, a good story and, most of all, a superb portrayal of the emotions in illicit love, lust and the impact of murder. These characters come to life in this book. Ms Mejia is a very talented writer and I trust there is more to come from her.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Moya MacLean
4.0 out of 5 stars Very captivating
Reviewed in Germany on 27 April 2017
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Really enjoyed the book. Normally I like only British crime novels because I feel I can 'relate' to more of what they're talking about, but I must say this story was very entertaining. I will look through her other novels and order another one.
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Emily
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book! I had read such great reviews and ...
Reviewed in Australia on 21 July 2017
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Amazing book! I had read such great reviews and had trouble finding it, as it is published in different names in different countries. You will laugh and cry throughout this book.
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Sami
5.0 out of 5 stars but the best thing about this novel is the beautiful way in ...
Reviewed in the United States on 11 April 2017
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A novel that draws you in and sweeps you off your feet...and also makes you question the black, white and greys of conceptual morality. There are numerous victims to take into account, numerous suspects to count out, but the best thing about this novel is the beautiful way in which it's been written and crafted so that by the time you finish it you're hooked and addicted.
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T. Miller
5.0 out of 5 stars Love this author and book
Reviewed in the United States on 11 March 2019
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The only problem is that I had already read the book under a different name. It is the same book as Everything You Want Me to Be.
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C. Thompson
3.0 out of 5 stars Not that good
Reviewed in the United States on 20 April 2019
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Never could get into this book. Characters were not very likable. I liked Mejia other books but this one is not to my taste.
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