I'm really enjoying this series. Zoe Boehm is a private detective who specializes in finding people. But in this story, she gets sidetracked by a second crime that may or may not be related to her main case, and it proves to be a big one. She almost gets people killed, including herself. Being a woman, uses brains over brawn and weapons, and does a good job although she doesn't usually come out unscathed.

The book continues somewhat from the previous book, so reading it first will make it more enjoyable, but it's not necessary, as everything you need to know is explained.

I'm a big fan of this author. I read all his Slough House series. This series is older, so not as good, but still very enjoyable. ( )

Strong women, unexpected plotting, great interspection and humour. I love Herron's books! ( )

'The Last Voice You Hear' by Mick Herron stars a character who's rapidly becoming a favorite, Zoe Boehm. Zoe's a private dick like none you've ever seen: female, early 40s, frizzy hair, fiercely armed tongue-wise, fighting a cancer diagnosis, and unable to let go.

In this installment of what I understand is now called the 'Oxford Investigations' series, Zoe is hired to look into the death of a lady who had been accidentally pushed in front of a train in a busy station. Her employer thinks it's odd that her boyfriend, who he'd never met, hadn't shown up for the funeral. As she begins her review of the case, Zoe's attention is drawn to the death of a young thug who supposedly committed suicide by leaping from the top of an apartment building. Zoe, who had a background with the lad, thinks things just don't add up and begins poking around. She ends up investigating both, getting herself both beaten up by dirty cops and becoming the romantic interest in a serial killer whose work is threaded through the story. Just when you think it's all over for Zoe, she somehow extricates herself and lives to investigate another day. The conclusion is a fairly satisfying one that leaves us with the mystery explained but with a thread loose of a serial killer that extends into subsequent books in the series.

After reading several of Herron's novels in a couple different series, I've come to a couple conclusions: he's a really good writer and storyteller, and he does a great job creating quirky characters capable of carrying entire plots. 'The Last Voice...' is a fine example of fine writing and storytelling driven by a great character. Worth checking out! ( )

This is the second of Mick Herron’s novels to feature Oxford-based private detective, Zoe Boehm. I only discovered Mick Herron this year, and have devoured his espionage novels featuring the grotesque Jackson Lamb. Driven on by me enjoyment of them I have been working through his previous novels, written a decade ago.

This was a well-constructed novel. Zoe Boehm is an engaging and plausible character, and Herron has a gift for writing watertight plots. Somehow, though, this novel never quite fired my enthusiasm. I was sufficiently intrigued to keep reading through to the end, but never found the same zeal that his Jackson Lamb novels have provoked. It is certainly a bit too long. The closing scenes were drawn out quite unnecessarily.

The denouement is clever, however, and the linking of the various subplots, which had seemed so disparate, is clever. I wonder whether I had simply made the mistake of reading a few too many of his books within too short a space of time. I am always prepared to accept that some of the fault can lie with me as a reader. ( )

Zoe is still working as a private detective and is asked (by her boss) to find the boyfriend of a 40-something woman who has died. The boyfriend proves elusive, although Zoe becomes convinced (on no evidence at all really) that he has formed a relationship with and killed another woman in her forties. This is all linked with the fact that Zoe too is a single woman in her forties and with the fact that Zoe has discovered a lump in her breast and is awaiting a biopsy.

There is also a flashback to a London child Zoe encountered during a case three years ago: while rescuing an Oxford boy who had run away and fallen into a life of crime with said London child, Zoe swore at him and now he has thrown himself off a tall building and Zoe feels bad. This leads her to track down the rescued Oxford boy, now living a blameless life and yell at him.

The first half of the story was slow and then the second half was more adventure than mystery. Everything was explained and then people stalked and threatened and hit and shot each other. There was a small amount of very dark humour, but mostly it was depressing. ( )