Last Seen: A Dr. Pepper Hunt Mystery

By: J. L. Doucette

Narrated by: Dave Trosko, Morgan Laure

Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Psychologist and police consultant, Dr. Pepper Hunt, relocates to Wyoming after her husband is murdered. When her new patient disappears after a therapy session, she joins the investigation. As she follows the trail of her patient's obsession to dangerous places, she must face her own haunted past or risk becoming the next victim in this gripping novel of psychological suspense.

©2017 J L Doucette (P)2017 J L Doucette

So good!

My husband is a big fan of psychological thrillers and I thought this sounded like a good book for our road trip. We both loved it! This story kept us hooked all the way through! Well written and fantastic narration! I can't wait to check out more by this author!

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. The fact that I was gifted this book had no influence over my opinion of it.

I didn't see that coming!

All the twists and turns held my attention throughout.

The narrators did a good job but could have had more differences in the voices so you could tell who was talking.
I was given a free review copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Well written mystery

This is the best written mystery I have listened to in a good while. The characters were deeply written and the plot well thought out. I liked that there were two narrators, one for each of the two central characters. A good start to a series.

Well written mystery novel set in the West

Disclosure - I received a copy of this book from the author or narrator via Audiobook Boom in exchange for an honest review.

I love mysteries, and when I read the blurb for this story I was interested in listening to it. (i've read most of the Longmire books which are set in Wyoming).

I really felt like I connected with the main character, Dr. Pepper. She's intelligent, professional, and has a backstory that gives her more facets and vulnerabilities. (I'd read a prequel to this story!) She experienced dramatic personal loss and fell in love with Rock Springs on a trip. The author does an excellent job describing Dr. Pepper's work with people who are mentally ill - it's not too academic and the very real issues are handled with great compassion.

There are two narrators. The first is 1st person Dr. Pepper (female narrator) and the 2nd is 3rd person (male narrator). I generally prefer one point of view, but there was a good balance here. The town and surrounding land take on its own persona as the plot thickens (darkness, snow and wind, high desert landscape all described beautifully!)

The story moves along at a good pace. There's a mixture of characters with both flaws and redeeming qualities. They mystery is actually that - I didn't see the twists coming towards the end.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to people who like "Longmire" by Craig Johnson and books by authors Kenda Elliot and Melinda Leigh.

Uncertainty of your loved one's fate is hell

First let me explain it's 4.5 for both the story and the performance from me rather than 4, but as there are no half-stars I have to stay with 4.

It's my first book by J. L. Doucette and it's been a good experience. The plot is engaging though not really as fast-paced as in many other crime stories. The beginning is quite typical - a woman vanishes, nobody has seen or heard from her for a few days so an investigation proceeds. And this is when the interesting part starts: we see the events from different perspectives, narrated by various characters - mainly the police officer leading the case, who also happens to be related to the vanished woman, and the psychiatrist who was her therapist. There are also other characters related to the victim in various ways - by blood or friendship - who have their say in the story. All this allows for a deep insight into what happens to people left behind when a person vanishes; it's like a whirlwind that leaves nobody untouched - they all suffer, blaming themselves for not being there when they were needed or neglecting the person they should have taken care of more...
The ending is surprising enough, although a careful reader will probably find clues as to the solution of the missing woman's case quite soon in the story, but the book is written well enough for it to not really matter. So why is it 4.5 not full 5 stars? There were a few moments that seemed a little slow, when the tension slacked somehow and my focus wavered. Luckily, these were really rare and overall it's a good crime book.

Now, for the performance:
The book is interpreted by Morgan Laure and Dave Trosko who respectively read the female/male narrators' chapters. I liked that a lot as it went well with the multi-narrated character of the book. Generally, it's a very good intepretation, especially on Ms Laure's part. The only thing that bothered me a little - and only a little - was the way Mr Trosko read his chapters. His pace was maybe a bit too slow compared to Ms Laure's tempo, and - I can't explain it otherwise - he sounded really sad all the time... In my mind I had a picture of someone reading to a seriously ill person, slowly and quietly and in a monotone... But even though I got used to it after a few minutes and even though it turned out to be a really good narration I feel I have to deduct half a star just to be honest in my review...

So overall, it's a good crime book in a very good interpretation - so grab it and read or listen to it.

DISCLAIMER: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Worth your time - very enjoyable

I really enjoyed this book. Great story with fantastic narration. It's a well written, very entertaining good solid story. This one will keep you guessing. It will pull you in from the start and never lets go for a minute. Even though it's not a fast-paced story it does constantly move forward at a nice steady pace slowly building. Just because it builds at a slower pace doesn't mean it's any less engaging or interesting. A story doesn't have to be fast paced and full of non-stop action to pull you in, hold your complete attention and keep the suspense building.

Along with an interesting cast of characters there is plenty of mystery, suspense and twists you won't see coming until suddenly it all comes together.

Dave Trosko and Morgan Laure both did a fantastic job with the narration. They both have voices that are easy to listen to for long periods of time. Dave Trosko's voice is almost hypnotic. I mean that in a good way. Is this really the first book he has narrated? His voice just pulls you into the story. Morgan Laure's voice is also great. With just a slight change in tone and cadence her male voices were also very good. Their voices compliment each other. Clearly spoken with a nice even pace. Really good character voices. They brought the characters and the story to life. Very enjoyable.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request ad voluntarily provided this review.

Great book!

This is the first book from this author that I’ve listened to and I’m interested to listening to more. The storyline kept me guessing through most of the book with a big aha moment towards the end. The narrators did a great job. Their performances were very natural and believable.
I was provided this title for free in exchange for an unbiased review.

Good psychological mystery.

This was a good book, however it was darker than I expected. I don't mind dark stories I just wasn't prepared for a more in depth internal dark tale. It had a Steve Hamilton-Alex McKnight or CJ Box-Joe Pickett feel to it. The characters are great although most of them had complex personalities and there were only two characters I actually liked. The narration was different than I am used to; there was a male and female narrator and it would switch from chapter to chapter depending on which character was in play. Each narrator did a wonderful job and I didn't notice the switch once I was sucked in. There was a lot of internal thought narration with each character and again they were very complex. It is a solid mystery that I didn't figure out until a little before the big reveal. I would certainly listen to another by both the author and narrators. I received a free review copy of this book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

A great read.

I enjoyed both the story and narration. If you like mystery and psychological thrillers, this book is for you. A must. I received this audio book for free at my request and voluntarily reviewed.

Last Seen

Last Seen: A Dr. Pepper Hunt Mystery
: J. L. Doucette

Dr. Pepper Hunt, newly moved to Wyoming after her husband's death. Along comes a missing person case, one of her patients. Law enforcement contracts her to help profile the case. There are too many suspects in what is a serial rape case. Just when the listener thinks they have figured it out a twist then a turn and you're scratching your head waiting for the next clue. The suspense lasted to the end. I will look for more from this author.


The narration was well done. The characters were well portrayed. Dave Trosko, Morgan Laure brought the story to life.



I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.