Book 1
Last Dance
Book 2
One Last Goodbye
Book 3
The Last to Remember
Book 4
Until Our Last Embrace
Book 5
For The Last Time
Book 6
Dreams Don't Last
Book 7
Last Fires Burning
Book 8
Glory's Last Victim
Book 9
Last Rites
Oct. 2004
Book 10
Last One Down
February 2005
Book 11
Before the Last Lap
August 2005
Book 12
The First Shall Be Last
June 2007
All books are available at Avalon Books
The Last to Remember
Jefferson
Training School
(DSG Staff Photo / Joyce Lavene)
Cover Story...
Sheriff's Deputy Ernie Watkins arrested on
two charges of murder. Murder
at the old Jefferson Training School leads to the murder of Beau Richmond,
wealthy philanthropist. His young widow grieves while ADA Alan Michaelson
investigates the handling of the case.
On one of the stormiest, busiest nights of the year, a prominent businessman stumbles into the sheriff’s office and confesses to murder. Just a few hours later, he’s found hanging from the ceiling of the conference room.
Sheriff Sharyn Howard begins to search for the key that will unlock a secret shared by three of Diamond Springs’ finest citizens for forty years. A district court judge, a prominent businessman, and her own deputy, Ernie Watkins, believe they killed a boy at the old Jefferson Training School for Boys.
With so many suspects and such little time, can she find the real killer before he strikes again?
Book Details:
Thomas Bouregy and
Co.
Book 3 - Avalon Books
ISBN-0-8034-9468-8
Books available here:
Read more on the story in the excerpt below...
The cover design and illustration of "The Last To Remember" by Tess Anson (DSG)
Sheriff
Sharyn Howard fact...
Each book represents a season of the year. Every four books, a year in the characters’ lives.
Sources...
THE LAST TO REMEMBER is not a book you'll want to start reading late at night. It's difficult to put this one down - I can vouch for that. The plot, fraught with twists and turns, is brimming with suspense, intrigue and deceit. The dialogue is real and natural - I could see the story unfold before me almost as if I was right there, watching it all happen. The descriptions are to the point; brief, direct and sharp, getting the image across vividly. The characters are very interesting and complex, each with their own special quirks and personality traits. All of this combines to make THE LAST TO REMEMBER a mystery that will stay with you long after you turn the last page. Joyce and Jim Lavene are a bright and shining gem of the genre and I'm eagerly looking forward to their next Sharyn Howard Mystery!
Leena Hyat
for Scribes World Reviews
Although this is the third Sharyn Howard book by Joyce and Jim Lavene, mystery fans won’t feel like they’re floundering if they haven’t read the first two, Last Dance and One Last Good-bye. The Lavenes have created a wonderful cast of characters that make for a most engaging murder mystery. The twists and turns spiced with a few red herrings will keep readers intrigued, compelling them to turn the page until the puzzle is solved. They will root for Sharyn even when she seems to face insurmountable odds, because despite her foibles, she is an old-fashioned, honorable sheriff. And her interactions with Nick and Lennie make a most amusing interplay of human emotions that promise more spice to come in future cases for Sharyn and the Diamond Spring Police Department to solve.
Cindy Vallar
for Ivy Quill Reviews
Excerpt
from "The Last To Remember"...
“Well.” Jeremy debated if he should actually continue.
“Go on,” Sharyn encouraged him.
“It’s nice for someone to take their job seriously.”
“All right.” He glanced at Nick again then reached up with his gloved hands and removed the skull. The rest of the team of forensic students were removing and carefully tagging and placing the bones into the case. “You can see from this, that the skull received blunt force trauma. The back is crushed in. It was probably bad enough to kill the child.”
Sharyn sighed. “I can see from the discoloration of the bones that they aren’t new.”
Nick clapped his hands a few times, then subsided.
“Probably at least twenty years old or more,” Jeremy said, carefully holding the skull.
Sharyn moved closer to observe the skull. “And male? Since we’re standing on the grounds of an old boy’s school, I suppose it isn’t surprising.”
She looked around the old chapel that had been created out of rough stone quarried right there at the school. The pews were rough wood, slightly uneven, some a little longer than others. Generations of boys coming to church there every day had worn the gray stone floor smooth. The big oak cross at the front was cut by the boys’ hands. The figure of Jesus was little more than a silhouette with a head. The addition of the boy’s bones made the cross gruesome.
There was only one small window cut into the stone. It was at least eight feet high and covered in bars. Whoever brought the skeleton into the chapel had to come through the heavy oak door. It was possible that it was just a prank, leaving the skeleton there. If they could find fingerprints, the chances were that they belonged to some teenager who lived close by. The old school campus was a magnate for teens and vagrants.
“I think the question would be why someone put the bones here. They weren’t here earlier today when the building was serviced,” Ernie added. “Miz Fine walked across the bridge in the snowstorm because the light was left on. I think we should assume that someone wanted these bones to be found.”
“That’s obvious,” Lennie joined in on the conversation. “Maybe some prints will turn up. This place doesn’t look like it’s used much. Whoever put it here was bound to leave something behind.”
