RLAST ONE SEEN by Rebecca Kanner. Published by CLB on September 23, 2025
G. A. Rivers, July 24, 2025
LAST ONE SEEN is an interesting and compelling psychological thriller that begins with a great opening hook. Hannah, the protagonist, is speeding away in a car with her boyfriend, Eli, and their friend Justine is dead. Eli tells Hannah that she shot Justine and promises to keep her safe. Hannah doesn’t know if she killed Justine or not but she knows there are only three possible suspects and she is one of them. The other two are Eli and the director of her graduate writing program at Washington University in St Louis, the program she’s been attending until now.
Hannah’s story unfolds in a dual timeline overlaid with private angst and the competitive challenges she is sure are everywhere within the writing program as she fights for success and financial support. Dealing with her social paranoia and an all-encompassing desire to succeed as a writer is complicated by Hannah’s ongoing battle with mental illness. She has a self-destructive edge and a willingness to ‘go off her meds’ so she can blend in better or drink more or otherwise do things she she might not do—an approach that costs Hannah dearly.
LAST ONE SEEN moves along briskly and keeps you guessing. Hannah’s illness is presented with empathy; she and other characters will slide through the love-hate part of your brain repeatedly, the hallmark of a writer at the top of her game. You can’t help but root for Hannah and her messy and unintended journey toward self-awareness, painful as it may be. And as the ending approaches, the many reveals are noteworthy and satisfying—no spoiler alert needed here. That said, the final two sentences of LAST ONE SEEN brings the reader to a terrific ‘full circle’ moment that I greatly appreciated.
LAST ONE SEEN is an enjoyable psychological thriller featuring a female protagonist and a cast of characters that you won’t soon forget – I recommend it.
Thanks to Rebecca Kanner (literary agency sibling) Crooked Lane and NetGalley for the early read.