The things I will read to complete a challenge:) This is the second book in this series that I have read so anyone can see that I haven't learned a thing. I just don't get Charlotte Stone. She seems to be an intelligent woman but she has this hang up with serial killers and her ghost, (literally), boyfriend. I guess it's one of these series that the reader either absolutely loves...and there are a lot of those...or absolutely hates...and we are diffidently a minority on that one. If you are one of the 90% then you will love it....and it did get me closer to complementing the challenge. ( )

This is the fourth book in the Dr. Charlotte Stone series. These books are part of a paranormal/romance/mystery/thriller series. Main character Dr. Charlotte Stone, studies serial killers a high security prison Wallens Ridge State Prison in Big Stone Gap, Virginia. She is also able to see and talk to ghosts/spirits of those who have died a violent death. If you have not read the previous books in the series I do not want to ruin it for you at this point. Suffice it to say, that she ends up falling for one of her subjects who may have been wrongly accused. When he gets killed in front of her, his spirit sticks around and is in each of the subsequent books.

When The Last Time I Saw Her starts, Charlie is in a bad way. At the end of the previous book the spirit of the man she loved gets sucked into what she calls, Spookyville. She does not think she will ever see him again and is grieving. When she meets a lawyer, who looks like Michael Garlandā€™s twin, and is apparently looking for information on the "Southern Slasher Serial killer" she begins to suspect that perhaps he was the actual killer. While she is trying to obtain DNA while having coffee with him in her office, there is a prison break. Charlie, the lawyer and six young people brought to the prison for a "Scared Straight" program are all loaded onto a bus with six death row inmates, four of them serial killers who Charlie has studied. Charlie's first concern is to save the other hostages, as she knows what these men are capable of. Just when Charlie is about to be killed, Michael Garland shows up and is able to take over the body of his look alike while he is unconscious. The rest of the book is about catching the escaped convicts, saving the hostages and trying to figure out what is going to happen to Michael the next time he is sucked into Spookville.

Once I got into the story, I could not put it down. I wanted to find out who was going to get caught and how, will the hostages survive and of course what is going to happen to Michael and Charlie. You need to like paranormal/supernatural stories to enjoy this book and series because it is out there. The characters of Charlie and Michael are very likeable. Their strong feelings toward one another are almost palpable. The character of Tam, Charlie's friend who is a psychic is not as well developed, but I would like to know more about her. She is so loyal that you would want her as a friend. There is a bit of a love triangle with FBI agent Tony Bartoli, but he realizes that he will never be more than a friend or family as Charlie explains to him. He does not see ghosts but does believe that Charlie does. The ending came as a complete surprise, yet in the vein of the series, I loved it. This was a great end to this series. I will say that there seemed to be a lot more sex in this book and it was described a bit more visually, but I read the other books a few years ago, so I might just have forgotten those parts. I definitely recommend this book and series to those who love a paranormal romance with a mystery/thriller storyline. An enjoyable read. ( )

Quick read. ( )

The Last Time I Saw Her
by Karen Robards
#4 in Dr. Charlotte Stone series

Series conclusion following Dr. Charlotte Stone, a psychiatrist who works in a prison in order to study the serial killers residing on death row. Her interest in this subject began when she was 18 and witnessed the deaths of her best friend's family at the hands of a serial killer, whom she was able to hide from and remain the only surviving witness to his crimes.

After one of her research subjects, Michael Garland, was killed by a fellow inmate and she is unable to save his life, his ghost attaches himself to her. She is the only one who can see or hear him and their back-and-forth banter and bickering provides some comic relief throughout the series as she is asked to work with the FBI to help solve current cases involving serial killers. Throughout this time, on random occasions during extreme stress or emotion, he is temporarily able to manifest in physical form, usually for the purpose of saving Charlie's life. As they work together solving these current crimes, they grow closer and she starts to believe his assertions that he was not guilty of the crimes he was convicted of.

Although the writing in this series is not perfect and books 2 and 3 are basically filler books with a lot of repetition regarding how conflicted Charlie is about her feelings for Michael--considering there really is no future in it--the concept itself is really excellent and how she draws everything to a conclusion was handled very well. The chemistry between the two is off the charts and you really feel, hope for, and believe in their lasting love for each other.

The repetition of her conflicted feelings and her stubbornness does get annoying, so I would say that you could easily get by with reading books #1 and #4 in this series and walk away happy. The middle two are just more of the same with different crimes being solved, but the beginning and end makes for a brilliant and fun story. ( )

DESCRIPTION, NOT REVIEW: in this world, Dr. Charlotte ā€œCharlieā€ Stone skillfully probes the twisted minds of incarcerated serial killers to better understand what makes them tick, and to help nab those who remain at large. But in the next world, Charlotteā€™s ghostly loverā€”convicted killer Michael Garlandā€”is facing death yet again. It seem the only way Charlie can snatch Michael from the jaws of oblivion is by proving his innocence. And this dead manā€™s dead ringer may just be the key.

A mysterious stranger has turned up in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, and Charlie is shocked to realize he could be Michael Garlandā€™s identical twin. But she suspects the resemblance is only skin deepā€”and that behind the handsome face may lurk the perverse mind of a killer. While using all her keen profiling gifts, Charlie risks her life to discover the shocking secret that will clear Michaelā€™s name.

Then a breakout at Wallens Ridge State Prison forces Charlie to contend with a sudden swarm of psychopaths bent on spilling blood. No one has a better chance of tracking down the deadly fugitives than Charlieā€”unless the rampaging killers manage to find her first and make this case her last. But Michael will move heaven and hellā€”and even make a devilā€™s bargainā€”for the chance to save Charlieā€™s life, and feel her touch once more . . . if only for the final time. ( )