Amy (amy_alwaysreading)'s Reviews > The Last Verse

(4.5⭐️) Thank you @williammorrowbooks for the #gifted free copy of this book.

Religion. Love. Murder. It’s not only the makings of a good country song. It’s also the basis of a compelling story.

I can see Twyla now. Old guitar in hand. Stage lights shining bright. She’s not quite comfortable with a crowd, but the music is an old friend.

Once naïve and sheltered. Now, her dirty hands and even muddier conscience might be her best inspiration.

Twyla took hold of me from the first scenes. A young girl desperate to find her own voice. A love of Elvis. A need to escape. There was a rawness to her, a bit rough around the edges. I found myself cheering for her even when I wanted to shake some sense into her.

Frost’s writing first won me over in her debut, The Shadows of Pecan Hollow. Boy, can she turn a phrase! And here, with music as a backdrop, her prose has a rhythm that easily allures. It’s lyrical and poetic. It’s sharply observed and beautiful in form.

Though the writing is laden with tension in parts, this is much more a blend of character driven/coming of age and historical fiction. There’s a bit of mystery at play. But Twyla’s journey and the richly executed backdrop of 1970s Nashville take center stage.

I’m naturally drawn to contemplative themes. And here I found one of the most gripping explorations of prisons-- the ones thrust upon us and the ones we choose.

This is the kind of book that pushes boundaries. It’s gritty and full of complexity. Frost excels in the gray areas. The lines between right and wrong are meticulously blurred, creating an incisive look at morality, fairness, and justice.

Much like a legendary ballad from one of the greats- lonesome, mournful, redemptive- The Last Verse is deeply felt and hits all the right notes.