The Last Encore (Rebecca Heath, Head of Zeus)

Secrets, lies, murder and even love await in Rebecca Heath’s latest psychological thriller, The Last Encore. The remaining members of The Cedrics Band reunite on the fictional Sparrow Hawk Island off the coast of South Australia to perform a private show and film a documentary. It’s their first time together since the tragic death of their lead singer, Jonny Rake, 18 years earlier. In the present, a body is discovered on the island and communication with the mainland is cut off. It’s then that old secrets begin to surface, and questions are raised about Jonny’s death. As tensions rise, everyone must work together to survive. The story weaves together the voices of those gathered on the island: Florence, their host; Lara and her husband, Edward, the band’s former keyboardist turned accountant; Adam, the guitarist and Jonny’s brother; and Monet, Jonny’s 17-year-old daughter. Their perspectives are interspersed with blog posts from Ricky, the band’s number-one fan, offering an outsider’s obsession and insight into the band’s troubled past. Heath (The Wedding Party) uses the island’s isolation to build a sense of claustrophobia. She moves effortlessly between the different voices and timelines to reveal glimpses of the past that slowly intertwine with the present. The shifting perspectives create both intimacy and suspense, allowing readers to uncover each character’s motives piece by piece. The result is a taut, atmospheric mystery filled with sharp twists and emotional undercurrents that fans of Heath’s previous novels will devour.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Vanessa Pengelly is operations director at Books+Publishing. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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