The Last Thing She Said (Chris Matheson Cold Case Series) by Lauren Carr

"Too many twists and turns to easily share about this book. Nevertheless, Carr has pulled off another "hit" that kept me reading in one setting until the clues were so well together that the villain fell into our laps...or Chris's, LOL Carr has put a lot into the book beyond the mysteries this time...Characters enjoyed chocotinis, visited book stores...and even blundered into getting engaged (the ring had been purchased 4 months ago)... But, for me, a special thank you for the political spoof at a time when politics at the national level is devastating, gave me a laugh and lightened the load of it all!" - Review by Glenda Bixler, Book Reader's Heaven 

 

Book Details:



Book Title:  The Last Thing She Said (A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery #3) by Lauren Carr

Category:  Adult Fiction (18 +),  386 pages

Genre:  Mystery

Publisher:  Acorn Book Services

Release date:   July 22, 2019

Formats available for purchase:  paperback, ebook, audiobook (audible & itunes)

Tour dates: October 7 to November 15, 2019

Content Rating:  PG-13 (Lauren Carr's books are murder mysteries, so there are murders involved. Occasionally, a murder will happen on stage. There is sexual content, but always behind closed doors. Some mild swearing (a hell or a damn few and far between). No F-bombs!

Book Description:

​“I’m working on the
greatest mystery ever,” was the last thing noted mystery novelist
Mercedes Livingston said to seven-year-old Chris Matheson before walking
out of Hill House Hotel never to be seen again.

For decades, the writer’s fate
remained a puzzling mystery until an autographed novel and a letter put a
grown-up Chris Matheson on the trail of a cunning killer. With the help
of a team of fellow retired law enforcement officers, each a specialist
in their own field of investigation, Chris puts a flame to this cold
case to uncover what had really happened that night Mercedes Livingston
walked out of Hill House Hotel. Watch out! The clues are getting hot!

Buy the Book:

Amazon.com *
Add to Goodreads​​

My Review. 

I have to admit I had a bit of a hard time with this book. Not the book itself but my time management. I have been having a crazy few months, and it seemed every time I sat down to listen to this book the world turned upside down for me. As with all of Lauren's book, she makes you feel like you are a detective investigating the crimes in her books. If you cannot fully pay attention you loose important clues to keep you fully invested in the mystery. I started this book over 3 times not because I had to but because I love Lauren's books so much and I want to figure out the the mystery along with her characters. I love how she writes her books and I end up with a long list of suspects in each of her mysteries and pick them off one at a time. If I miss something its kind of like playing the Clue game with 1/2 the cards. Lauren's books are fun for me, and I really love this series of Cold Case Mysteries.

This particular book actually has a couple of mysteries as do a lot of Lauren's books. There is a cold case and also a new case that is all tied together. I am not real sure how to give a description of the book without saying to much. Chris Matheson is the star of this book along with his fiends and family from all of Lauren's other series.

A famous writer, Mercedes Livingston, disappeared without a trace, her husband was murdered at the same time. For many years no one knows what happened to the writer or who killed her husband. Now years later a lady Chris's Mom works with at the library turns up dead with a cryptic note in front of her addressed to Chris. In the note she says she has willed herself to die so she can be with her recently deceased husband, but she wants him to solve her 1st husbands murder, and to basically give her children the inheritance they deserve. 

Between Chris and the rest of the Geezer Squad they have to figure this all out and find the answers of this cold case, and did She really will herself to die or commit suicide. 

You may also choose to read and review:

Book Details:



Book Title: Winter Frost  (A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery #2) by Lauren Carr

Category:  Adult fiction,  332 pages

Genre:  Mystery

Publisher:  Acorn Book Services

Release date:  January 22, 2019

Formats available for purchase:  paperback, ebook, audiobook (audible & itunes)Tour dates:  October 7 to November 22, 2019

Content Rating:  PG-13 (Lauren Carr's books
are murder mysteries, so there are murders involved. Occasionally, a
murder will happen on stage. There is sexual content, but always behind
closed doors. Some mild swearing (a hell or a damn few and far between).
No F-bombs!

---

"Filled with twists and turns, Winter Frost
reads perfectly well as a stand-alone, although it is part of a series.
The author creates tension and suspense throughout by keeping the
reader guessing; she keeps readers engaged with well fleshed out
characters and a dash of humor. Sterling, the retired German Shepherd
police dog turned card shark, is a new favorite. As the story flows, the
truth unfolds, layer by layer, leading to a satisfying conclusion.



"Winter Frost was an entertaining, at times humorous read with suspense, some surprises, and even cute animals in the mix." Review of Winter Frost by The iRead Review

Book Description:

​It all started with a chance encounter in the city with Blair, his late wife.



Chris Matheson and the Geezer Squad,
working under the guise of a book club, dig into the events surrounding
his late wife’s supposed death halfway around the globe. A state
department employee shoots himself in the back three times. A CIA
operative goes missing. A woman is targeted by an international assassin
three years after being declared dead in a terrorist attack overseas. 



Nothing is as it seems. 



In his most personal cold case,
Chris fights to uncover why the state department told him that Blair,
the mother of his children, had been killed when she was alive. What had
she uncovered that has made her a target? Who terrified her so much
that she had gone into hiding and why are they now after him?

Buy the Book:


Amazon.com * Audible

Add to Goodreads

Book Details:

Book Title: ICE  (A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery #1) by Lauren Carr

Category:  Adult fiction,  364 pages

Genre:  Mystery

Publisher:  Acorn Book Services

Release date:  February 26, 2018

Formats available for purchase:  paperback, ebook, audiobook (audible & itunes)Tour dates:  October 7 to November 22, 2019

Content Rating:  PG-13 (Lauren Carr's books
are murder mysteries, so there are murders involved. Occasionally, a
murder will happen on stage. There is sexual content, but always behind
closed doors. Some mild swearing (a hell or a damn few and far between).
No F-bombs!

---

"ICE is a
strong start to a new series that will have fans of Lauren Carr thrilled
to be introduced to another set of memorable and entertaining
characters. Carr's Geezer Squad has brought sexy back to mature men and
women, whose kickass attitude and smarts sizzle as they melt the clues
to those cold cases!"  Laura Fabiani, Library of Clean Reads



"For the whodunit mystery buff who loves ever-increasing suspense and
danger, Lauren Carr's newest series offers up a big dose of both. Murder
and mayhem seem to be Chris's new companions after returning home
following the loss of both his wife and his father. Juggling the
parenting responsibilities of his three daughters with his mother is not
something Chris was expecting at this point in his life, but life isn't
something that goes as planned." 5-Star Review at Blooming with Books

Book Description:

​When Sandy Lipton
and her unborn child disappeared, the court of public opinion found
young Chris Matheson guilty. Decades later, the retired FBI agent
returns home to discover that the cloud of suspicion cast over him and
his family has never lifted. 



With the help of a team of fellow
retired law enforcement officers, each a specialist in their own field
of investigation, Chris Matheson starts chipping away at the ice on this
cold case to uncover what had happened to Sandy and her baby and the
clues are getting hot!

Buy the Book:

Amazon.com * Audible

Add to Goodreads

Meet the Author:  

 Lauren
Carr is the international best-selling author of the Thorny Rose, Mac
Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries—over
twenty titles across four fast-paced mystery series filled with twists
and turns!



Book reviewers and readers alike
rave about how Lauren Carr seamlessly crosses genres to include mystery,
suspense, crime fiction, police procedurals, romance, and humor.



Lauren is a popular speaker who has
made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at
conventions. She lives with her husband, and two spoiled rotten German
shepherds on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.

---

Connect with the author:   Website  ~  Twitter  ~  Facebook  ~  Instagram

BOOK TOUR SCHEDULE:

​Oct 7 – Working Mommy Journal – book review of The Last Thing She Said

Oct 7 - JB's Bookworms with Brandy Mulder – book review of Ice / giveaway

Oct 7 – Bookriot – audiobook review of Ice / giveaway

Oct 7 – Just Another Reader – book review of Ice

Oct 7 - Rita's Reading Room – series spotlight / author interview / giveaway

Oct 7 - Viviana MacKade – series spotlight / guest post

Oct 8 - Just Another Reader – book review of Winter Frost

Oct 8 - JB's Bookworms with Brandy Mulder – book review of Winter Frost / giveaway

Oct 8 – Amy’s Booket List – book review of The Last Thing She Said / giveaway

Oct 8 - Rockin' Book Reviews – book review of The Last Thing She Said / guest post /

             giveaway

Oct 9 - Cuzinlogic - series spotlight / giveaway

Oct 9 - JB's Bookworms with Brandy Mulder – book review of The Last Thing She Said /

              giveaway

Oct 9 – Just Another Reader – book review of The Last  Thing She Said

Oct 9 - The Voracious Bibliophile – book review of The Last Thing She Said

Oct 10 – Librorum in Sempiternum – book review of Ice / giveaway

Oct 11 – It's All About the Book – book review of The Last Thing She Said

Oct 14 – b for bookreview – series spotlight / author interview

Oct 15 - Buried Under Books - audiobook review of Ice / giveaway

Oct 15 – Pause for Tales – book review of The Last Thing She Said

Oct 16 – Locks, Hooks and Books – audiobook review of The Last Thing She Said /

                 guest post / giveaway

Oct 17 – Library of Clean Reads – series spotlight / giveaway

Oct 18 - Library of Clean Reads – book review of The Last Thing She Said / giveaway

Oct 19 – Bookriot – audiobook review of Winter Frost / giveaway

Oct 20 – Librorum in Sempiternum – book review of Winter Frost / giveaway

Oct 21 - Hall Ways Blog – audiobook review of The Last Thing She Said / giveaway

Oct 21 - Words And Peace – book spotlight / giveaway

Oct 22 – Kristin’s Novel Café – audiobook review of The Last Thing She Said

Oct 23 – Mystery Suspense Reviews – audiobook review of The Last Thing She Said /

                 guest post

Oct 24 – Haddie's Haven – audiobook review of Ice / giveaway

Oct 24 – FUONLYKNEW – book review of The Last Thing She Said / giveaway

Oct 24 - My Journey Back - series spotlight / guest post / giveaway

Oct 25 - Blooming with Books – audiobook review of The Last Thing She Said / giveaway

Oct 25 - StoreyBook Reviews - book spotlight / guest post / giveaway

Oct 26 – Bookriot – book review of The Last Thing She Said / giveaway

Oct 28 – Sefina Hawke's Books – audiobook review of The Last Thing She Said

Oct 29 - Buried Under Books - audiobook review of The Last  Thing she Said / giveaway

Oct 29 – My Reading Journeys – book review of Winter Frost / giveaway

Oct 30 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – book spotlight of The Last Thing She Said /

                 giveaway

Oct 31 – Dab of Darkness Book Reviews – audiobook review of The Last Thing She Said

                 / giveaway

Nov 1 – Life as Leels – book review of The Last Thing She Said / giveaway

Nov 4 – Books for Books – audiobook review of Ice / giveaway

Nov 5 – Bound 4 Escape – book review of The Last Thing She Said / giveaway

Nov 6 – fundinmental – book review of Winter Frost / giveaway

Nov 6 - My Reading Journeys – book review of The Last Thing She Said / giveaway

Nov 7 – Haddie's Haven – audiobook review of Winter Frost / giveaway

Nov 8 – Literary Flits – series spotlight / giveaway

Nov 11 – The Avid Inspri – book review of Ice / giveaway

Nov 11 - Books for Books – audiobook review of Winter Frost / giveaway

Nov 12 – Librorum in Sempiternum – book review of The Last Thing She Said / giveaway

Nov 13 – Celticlady's Reviews – book spotlight / giveaway

​Nov 13 - A Fountain of Books - book review of The Last Thing She Said / guest post / giveaway

Nov 14 - T's Stuff – audiobook review of The Last Thing She Said / author interview /

                 giveaway

Nov 15 - The Avid Inspri – book review of Winter Frost / giveaway

Nov 15 – Nighttime Reading Center – book review of The Last Thing She Said / giveaway

Nov 18 – Laura's Interests – audiobook review of The Last Thing She Said / guest post /

                 giveaway

Nov 18 - Books for Books – audiobook review of The Last Thing She Said / giveaway

Nov 19 – JBronder Book Reviews – audiobook review of The Last Thing She Said

Nov 19 - Shalini's Books & Reviews – book review of The Last Thing She Said

Nov 20 - fundinmental – book review of The Last Thing She Said / giveaway

Nov 20 – Haddie's Haven – audiobook review of The Last Thing She Said / guest post /

                 giveaway

Nov 20 - I'm All About Books – book review of The Last Thing She Said / guest post /

                giveaway

Nov 20 - Svetlana's reads and views – book review of The Last Thing She Said /

                giveaway

Nov 21 – Books Are Love – book review of The Last Thing She Said / author interview /

                 giveaway

Nov 21 - The Avid Inspri – book review of The Last Thing She Said / guest post /

​                 giveaway

Nov 22 - Adventurous Jessy – book review of The Last Thing She Said / giveaway

Nov 22 – SammieReadsBook – book review of The Last Thing She Said / author

                 interview / giveaway

Nov 22 -  Jypsylynn – book review of The Last Thing She Said

​Author interview with Lauren Carr

Getting to Know Chris Matheson and the Geezer Squad

Can you tell our readers about Chris Matheson? 

Former FBI agent, Chris Matheson is the widowed father of three little girls who returns to the family farm after his father’s sudden death. In his late forties, he’s a young retiree. At his mother’s urging (aka nagging), he attends a book club meeting. His father, a retired police captain, had formed the club which is made up of a diverse group of law enforcement retirees. To Chris’s surprise, the group, self-named The Geezer Squad actually investigates cold case mysteries while working under the guise of a book club.

Where did the original idea of them come about?

One evening, I was looking for a good mystery to watch on Netflix when I happened upon a true crime series entitled The Keepers, which explored the unsolved 1969 murder of Sister Cathy Cesnik in Baltimore, Maryland. As fascinating as this series is (and I do recommend it to any mystery lover), as a writer, I was drawn to the “detectives” investigating this cold case. They were former students of the victim. Now, decades later, retired, they were each using their individual skills to solve this case that keeps them up at night. For example, the outgoing former student would meet and talk to potential witnesses. The bookish one would scour the newspaper archives in the library. 

I couldn’t get the concept out of my mind. The writer in me twisted and turned the idea. In a matter of days, the Geezer Squad—a group of law enforcement retirees who work those cold cases that keeps them up at night barged into my imagination. This pushy group of retirees practically upended my current work-in-progress. Surprisingly, I discovered during my research that some police departments actually have Geezer Squads working on contract—retirees tasked with working cold cases.

What makes the Geezers original?

They’re sharp-mind retirees on a blood-thirsty quest to solve those cold cases that keep them up at night. But they’re scared to death of their families.

The number one rule of The Geezer Squad is to never talk about The Geezer Squad. They have family and friends who want them to spend their retirement peacefully reading books and meeting with their fellow geezers. If their families knew they were actually chasing down murderers, they’d get into big trouble.

What makes them tick?

They need to solve murder mysteries—especially those cold cases that nag at them. 

Each member of the Squad has spent his or her adult life helping victims, following clues, and putting together the pieces to solve murder cases. As they explain it to Chris, who is a young retiree, they need to work their minds to remain sharp. While their bodies are old, their minds have been exercised into top condition throughout the years and you can’t just shut it off.   

What is their biggest fear?

That their families find out what they’ve been doing.

If you and Chris Matheson and the Geezer Squad met in real life, do you think you’d get along?

Most definitely, as long as I never talked about The Geezer Squad.

Who would you like to see play them if your books were made into a film or TV show?

One interview question that befuddles me is, “What actors do you envision playing your characters?” Truthfully, when I write a book, I don’t see celebrities playing any of the characters. They come to life as unique personalities all their own. For this reason, I’m stumped.

However, for this interview, I have done some “casting calls” and found some celebrities who I can see playing the Geezers. 

Christopher Matheson (Chris): Played by Mark Walhberg. Chris Matheson made his career in the FBI working undercover in a variety of covers. From what I have seen, Mark Walhberg is a very versatile actor who has played a wide variety of roles. I’ve seen Walhberg playing roles from sophisticate businessman to oil rig operator. A retired FBI agent, Chris takes care of his family farm, and I have no problem seeing Mark Walhberg cleaning a horse stall. 

Francine Duncan: (Played by Bernadette Peters) Francine is a retired investigative journalist from the Associated Press. Divorced children and grandchildren living with her. Fast talking, she’s a scrappy character who isn’t easily intimidated. Short, she wears big sweaters and hats that she pulls down to cover her ears. She is not a clothes horse. I can see Bernadette Peters with all of her curly hair flying out from under her hat while checking out Chris’s buns as he walks away. Bernadette can easily deliver Francine’s fast-talking lines with great comic timing.

Jacqui Guilfoyle (played by Jamie Lee Curtis): Retired medical examiner from Pennsylvania. Widowed with no children. Lives alone in elegant home on a mountaintop overlooking Shenandoah Valley. Jacqui is demure and classy. She is described in the Geezer Squad as having long blond hair and being very attractive. Yes, Jamie Lee Curtis has short gray hair, but the more important trait about Jacqui is her intellect and sophistication. Jamie Lee Curtis carries these traits off so well. 

Bruce Harris (played by Patrick Stewart): Retired attorney general from Virginia. Owns a winery in Purcellville, Virginia. His wife is an architect with her own firm in Leesburg. Has son in college. 

When I developed Bruce, I envisioned him having hair. I was actually torn between Patrick Stewart and Sean Connery, but have decided on Sean Connery for Elliott, as I’ll explain later. 

Bruce Harris is the self-described devil’s advocate of the Geezer Squad. He figures the legal angles of their cases. Unofficially, he is the leader because he is a retired state attorney general. He tells them what they need to uncover to bring the perpetrator to justice. Also, as they close in the killer, Bruce thinks ahead to what loop holes the murderer may use to get off. Bruce’s character drips with elegance and breeding. He’s spent his life surrounded by wealth and power, which he knows very well—including the slimy underbelly. It’s a good thing he’s one of the good guys because he uses that knowledge to help the Geezers. Having played this role in Star Trek and the X-Men, Patrick Stewart is a natural. 

Ray Nolan: Played by Wallace Shawn: This Geezer established cyberwarfare task force after 9/11. He was shot in the back by a homegrown terrorist and is now wheelchair bound. He lives with his daughter (who shot and killed the terrorist in a Chuck E. Cheese parking lot) and her family. His daughter is one soccer mom you never want to mess with.

Many of you may not know Wallace Shawn, the actor I have chosen for this part. But I bet if you saw his picture you would know him. Wallace Shawn is one of those faces that you recognize but not the name. He’s got a distinctive voice and terrific comic timing, which is Ray’s strong suit.

Elliott Prescott: Played by Sean Connery: Founding member of the Geezer Squad. He could tell you what he did before he retired, but then he’d have to kill you. Elliott Prescott’s past is a mystery. He’s mysterious and masculine. But he’s got a very soft spot for Doris, the widow of one of his best friends. In Ice, he shows up at a black-tie benefit to sweep Doris off her feet—so James Bond. So, it was only natural that a former James Bond would play him.

Doris Matheson (played by Michelle Pfeiffer): Chris’s mother is not a member of the Geezer Squad, but she plays a big role in the Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries and in The Last Thing She Said. Doris is a sixty-five-year-old ageless beauty—much like Michelle Pfeiffer. It is revealed in Ice that she is a former Miss West Virginia who purposely threw the Miss America pageant so that she could marry Chris’s father. (Chris was born six months later.) She’s not your average beauty queen. Doris is a strong, intelligent, take-charge type of lady. 

How many books do you have in the series so far?

Three: ICE (released February 2018)

Winter Frost (January 28, 2019)

The Last Thing She Said (July 2019)

What’s in store for them next?

Look for a spring wedding in 2020. Maybe. Maybe not. 

With only a week to go before Chris and Helen’s wedding, Helen’s family is thrown into turmoil when her siblings discover that their birth mother had not abandoned them as children but had in fact been murdered. What is meant to be a happy reunion for a wedding turns into a family feud when it is revealed that Helen had known the truth all along and kept it from her younger siblings.

Now, with only seven days to go before the wedding, Chris and the Geezer Squad embark on heating up this cold case and solving it to bring closure for the bride and her family.

Look for this next Geezer Squad Mystery in Spring 2020! 

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