Her Last Move by John Marrs review – A heart-pounding thriller
You won’t be able to put this one down.
Her Last Move by John Marrs – The key details
- Publish date: Republished with new chapter on 8 July 2025
- Genre: Thriller
- Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
- Series/standalone: Standalone
- Length: 377 pages
Blurb: He hides in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment. Each kill is calculated, planned and executed like clockwork.
Struggling to balance her personal and professional life, young DS Becca Vincent has landed the biggest case of her career – and she knows that it will make or break her. But how can she identify one face in a sea of thousands? With the help of Police Super Recogniser Joe Russell, she strives to catch a glimpse of the elusive murderer, but he’s watching her every move.
Time is not on their side. The body count is rising, and the attacks are striking closer and closer to home. Can Becca and Joe uncover the connection between the murders before the killer strikes the last name from his list?
Her Last Move by John Marrs – The review
God, I loved – and hated – Her Last Move. I mean that in the best way: it made me feel things I didn’t want to feel, but I can’t really say more than that, because I don’t want to ruin the story. It’s only my second book by Marrs and I am itching to read through his entire back catalogue, because I feel like I’ve been really missing out up to now (spoiler: I absolutely have).
Her Last Move is, in part, about DS Becca Vincent. Trying to juggle motherhood and a complicated personal life with her job, she’s just landed a big case: hunting down a suspected serial killer. Working alongside ‘super recogniser’ Joe (it’s a real thing — look it up!) she’s determined to bring the killer down. One thing she doesn’t realise, however, is that he’s watching her every move.
There are chapters from Becca’s perspective along with chapters from the killer, a chilling juxtaposition that works incredibly well in creating tension and making you feel just the right amount of unsettled. The killer wants you to empathise with him, but his heinous crimes are grizzly, visceral and violent. The best kind of (fictitious) serial killer, then.
I came to care for Becca and Joe over the course of the book, and the glimpses we got into their personal lives made them feel like real, complex people. They both had fascinating backstories that, in themselves, could have been novels in their own merit. I also really enjoyed learning more about Becca’s family situation, and descriptions of her relationship with her daughter really helped create a strong, empathetic bond with her through the book.
Her Last Move was excellent, but go in prepared: be prepared to be moved, thrilled, disgusted, upset – all the things a good thriller should make you feel. This new version of the book has a bonus chapter too, adding a very welcome close for one of the characters. Even if you’ve read it before, consider picking this up for the new slice of content!
Thanks to Tandem Collective and Amazon Publishing for providing a copy of the book for the purposes of this review.
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