Last Seen Book Review: Bland with a Lesson and a Little Romance

Last Seen is a bit complicated when it comes to the plot. It seems, however, incredibly simple in the way author Carla Cassidy writes the beginning, middle and end. Adam Spencer is a handsome accountant from Kansas City, MO who comes to Cherokee Corners, OK to find the estranged wife and daughter of his recently deceased first cousin, Kurt. Breanna James is said wife, as well as undercover cop for Cherokee Corners Police Department. Breanna has quite a lot of bitterness towards men because Kurt hurt her (emotionally, that is) so badly, and abandoned their beautiful daughter, Maggie. Adam is a bit insecure with low self-esteem because his egotistical cousin, Kurt, always made him feel bad about himself.

Adam doesn't tell Breanna exactly who he is. When Breanna finds out, she completely hits the roof. But, when her daughter is kidnapped after some strange and threatening phone calls, Breanna turns to Adam for support. Together, they find Maggie and live happily after.

The plot is very similar to those of other romance novels, especially those put out by Silhouette: Man meets woman. Man has some deep dark secret. Woman gets angry with man for hiding secret. Man broods. Woman finds herself in distress. Man saves the day. Man and woman live happily ever after.

I'd like to say that the characters are well-developed, but they are extremely two dimensional. Cassidy tries to offset the characters with different traits: Breanna is hotheaded while Adam is patient. Breanna is stubborn while Adam is willing to compromise. Breanna is Native American while Adam is Caucasian. It's very... well, very boring, to be quite honest.

HOWEVER, Cassidy definitely redeems herself with the characterization of Maggie. The way that Maggie feels about her father abandoning her and her mother is very real, and very heartbreaking. Reading it made me remember how I felt as a child when my father abandoned my family. I wonder if Cassidy was raised solely by her mother as well. Maggie is very well-written.

There are a couple of off-ball characters that appear in ever romance novel, and Cassidy sticks with that cliche: The psychic, the overbearing mother, the protective brother... You get the idea.

Last Seen is set in Cherokee Corners, OK. Quite honestly, it could be set in any small town. Cassidy tries to incorporate the Cherokee heritage into the story, but only glazes over it. I think that there were too many plotlines in this book in order to cover the Cherokee aspect effectively. It's too bad, too, as it was a really good idea.

The main ideas of the plot could have taken place absolutely anywhere in the world, to tell you the truth. I think Cassidy chose Cherokee Corners, OK just because it sounds rich in culture. She really could have explored it more.

Last Seen is a quick read. Some parts are actually quite good, such as the dealings with Maggie, but most rush to get to the point. Too many of the ideas were cliche. Cassidy's editor should have given the manuscript back to her and told her to break it into two or three books. 248 short pages just isn't enough to cover everything that Cassidy wants to present.

If you happen to see this on the rack in the library and don't have anything better to read, go ahead and check it out. Don't go out of your way to buy it, though. It will be a waste of $4.75, which you can spend on a more entertaining magazine.