Review: The Last Ride By James A. Thomas

Title: The Last Ride
Author: James A. Thomas
Ebook







Goodreads synopsis:

Camelia is a recently orphaned teen who has to make it to her estranged grandparents' home in South Dakota or face foster care. But she's too young to travel alone, and she doesn't have enough money.

Bear is Camelia's neighbor, an aging biker with a terminal illness who is determined to make one last run to the big Harley riders' meet in Sturgis.

Camelia talks Bear into taking her along, since her grandparents live less than thirty miles from Sturgis.

Together with Bear's younger sister and a friend, they take off on Harleys, planning on going the long way and soaking up the scenery.

Things go well for a while, and it really is a dream vacation. Then people they meet start turning up dead. The group learns that a mass murderer known as the Northwest Killer is operating in the area. That's bad enough, but it soon becomes apparent that they are somehow psychically linked to the man.

For Camelia, it becomes less a matter of reaching her grandparents than of simply staying alive.

The Last Ride is a road novel, with death riding along. While it’s technically a young adult book because of Camelia's age (14), adults who don't require sex or four-letter words in their reading material should find it an interesting read.

My Review:

Camelia is a fourteen year old orphan. Her parents were killed in automobile accident and her Aunt walks out on her. Camelia is all alone with no money and no guardian. She has no one to turn to except her estranged grandparents in South Dakota. How is she going to get to South Dakota with no money? Besides she is too young to travel alone. Then she meets Bear her next door neighbor. Bear is going on one last ride to the big Harley riders' meet in Sturgis, only thirty miles from her grandparent's home. Camelia talks Bear into taking her along for the ride. On the ride they tell everyone they meet that Bear is her grandfather. It being illegal for Bear to take her other wise.

Bear's younger sister Mac and her friend Dori joins them on their journey. Along the way people that they have met and helped start turning up dead. The killer is dubbed the Northwest Killer. They all even meet the Northwest Killer, at first they don't realize that he is the killer. But it doesn't take them long to figure it out.

I really enjoyed following Camelia and Bear along on their ride. The author makes you feel everything that Camelia is feeling. James Thomas describes everything in a way that you can actually image that you are there seeing what he is seeing in his writing. If you enjoy reading "tear jerkers" then this is the book for you.

I won a copy of The Last Ride by James A. Thomas from LibraryThing for review.

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