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From Publishers Weekly

A year after 12-year-old Alyssa Merrimon disappeared on her way home from the library in an unnamed rural North Carolina town, her twin brother, Johnny, continues to search the town, street by street, even visiting the homes of known sex offenders, in this chilling novel from Edgar-winner Hart (Down River). Det. Clyde Hunt, the lead cop on Alyssa's case, keeps a watchful eye on Johnny and his mother, who has deteriorated since Alyssa's abduction and her husband's departure soon afterward. When a second girl is snatched, Johnny is even more determined to find his sister, convinced that the perpetrator is the same person who took Alyssa. But what he unearths is more sinister than anyone imagined, sending shock waves through the community and putting Johnny's own life in danger. Despite a tendency to dip into melodrama, Hart spins an impressively layered tale of broken families and secrets that can kill. 175,000 first printing; author tour. (May)

From Bookmarks Magazine

Most critics sang the praises of Hart's third novel, a dark and violent edge-of-your-seat mystery that still manages to poignantly examine the ties between family and friends. Hart's ability to portray his characters as living, breathing individuals -- particularly Johnny, "an amalgam of Opie Taylor and Scout Finch with a hint of Huck Finn" (Raleigh News & Observer) -- and his acute assessment of human nature result in a horrifying, heartbreaking tale that steps up the suspense to agonizing levels. The sole voice of dissent, stalwart crime-reviewer Marilyn Stasio from the New York Times Book Review, faulted the writer's unoriginal characters and lackluster prose. But majority rules. Most readers will agree that The Last Child is "one of the best thrillers of the year" (Providence Journal).

John Hart always wanted to be a novelist, but writing books, he found, was hard, and life contrived to distract him along the way. He sailed twice across the Atlantic Ocean and worked on helicopters in Alaska. He drew pints in a pub in London, worked as a tutor in France and on sailboats on the Carolina coast. He earned degrees in French, accounting and law, then pursued careers in banking, law and investment management.

And he tried to write. A little here, a little there.

Eventually he managed to write two novels that never found a publisher. Convinced he could do better, John took a gamble and quit his law practice to take a stab at chasing the only dream he ever had. He gave himself a year and finished his third novel in eleven months and two weeks. That book, THE KING OF LIES, went through six printings and spent multiple weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. His next novel, DOWN RIVER, won the Edgar Award for Best Novel and spent weeks on both the New York Times and London Times bestseller list. THE LAST CHILD, his third novel, will be released in May of 2009.

Now published in twenty-six languages and over thirty countries, John writes full-time. He is having an absolute blast and regrets none of the steps that led him to such a wonderful place.