One Last Look

One Last Look is the final book in a trilogy by Linda Lael Miller. I liked the first two books, but I think this one is my favorite: 4.5 out of 5.

Clare Westbrook is a survivor who built her new law practice from sheer determination--and an unexpected inheritance. Now Clare, carrying her lover Tony Sonterra's child, has taken the biggest risk of all: saying "yes" to his marriage proposal and finally burying her lifelong commitment phobia. So why is fear running through her veins and haunting her dreams? Sonterra is fired up to leave Pheonix for small-town Arizona, to replace the town's missing police chief and target a lethal desert crime ring. Clare's willing to stand by her man, but her fiance won't be the only one flirting with danger on the job: as a special investigator for the D.A.'s office, Clare is plunged into a race to find a missing child whose mother was murdered--a hot case that puts Clare's safety, and that of her unborn child, on the edge. For in a place where secrets have nowhere to hide, the promise of Clare's bright future could vanish in the blink of an eye . . .

Tony and Clare were the focus of the previous two in the series: Don't Look Now and Never Look Back. One Last Look puts Clare in danger once again. This time, though, her relationship with Tony is solid. Yes, Clare has commitment issues, but her love for Tony is never in question, nor is his for her.

I fell in love with Tony in the first book, and I still think he's a wonderful hero. He and Clare butt heads just enough to keep him from slipping into too-good-to-be-true territory. I like that he is both protective and sensible. For example, he knows that Clare needs her own car, so after hers is totalled, he buys her a Hummer. I couldn't help but smile at the image of Clare driving a red Hummer.

As in the other books, Clare finds herself in dangerous situations. There were a couple of times when I wanted her to contact Tony sooner than she did, but in general I enjoyed the suspense aspect of the story.

One Last Look was an even better conclusion to the trilogy than I hoped it would be. I'm going to miss Clare and Tony.