Last Night

2.5 stars While Last Night explores socio-economic and racial lines, at its core, it is a story about a couple of teenagers and the choices they make to lead them down a dangerous path. The problem is those choices aren't really explained other than to say that teenagers don't think like adults, which doesn't really explain anything. As far as the mystery or police procedural aspects, this one leaves something to be desired on both counts. We're spoon-fed Crisp and Glynnie's journey of bad decisions while the missing persons cases for them are on again, off again, and it all comes together rather slowly for the first half of the book. Things do pick up in the second half and we get a little more on the procedural side of things, but for those who read book one and are hoping for more of Elsa, those glimpses are few and far between. We do get plenty of Lex, who I liked in the first book, but here, he comes across as whiny and insecure. I get it, there are relationship problems and he doesn't know where he stands with Adam, but sometimes, less is more. The number of times the lack of text messages from Adam was mentioned quickly grew tedious. We're also introduced to Saki as she and Lex work together to find both Glynnie and Crisp. Saki had the potential to be a great character, but she isn't given much in the way of personality. We're told that she's 'on the spectrum', but other than a lack of social cues, we aren't given much else about her. While the blurb calls this one a sequel, it works as a standalone, and I feel like those who aren't familiar with the first book may enjoy it more than I did. For me, Lex was just too different than what I saw in book one, and too much of the story just doesn't ring true.