Retool
The Last Picks, Book 12
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Retool
Narrated by:
Andrew Gibson
Buy Now for £12.35
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Narrated by:
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Andrew Gibson
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By:
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Gregory Ashe
What would you do to get everything you wanted?
Life is good for Dashiell Dawson Dane (just Dash). Things with his boyfriend, Bobby, are better than ever. Teaching at a local college has provided routine and stability. And to his complete surprise, his self-published novel is doing well. Really well. So, when a mystery writers’ conference comes to Hastings Rock, Dash is thrilled to attend.
He’s less thrilled when Vivienne Carver, his former nemesis—the woman who framed him for murder and then tried to kill him—appears at the conference, released from prison and determined to reclaim both fame and fortune. And, as usual, Vivienne has a plan.
But when Vivienne is murdered the first night of the conference, and Dash is—once again—the prime suspect, he’ll have to find the real killer to prove his innocence.
Even worse, Dash might be right back where he started.
©2025 Gregory Ashe (P)2026 Gregory Ashe
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Listener received this title free
Dashiell (uh, Dash) is enjoying the success of his publication of his first book. He’s teaching. He has students. He has fans!
He also has an enemy. A woman from his not-so-distant past. Vivienne Carver. His nemesis.
But Vivienne is barely in his life again when someone snuffs out hers. Well, yeah, that happened. Now Dash is suspected and it’s a flashback to his arrival to Hastings Rock. This time, though, he’s got Bobby on his side. The police officer. His boyfriend. As well, he’s got The Last Picks. Still, as a prime suspect, he needs to get the killer uncovered as soon as possible.
Now, as a writer, I was familiar with the entire cast of ‘characters’. The publisher, the agent, the editor, etc. Hell, I’ve even attended writer’s conferences and am very familiar with them. So this book was a lovely journey for me into a world I know well. Okay, minus the murder.
As always, the plot was great and the revelation surprised me. What carried this book, though, was the story between Dash and Bobby. I’ve always been rooting for these two – but I know how Dash often gets in his own way. I honestly thought he was going to do it again. Ah, but he finally got it right, and I’m so grateful.
I love this series and narrator Andrew Gibson is definitely one of those reasons. He and Gregory just are perfect together and I thoroughly enjoyed this story.
Dash’s time has come
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Listener received this title free
Spoilers below.
I'm struggling with this one. After 12 books these characters haven't changed and their immaturity annoyed me. Keme is my least favorite character. This wasn't a bad story but again, after 12 books, these characters and their antics weren't fresh. The sarcasm wasn't working for me because I've heard it all. The drama between Keme and Dash, Dash and Bobby - I didn't sign up for this in a cozy mystery.
The narration was perfect, as always. And it was nice to bring back Vivienne, regardless of how ridiculous it was, and I was disappointed that she was killed (I mean, I knew that going in though). I wanted there to be more of a showdown between her and Dash.
The ending confused me. I knew what happened but come on! Dash was going to LA because he was offered a tv deal and he is on his way to the airport and then <spoiler>he turns the car around and goes back home. Why? Because he'll miss Bobby? Please. Trust me, if I got offered a tv deal, and it was a good one, I'd go and not look back. Sure, Dash decided he had changed his mind about the life he wanted, but he could have still done the show and forced them to film it locally instead of LA. If Dash was as popular and in demand as the book claims, the studio would have caved to move filming.</spoiler>
Overall, this series is good and fun and a real treat. Some books were better than others, and some downright put me off (r.e. Evil All Along), but when looked at as a collective, the series is complex with high highs, low lows, and crazy antics in the middle. I'd have liked to have seen the characters learn and grow and be better, but they're still alive is the best I've got, lol. Their impulsiveness and stupidity when it comes to personal safety it's surprising they all made to book 12, but I guess that would ruin the cozy mystery.
If you're going to read/listen to all 12 books, pace them out. Read maybe 1 a quarter to give it some breathing room. Tackling this series in essentially one big gulp made it difficult to ignore some of the annoying traits these characters have.
5 stars for narration
3.5 stars for the story and I bumped it up because I enjoyed seeing Vivienne again.
Okay ending; narration great
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What a great end to a fabulous series!!!
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Listener received this title free
As he has throughout this series, Andrew Gibson has given Gregory Ashe's characters another dimension. That dimension is possible because of the sublime writing that has made this series, with the Last Picks, a real winner. I feel every one of them is a person I would love to know.
However, back to the clever two-pronged storyline where we find Dash coming full circle and having to investigate Vivienne Carver's death yet again! This gives us some interesting insights into the world of publishing. The other equally important part of this story is that Dash's journey has given him just about everything he has ever wanted: Bobby, a found family and a published book, with a further exciting prospect in sight. Which way do you go when you hit the fork in the road? Here, Dash gets some help from Vivienne, which serves as a reminder that even though people can do bad things, most have some good in them as well.
A lovely conclusion to a great series. Although not as dark as much of Gregory's writing, this is one of the best in this genre.
Know the value of what you find
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