Last Stone (Bowden) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
Bowden focuses on 21 months of questioning by a revolving cast of detectives, telling a stirring, suspenseful, thoughtful story that, miraculously, neither oversimplifies the details nor gets lost in the thicket of a four-decade case file. This is a cat-and-mouse tale, told beautifully. But like all great true crime, The Last Stone finds its power not by leaning into cliche but by resisting it—pushing for something more realistic, more evocative of a deeper truth. In this case, Bowden shows how even the most exquisitely pulled-off interrogations are a messy business, in which exhaustive strategizing is followed by game-time gut decisions and endless second-guessing and soul-searching.
Robert Kolker - New York Times Book Review


The Last Stone is a rigorous documenting of the 40-year journey taken by Montgomery County detectives and the cold-case team that interrogated Lloyd Welch. It's a riveting, serpentine story about the dogged pursuit of the truth, regardless of the outcome or the cost. And it's a useful reminder that in an age of science, forensics, and video and data surveillance, the ability of one human being to coax the truth from another remains the cornerstone of a successful investigation.
NPR


With its blistering descriptions of an American special-forces operation gone wrong, Mark Bowden’s 1999 nonfiction book Black Hawk Down made for excellent action-movie fare. The story told in his latest work, the deeply unsettling The Last Stone, unfolds more slowly but is no less potent. Bowden displays his tenacity as a reporter in his meticulous documentation of the case.
Alejandro de la Garza - Time


(Starred review) [A] narrative nonfiction masterpiece…. Bowden makes extensive use of taped recordings… to bring the reader inside the interrogation room as the detectives inch closer to the truth. This is an intelligent page-turner.
Publishers Weekly


As a rookie reporter in Maryland, Black Hawk Down author Bowden followed the 1975 disappearance of two preteen sisters. The case died despite a tip from 18-year-old Lloyd Welch. Then in 2013, a detective checking the files noticed that another girl had reported being followed that week by a man who in the police artist's sketch she'd been shown looked like Welch.
Library Journal


Riveting.… Bowden expertly maintains suspense as long as possible…. A keen synthesis of an intricate, decadeslong investigation, a stomach-churning unsolved crime, and a solid grasp of time, place, and character results in what is sure to be another bestseller for Bowden.
Kirkus Reviews