The Last Applicant by Rebecca Hanover

Item: The Last Applicant: A Novel
Rating: 3
Author: BaronessMom

Posted March 4, 2024 by BaronessMom in Mystery, Review, Thriller and Suspense / 0 Comments

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Last Applicant: A Novel

by Rebecca Hanover

Published by Lake Union Publishing on October 24, 2023
Setting: New York
Genres: Psychological Thrillers
Pages: 317
Format: Audible Audiobook, Audio CD, ebook, Hardcover, Kindle, Paperback
Source: the Publisher
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon

From award-winning author Rebecca Hanover comes an emotional thrill ride about two women whose lives take a dangerous turn in the high-stakes arena of private school admissions.

Audrey Singer revels in her position as the admissions director of an exclusive Manhattan private school. Parents cater to her whims and desires, desperate to give their children an edge. Audrey’s power is undeniable; privilege comes with the territory. Her perfect marriage completes the glossy picture of her life.

Until the arrival of the neurotic, vulnerable Sarah Price. Determined to get her son into the city’s most coveted kindergarten class, Sarah inserts herself into Audrey’s world, testing boundaries at every turn. For Sarah, everything Audrey has is a potential target: her job, her friends…even her marriage.

But what seems to be another ploy by an overachieving mother takes a dark and ominous turn. Sarah seems to be hiding secrets of her own. Are her designs on Audrey’s life purely about getting what she wants for her son?

Or is there something more sinister at play in this cutthroat game?

The Last Applicant by Rebecca Hanover is surprisingly not what I expected.

Will Audrey and Sarah come to terms with their roles in life?

This story caught me off guard completely. There are plot twists that I didn’t see coming. Everyone has secrets, but this group of characters is like looking into a deep pool with sunshine bouncing off the surface and darkness hiding beneath. I was so caught up in the drama unfolding that I didn’t see the dangers.

Audrey

Audrey seems to have the perfect life, but does she? She makes a good living, has a lovely family, and a decent home by New York status, but her husband is a photographer. He is famous but not wealthy. Her children look good from the outside, but her daughter is stressing about her grades and keeping up with the demands of the prestigious private school.

I liked Audrey from the beginning, but I felt like she was forcing her happiness. She is happier than she was with her first husband or after their divorce, but is she really happy now, or is she trying to convince herself she is? Audrey spends too much time in her head trying to figure out other people’s motives.

Sarah

Oh, my, what to say about Sarah? She is desperate to get her son into kindergarten at the private school where Audrey works. It’s almost like she is obsessed with the school. She seems like the perfect wealthy stay-at-home mom. But, like with Audrey, appearances can be deceiving.

I didn’t like Sarah at the beginning. She is almost too needy. Sarah’s husband didn’t want anything to do with the school and voiced his opinion, but Sarah ignored it. Although, as we get to know more of the circumstances, some of it is understandable. I feel that she is going to need a serious shrink to get past it all.

Three Stars

I have read many thrillers, but this one is very different. At first, I felt trapped in the diaries of two wealthy women who lost touch with reality. These ladies are in or strive to be in a class that I am not part of nor have longed to be. The secrets get dark, and the consequences are drastic.

My rating for The Last Applicant by Rebecca Hanover is three stars. The author’s writing style and plot twists are wonderfully done, but some of the characters’ actions didn’t resonate with me. However, I know some readers will enjoy this book. We learn something from every story we read.

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of The Last Applicant by Rebecca Hanover.

Until the next time,

About Rebecca Hanover

Rebecca Hanover, the New York Times bestselling author of the YA novels, The Similars and The Pretenders, makes her adult fiction debut with THE LAST APPLICANT, which Lake Union will publish in October 2023. After graduating from Stanford University with a BA in English and drama, Rebecca joined the writing team of the CBS daytime drama Guiding Light, where she earned an Emmy Award. She now writes novels full-time from her home in San Francisco, where she enjoys matcha lattes and a complete lack of seasons. When she isn’t writing, she can be found in a yoga class or reading anything Dav Pilkey with her husband and three children.