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"This novel is sexy, suspenseful, and boot-spur sharp." --Eli Cranor, Edgar-Award-winning author of Don''t Know Tough Set in the country music world of 1970s Nashville, a struggling musician writes a hit song that both promises her long-sought-after fame and implicates her in a heinous crime. Nashville, 1977: A broken heart. A terrible crime. A song the world would sing. When aspiring musician Twyla Finch arrives in Nashville, Tennessee, the nineteen-year-old Texan is dazzled by the fringe-and-rhinestones country music scene. As she finds her way in this vibrant town, she soon falls for Chet Wilton, country music hopeful and son of blue-blooded Nashvillians. When a night out with Chet goes terribly wrong, Twyla finds herself involved in a shocking crime. Hoping to process what happened, she composes a haunting ballad that she performs only once in an empty bar. But weeks later, when she turns on the radio, she hears another woman singing her song. Twyla must decide: Should she claim her ballad and secure the fame she''s always wanted? Or stay quiet and avoid implicating herself in the terrible crime she''s desperate to put in the past?
About the author
Caroline Frost has a Master of Professional Writing degree from the University of Southern California. She is the author of Shadows of Pecan Hollow, which won the Crook’s Corner Prize, was a finalist for the Golden Poppy Award, and was longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. She currently resides in Pasadena, California, with her husband and three small children, but her roots in Texas run deep.
Summary
“A pitch-perfect read for fans of Taylor Swift.”
—Katy Hays, New York Times bestselling author of The Cloisters
A dream worth chasing. An impossible choice. The song that will change it all.
When aspiring musician Twyla Higgins arrives in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1977, the nineteen-year-old Texan is dazzled by the fringe-and-rhinestones country music scene. Live music flows from bars, open mic nights tempt with the chance of stardom, and record label execs seek the next hot new act.
With nothing but the songs in her head and her daddy's guitar, Twyla finds her way in the vibrant, but cutthroat, music business. A chance meeting with a rakish singer and son of blue-blooded Nashvillians veers Twyla off path and into a dizzying romance. Caught between the dream she’s always wanted and the affection she's always craved, Twyla must decide what future she wants for herself. But when her song is stolen by a rival and hits the country music charts, how much will she sacrifice to take back what's hers?
Seductive, bold, and immersive, The Last Verse is the story of a woman’s love, ambition, and determination to claim her voice.
