title: The Last Child (Paperback)
author:  John Hart 
description: Winner of the 2010 Edgar Award for Best Novel
  
  John Harts New York Times bestselling debut, The King of Lies, announced the arrival of a major talent. With Down River, he surpassed his earlier success, transcending the barrier between thriller and literature and winning the 2008 Edgar Award for best novel. Now, with The Last Child, he achieves his most significant work to date, an intricate, powerful story of loss, hope, and courage in the face of evil.
  
  Thirteen year-old Johnny Merrimon had the perfect life: a warm home and loving parents; a twin sister, Alyssa, with whom he shared an irreplaceable bond. He knew nothing of loss, until the day Alyssa vanished from the side of a lonely street. Now, a year later, Johnny finds himself isolated and alone, failed by the people hed been taught since birth to trust. No one else believes that Alyssa is still alive, but Johnny is certain that she is---confident in a way that he can never fully explain.
  
  Determined to find his sister, Johnny risks everything to explore the dark side of his hometown. It is a desperate, terrifying search, but Johnny is not as alone as he might think. Detective Clyde Hunt has never stopped looking for Alyssa either, and he has a soft spot for Johnny. He watches over the boy and tries to keep him safe, but when Johnny uncovers a dangerous lead and vows to follow it, Hunt has no choice but to intervene.
  
  Then a second child goes missing . . .
  
  Undeterred by Hunts threats or his mothers pleas, Johnny enlists the help of his last friend, and together they plunge into the wild, to a forgotten place with a history of violence that goes back more than a hundred years. There, they meet a giant of a man, an escaped convict on his own tragic quest. What they learn from him will shatter every notion Johnny had about the fate of his sister; it will lead them to another far place, to a truth that will test both boys to the limit.
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  THE  
  
  
  LAST CHILD
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ALSO BY JOHN HART
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _The King of Lies_
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _Down River_
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # THE  
  
  
  LAST  
  
  
  CHILD
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  JOHN HART
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![Image](../Images/00002.jpg)  
  
  
    
  
  
  MINOTAUR BOOKS  
  
  
  NEW YORK  
  
  
  ![Image](../Images/00003.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events
  portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are
  used fictitiously.
  
  
  
  
  
  A THOMAS DUNNE BOOK FOR MINOTAUR BOOKS.
  
  
  
  
  
  An imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  THE LAST CHILD. Copyright © 2009 by John Hart. All rights reserved. Printed in
  the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced
  in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of
  brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. F