He Who Sings Last is about Jimmy Covelli, an aging singer who has lost his fortune, friends and beauty, and is caught in the middle of a brought back to life cold case investigation of the murder of one of his fans twenty years ago. Miranda Madison has been in love with Jimmy since the first time she went to one of his concerts, which happened to be the night of the murder. Now that she is no longer married, she is bound and determined to make Jimmy her man. Detective John Vintoni is the lead investigator who is researching this cold case. He wants to prove Jimmy is guilty of the murder just as much as Jimmy wants to prove he didn't do it. The more I read, the more I got a hint of why the characters were doing what they did, and what they might do next. On the down side, things sometimes seemed alomost repetitive, a different style of the same thing. If you like murder mysteries, read this. There are plenty of murders between the covers of this book. ( )

Description: Jimmy Covelli is a has-been celebrity who used to front a popular band in the 80s. He leads a quiet, post-fame existence until some ghosts from his past come back to haunt him after nineteen years, when an unsolved murder case is reopened by a zealous New York detective. Covelli charms and harms wherever he goes, and in his destructive path, he leaves behind a host of resentful family members and brokenhearted fans. Will the detective catch him and be able to prove his guilt?

He Who Sings Last is Lisa Laird DiRosso's debut novel and the plotline in general is a winner. A washed up singer, a pathologically jealous younger brother, a fan who has been obsessed for two decades and a hardnosed detective who has been chasing a killer for more than 20 years. This foursome is literary gold from this reader's perspective.

However, Ms. Laird DiRosso added a plethora of other characters that, in my opinion, were generally unnecessary and distracted from the overall story. At times I felt a bit confused by the changing cast. And leading into perhaps my biggest criticism of the book . . . other than the lead detective and perhaps Jimmy Covelli, I felt the characters had not been adequately fleshed out. Without giving away too much of the plot, I would have liked to have further insight into Jimmy Covelli's background and his fractured relationship with his brother. I would also have appreciated a bit slower pace and more character development between the obsessive fan and another character early in the story.

Fortunately, such attention was paid to the character of John Vintoni, the tenacious detective who has been anxious to solve a homicide for years. I believe Vintoni to be the best part of the book - - a likable, relatable character you can empathize with and someone you want to succeed and get his man or woman.

The ending of He Who Sings Last will charm some and put off others. It clearly seems as though at least some of the characters will be returning. Here's hoping that John Vintoni will become a staple in Ms. Laird-DiRosso's future writings.

http://psychoticstate.blogspot.com/2009/09/review-he-who-sings-last-by-lisa-lair... ( )

I was given the opportunity to read Lisa Laird DiRosso’s debut novel He Who Sings Last. I was eager to read this book as I prefer crime and mystery novels given my background and experience in law. The main character, Jimmy Covelli, is an aging, down on his luck former singer of a popular band from the 80’s. There are many characters that come in and out of the story and the author does a great job in providing a good history on the characters, personalities and the relationships as it relates to the story and each other. One of the main characters, Miranda Madison, a fan of Jimmy’s from the past, provides some reader’s the ability to reminiscent about their teen idols as well as the realization how far some people will go to have love.

Understanding Jimmy’s decline and struggles with aging was easy to relate to as I suspect anyone could feel the pain of losing their youth especially someone who could get any woman in his day. Jimmy’s character is further revealed to have some skeletons in the closet with unexpected twists. Another main character, a police detective named John Vintoni, leads the path to uncover the truth behind a murder that was committed and unsolved in 1983. The author provides a good insight into the minds of Jimmy and Detective Vintoni and how they work against one another. Detective Vintoni is committed and nearly obsessed with solving this crime to the point where you aren’t sure you should feel sorry for him or revel in his need to find justice.

The story centers around Jimmy and his manipulative ways and Detective Vintoni’s pursuit to bring justice to the person who committed the murder 19 year’s ago. I found that there was almost too many details on all the characters but I understood the author’s point with trying to weave them altogether. I tried to anticipate the outcome as I kept reading and particularly enjoyed the very accurate court room dialogue. Given my experience with court rooms, the author was very accurate which made it more enjoyable.

Throughout the latter half of the book, I kept anticipating the who done it answer and was left with an interesting ending! I would recommend this book and if you like Sherlock Holmes type stories, this one has the mystery and the criminal components that keeps you reading to the end. ( )

A seedy crooner down on his luck is accused of murder. The story revolves around those who knew him when and those who know him now. The cop, the witnesses, the obsessed fan and trial feature a wide variety of characters and situations.

The book was laid out logically. You meet Jimmy Covelli and before you can find any sympathy for his character you find yourself despising him. John Vintoni, the cop, seems as obsessed with Jimmy Covelli as Miranda the obsessed fan. There were enough twists and turns in the plot to satisfy most mystery fans.

Murders abound in this book, every time you turn around you discover someone else was murdered, an interesting mystery and the first in a series. ( )