Last Place Called Home: A Novel

by Betsy Hartmann

Overview

As the secret federal sting operation Snakehead targets the fentanyl trade, the small mill town of Stanton, Massachusetts, becomes a battlefield in the war on drugs. In the midst of this turmoil, three mothers—newspaper reporter Laura Everett, businesswoman Mimi Sullivan, and machinist Angie Gillen—must overcome their differences and confront their pasts to keep their troubled teenagers out of the crossfire.

Help comes from two Stanton cops who break ranks after discovering Snakehead’s hidden agenda. Stakes rise as the opioid crisis deepens and Mimi’s daughter sinks further into heroin addiction. Laura and Angie’s sons try to save her, but their efforts only place her at greater risk. Ultimately, the deadly violence threatening the community compels Laura to dig deep within herself for the power to take charge.

A fast-paced, multilayered thriller that spotlights the high human costs of the drug war, Last Place Called Home is also a story about love and loyalty to family, friends, and place. Stanton is a hard place to live in—but it’s an even harder place to leave.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781647426422
Publisher:	She Writes Press
Publication date:	07/16/2024
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Author, scholar, and activist Betsy Hartmann addresses critical national and global challenges in her books, articles, and public appearances. She is the author of the feminist classic Reproductive Rights and Wrong: The Global Politics of Population Control and of The America Syndrome: Apocalypse, War and Our Call to Greatness. Eerily prescient, her two political thrillers, The Truth about Fire and Deadly Election, explore the threat the Far Right poses to American democracy. Betsy did her undergraduate degree at Yale University and her PhD at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is professor emerita of Development Studies at Hampshire College, where she taught for twenty-eight years. She lives in Amherst, Massachusetts. Last Place Called Home is her latest book. For more on Betsy, visit www.betsyhartmann.com.

Editorial Reviews

"Betsy Hartmann’s novel is a beautiful literary creation with a setting that feels like a character in its own right. The setting is so finely drawn that readers can feel the town, visualize its alleys, and quickly follow its rhythm. The characters are multidimensional, each of them with a haunting background . . . Intimacy, love, addiction, and redemption are cleverly developed themes in this thrilling novel."—Readers’ Favorite

"Brace yourself for a riveting, intricate thriller that lays bare the harrowing toll of the drug war. . . In a society plagued by the detrimental effects of drug abuse, Betsy Hartmann emerges as a beacon of knowledge and awareness. Through her exceptional writing, she has shed light on the grave issue of drug addiction and its pervasive impact on our communities."—Midwest Book Review

“This is a novel about the complexities of love and loyalty, and the heart-wrenching choices people are sometimes forced to make . . . While Last Place Called Home offers fresh insights into the tragedies of the drug crisis, it also celebrates the restorative power of nature and the surprising resilience people find within themselves.”
—Corinne Demas, author of The Road Towards Home and The Writing Circle

  “. . . The emotional grip never lets go, and the plot is as believable as it is intricate and dramatic. . . . Last Place Called Home brings to life the truth of a community in all its human aspects, and delivers a visceral understanding important to our divided times.”
—Roger King, author of Love and Fatigue in America and The Girl from Zanzibar

  “Hartmann masterfully brings home the national opioid crisis to a declining town where loyalty is a dangerous concept and no one—even the law—can be trusted. The heartbreaking desperation of its mothers, lovers, and friends will shake your conscience and keep you guessing until the very last page.”
—Marisa Labozzetta, author of A Day in June

  “Betsy Hartmann takes us deep into the lives of three flawed but ultimately heroic women seeking to resist the opioid epidemic in their homes and community . . . Filled with characters whose fate you will long ponder, Last Place Called Home is both a compelling read and a plea for community engagement in countering the opioid crisis.
—Michael Klare, defense correspondent for The Nation and author of All Hell Breaking Loose: The Pentagon's Perspective on Climate Change

  “Betsy Hartmann brings compassion and rage to her absorbing novel . . . Ms. Hartmann has crafted an intimate page turner that reveals the relation between drug policy and the economy of despair while confronting the fraying bonds between youthful friends, and between parents and their children. Last Place Called Home is a nail-biting drama of loss and redemption.”
—Bill Fried, activist and writer on drug policy and former staff member, Law Enforcement Action Partnership

From the Publisher