The Last Culprit

by Alisa Weis

Overview

When Scott Brighton returns to Gig Harbor, Washington after several decades away, he hardly recognizes his hometown. The once quaint fishing town is now bustling with tourists and strip malls—hardly the uncultivated backdrop of his boyhood. But the years have not erased the unresolved wounds of the past, and Scott quickly finds himself drawn into the wake of a prank gone awry that entangled him and his high school friends in the mid-1970s. Though he returns with high hopes to settle his family here and turn a new page, it quickly becomes evident not everyone has put the past to rest. He must grapple with an apology he never gave, interact with those he thought had moved on, and still remember the harm that he and his peers caused all while raising his son Jared, who is reaching the age he was when he made his gravest mistake. It's not lost on him that Jared reminds him a lot of Jesse Sander, the kid he once picked on—with detrimental effects.​

As Scott crosses paths with some of the key players—some who were innocent— ​how will Scott navigate the unspoken regrets without causing further damage? As he wars with his own conscience, will he find a semblance of rest, or will he cause harm to those he holds dear and have no inkling of what he was once capable of being involved in?

The Last Culprit is a coming-of-age story that explores how people respond to trauma differently and how it leaves an imprint on the heart for good or ill. In her telling of this story, Weis contends with human motivations, the sea between intention and impact, and what it takes to forgive ourselves and others.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781945062179
Publisher:	Inkblots Press
Publication date:	12/03/2024
Pages:	300
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

Editorial Reviews

We like to think our actions are benign, and any harm we cause can easily be undone. But what if we're wrong? What if a "harmless prank" extends into years of injury and guilt? The Last Culprit reflects on this question, exploring how both victim and perpetrator search for restoration and wholeness. It is a wise and beautiful story, well worth reading.

Connie Hampton Connally

The historical accuracy of The Last Culprit is fun to read. Gee, I wonder who Alisa—I mean the author could've consulted to get 1973 Gig Harbor so right?

Greg Spadoni

There are few Pacific Northwest writers that can better capture both location and dramatic intent than Alisa Weis, and her new novel, The Last Culprit, once again delivers. In a coastal sea town, there is an old scandal better left forgotten. But that's not how secrets work. So when Scott Brighton returns to his hometown of Gig Harbor, WA, the old ashes of high school revenge are once again stirred up. In Weis' gifted pen, we are offered a spectrum of raw emotions, where bitterness, fear, and guilt hang in the balance of redemption. Like her superb second novel, The Emblem, Alisa Weis continues her mastery in The Last Culprit.

." -E. Hank Buchmann

We are always the last person we find the courage to forgive. Scott Brighton awakens to that challenge as he unpacks years of guilt over his role in a youthful prank that went terribly wrong. But the truth could come at a price he's unwilling to pay. Through deft storytelling and empathetic insight, Alisa Weis takes us into the heart of her character's passage from darkness into light.

D.L. Fowler