Last Place Called Home
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She Writes Press, Berkeley, CA, 2024.
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 and 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 unexpected quarters when several Stanton cops break ranks with their superiors after learning that Snakehead’s real mission is to militarize the police and northern border. Stakes rise as the opioid crisis deepens and Mimi’s daughter sinks further into depression and heroin addiction. Laura’s and Angie’s sons try to save her, but their efforts only place her more at risk and she is forced to run away. Ultimately, the deadly violence being perpetrated all around her—by gangs, dealers, and those running the Snakehead operation—compels Laura to dig deep within herself for the power to take charge.
A fast-paced, multilayered thriller that reveals 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.
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Praise for Last Place Called Home
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.
…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.
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.
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.
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.