4.0 (1 rating)
The Last Cuckoo: A dark domestic thriller about step family problems
Do you listen to your mother? Even after she's dead?After escaping an unhappy marriage, Anna had the rest of her life to look forward to. However, she soon swapped one toxic situation for another. When she plunged from the bannister to the foot of her staircase whilst painting, initial grief swiftly became speculation.
Jamie has minimal support as he mourns his mother. Struggling with his estranged father’s indifference, and demands from the stepfamily Anna has thrust on him, he initially turns his loss and anger inwards. Then the Twitter notifications begin.
Anna Hardaker is following you…
There were no shortage of jealous motives that surrounded Anna prior to her death. And for those left behind, the questions, the blame and toxicity persist as everyone strives to uncover the truth.
Meanwhile, as the tweets increase in number and intensity, Jamie’s world becomes darker and lonelier. Until he finally unleashes his rage to those who remain.
This story about grief takes step family problems to their absolute limit.
Jamie has minimal support as he mourns his mother. Struggling with his estranged father’s indifference, and demands from the stepfamily Anna has thrust on him, he initially turns his loss and anger inwards. Then the Twitter notifications begin.
Anna Hardaker is following you…
There were no shortage of jealous motives that surrounded Anna prior to her death. And for those left behind, the questions, the blame and toxicity persist as everyone strives to uncover the truth.
Meanwhile, as the tweets increase in number and intensity, Jamie’s world becomes darker and lonelier. Until he finally unleashes his rage to those who remain.
This story about grief takes step family problems to their absolute limit.
Published: May 12, 2021
Pages: 288
ISBN: 9781838493240
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Available in: Hardcover
Reader Reviews
4.0
1 rating
Cheyenne Joy .
Feb 8, 2026
Review
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Last Cuckoo by Maria Frankland
I’m just going to jump straight in and say it: this book made me feel betrayed. Personally. Like Maria Frankland reached through the pages, looked me dead in the eye, and said, “Trust me,” and then absolutely did not.
Was it shocking? Not really. Not once I step back and actually think about it. But while I was in it? My head was spinning, my emotions were feral, and I desperately wanted to scream about the ending—except I refuse to be that goblin who ruins things for innocent readers who haven’t yet been emotionally adopted into this deeply disturbing, half-assembled excuse for a family.
Maria has a gift. A cursed one. She knows exactly how to crawl inside your head, rearrange the furniture, and make you feel emotions you didn’t even know were on the menu. This book is no exception.
At first, I was completely gutted. Jamie loses his mother—his person, his safe place, his best friend. Then comes the rejection from his father, the unresolved love that lingers even after her death, and the crushing realization that it used to be the two of them against the world… until it wasn’t.
Enter the new guy. And his daughter. And listen—something about that girl got under my skin immediately. From page one. I felt an aggressive urge to smack her myself, which is never a great sign for my emotional stability.
My heart broke for Jamie. He’s left alone, trying to figure out how to exist after devastating loss. No support from his dad or stepmother. No warmth from his almost-stepdad or stepsister. His love life? Absolute trash fire. And sure, he ends up with money, most of the house, a van, and his mother’s business—but none of that matters when all he wants is her.
The entire time, I wanted to hug him and tell him everything would be okay. And simultaneously shake him by the shoulders and yell, “GET IT TOGETHER.” Grief is valid. Getting lost in it forever? That one’s trickier.
Then again—everyone grieves differently. There’s no expiration date on pain. I know this. Intellectually. Emotionally? I was still yelling at the page.
I also wanted him to stop letting people walk all over him. Stand up. Push back. Choose yourself for once. But no—Maria said, “Let’s make this hurt a little more.”
So why four stars and not five?
Because Maria has written books that have absolutely obliterated me in more satisfying ways. This one hurt, but it hurt in an unfair way—and I have a very personal beef with unfairness, both in fiction and real life.
Four devastating, heartbreaking stars.
And because I refuse to suffer alone, I highly suggest you pick this up and join me on this emotional downward spiral. Hop on the head-spin train. Misery loves company—and this one is beautifully painful.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Last Cuckoo by Maria Frankland
I’m just going to jump straight in and say it: this book made me feel betrayed. Personally. Like Maria Frankland reached through the pages, looked me dead in the eye, and said, “Trust me,” and then absolutely did not.
Was it shocking? Not really. Not once I step back and actually think about it. But while I was in it? My head was spinning, my emotions were feral, and I desperately wanted to scream about the ending—except I refuse to be that goblin who ruins things for innocent readers who haven’t yet been emotionally adopted into this deeply disturbing, half-assembled excuse for a family.
Maria has a gift. A cursed one. She knows exactly how to crawl inside your head, rearrange the furniture, and make you feel emotions you didn’t even know were on the menu. This book is no exception.
At first, I was completely gutted. Jamie loses his mother—his person, his safe place, his best friend. Then comes the rejection from his father, the unresolved love that lingers even after her death, and the crushing realization that it used to be the two of them against the world… until it wasn’t.
Enter the new guy. And his daughter. And listen—something about that girl got under my skin immediately. From page one. I felt an aggressive urge to smack her myself, which is never a great sign for my emotional stability.
My heart broke for Jamie. He’s left alone, trying to figure out how to exist after devastating loss. No support from his dad or stepmother. No warmth from his almost-stepdad or stepsister. His love life? Absolute trash fire. And sure, he ends up with money, most of the house, a van, and his mother’s business—but none of that matters when all he wants is her.
The entire time, I wanted to hug him and tell him everything would be okay. And simultaneously shake him by the shoulders and yell, “GET IT TOGETHER.” Grief is valid. Getting lost in it forever? That one’s trickier.
Then again—everyone grieves differently. There’s no expiration date on pain. I know this. Intellectually. Emotionally? I was still yelling at the page.
I also wanted him to stop letting people walk all over him. Stand up. Push back. Choose yourself for once. But no—Maria said, “Let’s make this hurt a little more.”
So why four stars and not five?
Because Maria has written books that have absolutely obliterated me in more satisfying ways. This one hurt, but it hurt in an unfair way—and I have a very personal beef with unfairness, both in fiction and real life.
Four devastating, heartbreaking stars.
And because I refuse to suffer alone, I highly suggest you pick this up and join me on this emotional downward spiral. Hop on the head-spin train. Misery loves company—and this one is beautifully painful.