L.S. Hilton’s Ultima: thrillogy complete
by Henry CoburnL .S. Hilton made waves in 2016 with Maestra in 2016 – the biggest-selling debut of that year – and was named Glamour Magazine’s ‘Writer of the Year’. Now, after the continued success of 2017’s Domina, Hilton is back with another spicy thriller set in the seething underbelly of the international art scene – Ultima.
Part serial imposter and part serial murderer, Judith Rashleigh has been making a profile for herself under the guise of European art dealer Elizabeth Teerlinc, at the cost of numerous lives and countless lies with which she has buried her past. But now things are coming to a head for Judith when she is caught between the schemes of a corrupt detective and a murderous Russian mafioso, when she is forced to forge a masterpiece of modern art even more ingenious than her false identity. Judith is caught in the spotlight amidst a tightening circle and, as always, the Devil is in the detail.
With writing that is as stiletto-heel sharp and provocative as Hilton’s previous novels, Ultima delivers the same profound, decadent and shockingly-uninhibited journey through its central character’s bloodlust and extreme sexual escapades alongside the glamour of the bass-tag art scene of the novel’s setting. Judith is wise-cracking, unapologetic, and (if they ever crossed paths), would certainly give Mr. Kiss-Kiss-Bang-Bang a run for his money – and his life.
Hilton is once again running the gamut of controversy with yet another uncompromising thriller that makes few excuses for breaking the rules. Like it or lump it – this is at the top of ER’s belated Summer read pile.
L.S. Hilyon, Ultima, Zaffre, 334 pages, available in hardback, paperback, Kindle and audiobook, from £3.99 to £10.24.
