“Charm aplenty.”
—Kirkus Reviews

"This well-paced murder mystery carries the reader along even after the identity of the culprit becomes clear. Believable narrative twists combined with excellent characterization, rich dialogue and a finely depicted setting will please lovers of old style deductive detective fiction." —Publishers Weekly

"The characters are rich and involving—the clever and commanding Cenni, a sensual and witchy Croatian florist, a priest who sacrifices his vows for a beautiful woman. Fans of Donna Leon or Hakan Nesser will be ecstatic to find a kindred spirit in Grace Brophy." — Bookpage (designated Mystery of the Month)

"Brophy teases out each layer of clues with a deft hand that betrays few of the usual first-novel clunkers, helped greatly by strong knowledge of the locale she's chosen. Cenni is well set up to return, and traditional mystery readers should welcome his continued investigations." —Baltimore Sun

 
"Brophy has a good feel for characters—Cenni’s colleagues, family members, and adversaries are all full-fledged personalities—and she turns Assisi’s landscape, religion soaked history, and near-impregnable insularity into powerful tools for generating a foreboding tone. Cenni is sure to please fans of David Hewson’s Nic Costa, and all readers of Italian mysteries will want to add Umbria to their literary itineraries." —Booklist  

"Grace Brophy provides a beautifully layered, carefully crafted story that will keep you engaged from cover to cover." —I Love a Mystery

"In this well-constructed, traditional mystery, the Umbrian landscape and culture are major story elements. Bribery, gossip, and corruption constantly intrude on Cenni's police work, and even old Italian witchcraft becomes a part of the mystery . . . . Smooth writing, vivid characters, gentle humor, and an appealing protagonist make this a very good read."  —Mystery Scene

“This is a terrific Italian historical police procedural . . . fast-paced and never slows down. Grace Brophy provides an entertaining whodunit.” —Midwest Book Review

 
"A treat for Donna Leon fans" —Mystery Lovers Review

Carefully plotted and overflowing with intriguing characterizations, The Last Enemy is a first-rate police procedural by a debut novelist; the settings are seductive, the dialogue is compelling, and the mystery is fantastic. Don't miss it! —Bookloons  

"If THE LAST ENEMY is an example of her abilities, then Grace Brophy is going to be an important writer in the genre."   —Reviewing the Evidence

"[T]he story flourishes in its cloistered setting."  —New York Times

"Readers will be hard pressed to find a more powerful passage in current literature than the description of the war crimes transcript for the murder of Sergio Orlic and the rapes of his wife, Sophie, and their daughter, Christina that Commissario Cenni uncovers in his investigation of Rita Minelli’s death. Brophy’s book has major literary merit and deserves a major audience for her ingenious invention of the delightfully “startling and unpleasant incidents and people” in her book. "                                 —Mysterious Reviews