The Last Detective

Amazon.com

Don't start reading The Last Detective with much on your calendar. This tense, satisfying thriller will glue you to your chair, as private eye Elvis Cole--the star of eight previous Robert Crais novels, prior to the Cole-less Demolition Angel and Hostage--faces his toughest case: the abduction of his girlfriend's son, 10-year-old Ben Chenier, who was staying with Elvis when he was snatched.

Panic at Ben's disappearance turns to terror when the kidnapper phones to reveal his apparent motive, a dark secret from Elvis's past. But the plot thickens and twists, and then twists again, as Elvis and his longtime buddy, tough guy Joe Pike, race the clock against a group of villains as sinister as they are capable. The author mixes Elvis's first-person narration with third-person sections that describe other points of view--a risky technique, but Crais makes it work. He also does a fine job resurrecting the wisecracking Elvis of earlier books while imbuing him with a new depth and darkness.

This dazzlingly plotted, crisply told story is threaded with real detection (what a rarity!) and peopled by characters you can't help but care about--including Carol Starkey, the haunted bomb-squad cop from Demolition Angel, who's now a juvenile-abduction detective. Crais has long been getting better with each book, and The Last Detective continues the pattern. --Nicholas H. Allison

Book Description

P.I. Elvis Cole’s relationship with attorney Lucy Chenier is strained. Then the unthinkable happens. While Lucy is away on business and her ten-year-old son Ben is staying with Elvis, the boy vanishes without a trace. When the kidnappers call, it’s not for ransom, but for a promise to punish Cole for past sins he claims he didn’t commit. With the LAPD wrestling over the case, and the boy’s estranged father attempting to take control of the investigation, Cole vows to find Ben first. But Cole’s partner, Joe Pike, knows more about this case than he has said. Pike lives in a world where dangerous men commit crimes beyond all reckoning. Now, one of those men is alive and well in L.A.—and calling Elvis Cole to war. . . .

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Elvis Cole is back...

With his acclaimed bestsellers, Hostage (a New York Times Notable Book) and Demolition Angel, Robert Crais drew raves for his unstoppable pacing, edgy characterizations, and cinematic prose.

Now, in The Last Detective, Crais returns to his signature character, Los Angeles private investigator Elvis Cole, in a masterful page-turner that probes the meaning of family and the burdens of the past.

Elvis Cole's relationship with attorney Lucy Chenier is strained. When she moved from Louisiana to join Elvis in Los Angeles, she never dreamed that violence would so easily touch her life -- but then the unthinkable happens. While Lucy is away on business and her ten-year-old son, Ben, is staying with Elvis, Ben disappears without a trace. Desperate to believe that the boy has run away, evidence soon mounts to suggest a much darker scenario.

Joining forces with his enigmatic partner, Joe Pike, Elvis frantically searches for Ben with the help of LAPD Detective Carol Starkey, as Lucy's wealthy, oil-industry ex-husband attempts to wrest control of the investigation. Amid the maelstrom of personal conflicts, Elvis and Joe are forced to consider a more troubling lead -- one indicating that Ben's disappearance is connected to a terrible, long-held secret from Elvis Cole's past.

Venturing deep inside a complex psyche, Crais explores Elvis's need for family -- the military that embraced him during a troubled adolescence, his rock-solid partnership with Pike, and his floundering relationship with Lucy -- as they race the clock in their search for Ben.

The Last Detective is Robert Crais's richest, most intense tale of suspense yet.

Customer Reviews:

A gripping read.......2007-09-24

This was a fast paced thriller that is sure to be one of Robert Crais' best books. It grabbed my senses from the very beginning and didn't let up until I finished reading the exciting ending. I think that it is probably one of the darkest books in the series, and it is fascinating how it explores Elvis' past, and Joe Pike's hidden insecurities. I couldn't put the book down and I read it over a two evening period. The only disappointment was the solution of the kidnapping...a little bit contrived and unrealistic in my mind. Still, this is a roller coaster read and I highly recommend it.

The World's Dumbest Dectective.......2007-02-08

Robert Crais came highly recommended to me by several fans of his, so I read 'The Last Detective.' I was so disappointed. I could not believe that Elvis Cole had no idea or clue who kidnapped Ben! Robert Crais had that telegraphed from the first page!! I was also disappointed in the military descriptions--very many telling mistakes. I was most disappointed in the very many grammatical mistakes that were made by the author. He could definitely use a college level writing class to improve his grammar. He writes as though he has no understanding of the English language. I was very disappointed in this book. I will read no more of this author; he does not deserve my time.

First, but not last.......2006-10-14

"The Last Detective" was my first Robert Crais book, but it won't be my last. An excellent, exciting, well written book. A cliffhanger throughout.

An Entertaining Thriller.......2006-07-14

Several centuries ago in his "Essays:Of Studies",Francis Bacon wrote:"Some books are to be tasted,others to be swallowed;and some few to be chewed and digested". Robert Crais's "The Last Detective" eaily falls in the realm of the third category with its explosive suspense,taut language and a cutting edge. This is a colossal suspense thriller that reflects the contemporary American author's exemplar of grouping inexplicable facets of suspense and gifting them the shape and size of words. This is a great thriller that would keep the reader on tenterhooks for a long,long time.

Elvis Cole is a private investigator who has made Los Angeles his abode and is spending some quite and refreshing days with Ben Chenier,his girlfriend Lucy Chenier's 10-year-old son. But all fantasies of smoothness and placidity escape out of the window when Ben mysteriously disappears from his house and is confirmed to be kidnapped. A beliguered mother,a hysterical father(Richard Chenier) and the distrust of the concerned authorities were never enough obstacles for Elvis to contend with in his race against time to recover the boy but when his past rushes catastrophically to his present and haunt him severely,Elvis comprehends that it's a trifle too much to undertake the adventure on his own and invokes Joe Pike,his trusted but enigmatic friend who also happens to be an ex-Marine.

Teaming up with Joe and the Juvenile Section detective Carol Starkey,Elvis decides to brush the kidnappers' threat aside and safely claw out Ben from their net. But it was never easy,it's never so and neither will it ever be and as Elvis turns over the pages of his very own history,he's mystified and aghast at his army days. He can't fathom the validity of the atrocity that the kidnappers allege he committed during the Vietnam War but time teaches him that it's all a decoy. Joe,Elvis and Carol piece out the puzzle but realise that they must be discreet and on top of teir game to master a criminal who's turning out to be an international criminal.....

This is Elvis and Joe's ninth case together and is really a genuine jewel for all fanatics of suspense thrillers. But "The Last Detective" isn't just a regular thriller steeped in one-dimensional perspective;Robert Crais lends,and lends successfully,a pluraristic touch to his novel. The maddening,and at times flattering,grief of a father whose son has been kidnapped,the petrified image of a mother whose child is amidst uncertain propositins and a man's desperation to undo his guilt are superbly mirrored in the principle characters of the book. Crais's graphic portrayal of the terrifying images of the Vietnam War framed in a woodwork of guilty reflections accentuates yet another dimension to his work.

"The Last Detective" is a fantastic mystery book deeply soaked in hair-raising adventure. Every word---and virtually every letter---sends around a rippling sense of awe and apprehension and there's not a line that's out of the context. Robert Crais is focussed,ambitious and clear in his work decipher a disdain of anticlimax when the solution comes out into the daylight before the end of the book,he should confess that the ation that follows thereafter augments to the book's charm. "The Last Detective" is a superbly drawn thriller,one that is to be read,and re-read and savour.

Real Good Crais.......2006-04-28

Crais' books seem to be either real bad or real good and I'm happy to say this is real good. As others have noted, not as good as "L.A. Requiem" but certainly good enough to keep me glued from beginning to end. The characters here are not too subtle -- they're either really really evil or really really noble. And the kid's just a little too precocious. But, all in all, it was a very entertaining, engrossing read. I like Crais and will continue to look forward to his offerings. (Interestingly, Crais salutes fellow author Michael Connelly by having Cole bump into Harry Bosch, who lives down the road from Cole. They promise to get together for a beer. Very nice touch!)

The Bookwoman's Last Fling: A Cliff Janeway Novel (Cliff Janeway Novels)

Average customer rating:

Bloodstock & Books
OK, but not the best in the series
My least favorite Cliff Janeway book
Snow in Modesto???
Does this irritate anyone else?

The Bookwoman's Last Fling: A Cliff Janeway Novel (Cliff Janeway Novels)
John Dunning
Manufacturer: Pocket
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1416523391

Book Description

In another enthralling bestseller by "master yarn spinner" (Chicago Sun-Times) John Dunning, rare book dealer and relentless private eye Cliff Janeway unravels a deadly plot marked by stolen classics and stable secrets.

When wealthy horse trainer H. R. Geiger dies, Denver bookman Cliff Janeway encounters the legacy of the man's wife, Candice, a true bookwoman who left behind an assortment of rare first-edition children's books. Sent to assess the collection, Janeway soon finds that several titles are missing, replaced by cheap reprints -- while other hugely expensive pieces remain. Why would a thief take one priceless book and leave an equally valuable volume on the shelf? Suspecting foul play, Janeway follows the trail of Candice's shadowy past to California's Golden Gate and Santa Anita racetracks, where he signs on as a racehorse hot walker. Eavesdropping on the chatter among the hands, he doesn't like what he hears. And when he goes to the house where Candice died to look for answers, Janeway finds much more than he bargained for.

Customer Reviews:

Bloodstock & Books.......2007-10-02

Somehow this Cliff Janeway title does not quite make the scene of either the horse-world or book-world. An accidentally pass-up of a John D. McDonald, which is gone when Cliff returns is the substance of the bibliophile theme readers have loved in Dunning's tales.
The plot staggers alone with dominate father, disappointing son's, murder and greed, but never quite comes together. Is Dunning trying to wrap up an intriguing series?
Nash Black, author of SINS OF THE FATHERS and TRAVELERS.

OK, but not the best in the series.......2007-08-29

I have read all of the Janeway books and have really enjoyed them. However, this one was a disappointment. I found it meandered and felt the pacing of the story was very slow. I had a hard time not skipping sections or reading ahead. (I am also getting a little frustrated by how 'perfect' Janeway is, every woman loves him, he can beat any man in a fight, etc.)

In short, this books is 'good enough' to keep reading, and is 'good enough' not to give up on the series, but I would not recommend it to someone unfamiliar with Janeway/Dunning.

My least favorite Cliff Janeway book.......2007-08-29

I have really enjoyed all of the previous Janeway novels but this one just wasn't as good. I'm not much of a horse person either so the setting didn't promote my interest. I also felt like he backed himself in the corner with who the killer was... jeez I guess all of the logical suspects have been eliminated so lets just bring in a new guy.

In any case I do think John Dunning writes well - this just isn't his best work.

Snow in Modesto???.......2007-08-08

I loved this book. My only gripe is that when Cliff escapes from the burning car, he finds himself lying in SNOW??? Outside of MODESTO??? He's just driven from Idaho, where the horses are being exercised with no mention of snow, so you know it's not deep winter. Believe me, if there's snow on the ground in Modesto, hell would be a bit frosty!

Does this irritate anyone else?.......2007-08-06

I ran onto it in the first chapter: it occurs four or five times. Maybe it doesn't bother anyone else: it's just a grammatical absurdity. Why does he use a colon (:) when a semi-colon(;) is what's called for? I've never run into this before. Does he not know, or does he not care? I had to decide if I wanted to read the other 35 chapters, enduring this, or dump it. I did read them all, and it is a pretty good story: but why does he do this to us grammaticians?

The Harry Bosch Novels Volume 2: The Last Coyote, Trunk Music, Angels Flight

Average customer rating:

a serial killer
Gift
Another 'can't put down' book
A great read!
Well up to his high standard

The Harry Bosch Novels Volume 2: The Last Coyote, Trunk Music, Angels Flight
Michael Connelly
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0316614564

Book Description

THE LAST COYOTE: LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch is suspended from the force for attacking his commanding officer. Unable to remain idle, he investigates the long-unsolved murder of a Hollywood prostitute-his mother. TRUNK MUSIC:Harry returns to the force to investigate the murder of a movie producer with Mafia ties.Up against both the LAPD's organized crime unit and the Mob, Harry follows the money trail to Las Vegas, where the case becomes personal. ANGELS FLIGHT:The murder of a prominent attorney who made his career suing the police for racism and brutality lands Harry's friends and associates on the list of suspects-and he must work closely with longtime enemies suspicious of his maverick ways to investigate them.

Customer Reviews:

a serial killer.......2007-09-18

Several weeks ago, I picked up a Harry Bosch novel in a local book store. Since then I have ordered 12 other of the series from Amazon. I only have three left to read. Each novel stands alone, but if you read the series in order, it's a lot more fun. Great detectuve stories by a very readable author.

Gift.......2007-01-12

I have no idea what this book is like, I ordered it for my niece for Christmas. He is her favorite author :)

Another 'can't put down' book.......2006-11-04

Harry Bosch is now a 'friend'. When I needed relief from my busy life - I
escaped by reading his cases. I am ordering more Michael Connelly books!!

A great read!.......2006-08-28

After reading the "Dark Tower" series, twice, I was looking for another series for my reading time. I never had read any kind of mystery/crime/police type novels before. I kind of feel like I started with the best which is kind of depressing, I will always compare anything else in this genre to Harry Bosch!

I love Harry! Yea he has an attitude, and you would too if you were lugging the steamer trunk of baggae he does.

This book is essentially 4-6 of the Harry Bosch run. Worth the time and money!

Well up to his high standard.......2006-03-10

As I write this I have only read book #1, The Last Coyote and I enjoyed it thoroughly. It is probably best, I think, to read the Bosch novels in sequence; then you may appreciate better the developing plots which sometimes refer back to previous events. But each novel can, of course, be enjoyed on its own.

Average customer rating:

A lot of death
Don't Waste Your Time
A Birthday Present that turned into a Sour Read
Couldn't 'Stand' any more! (1.5 stars)
Incredible...

Last Man Standing
David Baldacci
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0446525804
Release Date: 2001-11-06

Amazon.com

As a pretty psychiatrist puzzles over the corners of Web's brain that kept him alive, Web himself stays on the move. He's certain that the ambush is connected to the prison escape of a neofascist leader, Ernest B. Free, whom he helped arrest five years earlier, and a series of new murders leads him to a Virginia horse farm and the driving force behind all the carnage. It may seem as though Baldacci gives away the mastermind too soon, but both the bad guys and the good guys are complex enough that there's plenty of punch all the way to the last page. --Barrie Trinkle

Book Description

Last Man Standing has the essential elements of a terrific DavidBaldacci novel: a tough but tender-hearted hero, dirty dealings in the nation'sbureaucracy, and a roller-coaster plot. Web London, a member of the FBI'sHostage Rescue Team, froze up on a drug raid and thus became the sole survivorof a remote-controlled ambush that killed six of his compatriots. Now the onlywitness has disappeared and the inside man on the botched raid has goneunderground. As a pretty psychiatrist puzzles over the corners of Web's brain that kept himalive, Web himself stays on the move. He's certain that the ambush is connectedto the prison escape of a neofascist leader, Ernest B. Free, whom he helpedarrest five years earlier, and a series of new murders leads him to a Virginiahorse farm and the driving force behind all the carnage. It may seem as thoughBaldacci gives away the mastermind too soon, but both the bad guys and the goodguys are complex enough that there's plenty of punch all the way to the lastpage. --Barrie Trinkle

Download Description

It took ten seconds for Web London to lose everything: his friends, his team, his reputation. Point man of the FBI's super-elite Hostage Rescue Team, Web roared into a blind alley toward a drug dealer's lair, only to meet a high-tech, custom-designed ambush that killed everyone around him. Now coping with the blame-filled words of anguished widows and the suspicions of colleagues, Web tries to put his life back together with the help of his psychiatrist, Dr. Claire Daniels. To do so, he must discover why he was the one man who lived through the ambush--and find the only other person who came out of that alley alive . . . a ten-year-old boy who has since disappeared.

Web's search leads him from inner-city Washington, D.C., to the rolling hills of Virginia horse country--while people connected to him are violently silenced. Acting on his instincts, Web believes he knows where the killer will strike next. Only this time, he may not survive the attack. Last Man Standing is an explosive psychological thriller about a man desperate to find answers--from the secret terrors he has kept from himself to his unbearable guilt. His fight to save himself and those he cares for will come at a high cost . . . and threaten everything he has grown to believe in. With vividly realized characters and a breathtaking pace, this is another spellbinding novel from David Baldacci, one of today's best storytellers.

Customer Reviews:

A lot of death.......2007-10-05

It seems that every chapter contains a death. As soon as a character becomes pivotal to the plot they get killed off in hopes that suspense is created. Come on, you have to be able to create suspense a little more emotionally and creative. It was a very fast paced book and I did want to find out who was behind everything. But I quickly got tired of being teased.

Don't Waste Your Time.......2007-09-19

This review relates to the audio version of Last Man Standing. I listened to 22 hours of this book only find it had the worst ending ever. The budding romance that had been developing throughout the book, even up to the last chapters, died so suddenly that I was sure there was more to come, until the reader's next words were, "The End." It was as if David Baldacci got tired of writing this book and decided to finish it off quickly. This was my first attempt at a David Baldacci and I think it will be a long time before I get the courage up to read/listen to another. My sympathies to anyone currently listening to this story.

A Birthday Present that turned into a Sour Read.......2007-07-30

I received this book as a birthday present many months ago, and the gift brought a grateful smile to my face since I have enjoyed many of David Baldacci's novels, i.e., Absolute Power, A Simple Truth and others and within a few days I was reading Last Man Standing. Overall, I thought the Web London character was boring and shallow. As an FBI hostage team assaulter he seemed more like a loose cannon rather than a team player which I suspect is the SOP for the FBI. The story is plastered with police that have nothing to fill their time with except to shoot bazookas like guns and love every minute of their destruction. Sometimes I had to laugh because some of the author's scenarios were so bizarre and far-fetched. I won't go into the constant splattering of foul, almost detestable language, which I didn't feel added much to the plot. There were few surprises and I felt I was sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what would happen next.

Anyway, in my opinion Last Man Standing doesn't seem to fit Mr. Baldacci's style of a thrilling mystery novel that is at least realistic to a degree and his intensive research into the subject matter that he noted for. One last thought I think the book could have been shorten by at least 50 or 60 pages. It's not a terrible novel, it's a good read and I wouldn't recommend purchasing a hardcover, but pick up a paperback.

For you Mystery fans I encourage you to take a look at the gripping novel The Monopoly Factor by Robert L. Saunders. I finished reading it a week ago and the incredible effort in which the author used in his style of storytelling bring this thrilling mystery to the forefront of an excellent page turning read. You won't be disappointed. It's absolutely a top-notch novel. Have a good day.

Couldn't 'Stand' any more! (1.5 stars).......2007-07-19

My first(and probably last) David Baldacci novel. I gave it an extra half a star for at least starting off well, with an interesting premise, and some believable action scenes and character motives. Then, apparently Baldacci took a long lunch, and let that room full of monkeys bang away on typewriters until they'd finished the story!
Way too many characters, subplots and 'Bet you thought we'd forgotten about THIS!'-style twists and revelations tacked onto the end of the story. Most of the characters and their dialogue, are corny and forgettable. By the time I reached the end, I just didn't care how any of it fit together.
The guy who suggested that anyone who likes this book should try reading Harlan Coben was insulting Harlan Coben. As cliched as Coben's books are, Baldacci surpasses him in stilted prose, and stale cliches.

Incredible..........2007-05-30

...in its mediocrity. I have a hard time believing that David Baldacci even wrote this. Having read and enjoyed several of his other books I at first guessed it was either a very (very, very) early work where he was still a "green" writer or it was a later book where he'd suffered Author Burnout.

The plot isn't too complicated. You have this super-Gman type who, in the opening chapter, freezes during an assault by his team and ends up being the "last man standing," or in this case, lying down. After that, it's basically a story of why his team was set up and why he froze, including a tremendously tedious visit to an - surprise, surprise - attractive psychoanalyst. Then there are some scenes with his coworkers that are trite to the point of agony.

This story has so many things wrong with it, besides what's already been mentioned. First, there are too many point of view characters which makes the story hard to follow. Then there are far too many areas of the book where nothing of interest happens. For example, if you're going to detail a therapy session in a book it'd better be a revealing one - Baldacci's wasn't. Calling the book dull is an understatement.

After the first chapter the story drags on and on with little or no build up to sustain interest. Compared with the rest of the field it deserves no better than 2 stars. Against Baldacci's other stories it merits less than 1 star. If you've never read Baldacci before, please skip this one.

Average customer rating:

A blend of psychological thriller, mystery and police procedural!
Sensitive Cold-Case Crime Novel
Twisting and turning until the end...
Another good one
One of Michael Connelly's best books in the Bosch series

The Last Coyote (Harry Bosch)
Michael Connelly
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312958455

Book Description

Harry Bosch's life is on the edge. His earthquake-damaged home has been condemned. His girlfriend has left him. He's drinking too much. And after attacking his commanding officer, he's even had to turn in his L.A.P.D. detective's badge. Now, suspended indefinitely pending a psychiatric evaluation, he's spending his time investigating an unsolved crime from 1961: the brutal slaying of a prostitute who happened to be his own mother.Even after three decades, Harry's questions generate heat among L.A.'s top politicos. And as the truth begins to emerge, it becomes more and more apparent that someone wants to keep it buried. Someone very powerful....very cunning....and very deadly.Edgar Award-winning author Michael Connelly has created a dark, fast-paced suspense thriller that cuts to the core of Harry Bosch's character. Once you start it, there's no turning back.

Customer Reviews:

A blend of psychological thriller, mystery and police procedural!.......2006-12-24

LAPD's Harry Bosch is a troubled man with what the lay person would call lots of issues and some serious psychological baggage. His childhood as a county ward was unhappy and troubled, his wife has left him for good and his home is condemned to the wrecker's ball as a result of recent earthquake damage. When Bosch shoved his superior officer through a plate glass window in the precinct office as a result of his interference in an interrogation, he is summarily suspended, put onto stress leave and his return to active duty was stalled pending a positive report from mandatory psychiatric counselling with Dr Carmen Hinojos. Conversations with Hinojos on his personal life vision, "Everybody counts or nobody counts", together with a review of his family history, prod an angry Bosch into the realization that he (like the LAPD of some thirty years earlier) had swept his mother's murder under the carpet because she was just a prostitute - a life that didn't count for anything and one whose murder wasn't worth the time, effort and expenditure to solve. Against all the rules of his suspension from duty and all of Hinojos' best advice, Bosch pulls his mother's murder book and the scanty box of evidence from the police vaults and sets himself on a belated personal mission to solve his mother's murder and bring her killer to belated justice.

In a superb blend of psychological thriller, mystery and police procedural, "The Last Coyote" is told strictly from Bosch's point of view but Connelly masterfully flicks from one scene to another - the proverbial psychiatric couch of Dr Hinojos' office; the memories of his troubled youth as the son of a prostitute and a ward at McLaren Hall; Bosch's musings and self-recriminations as he gingerly walks the tautly strung high wire of his own nerves and personally evaluates his life, his actions and his conversations with Dr Hinojos; and, of course, the exciting discovery of his mother's murderer as the events of thirty years earlier impact on those still alive today.

I think it's safe to generalize that psychological thrillers only succeed when the characters are superbly drawn and I think it's also safe to say that Connelly has succeeded once again in bringing an irascible, self-absorbed and driven yet self-doubting Bosch to life for his faithful readers. We are happily witness to his growth and pain as he meets and falls for Jasmine, a lady whose troubled history competes with Bosch's own!

In a marked departure from his other works, Connelly has also treated us to a small slice of mysticism with the introduction of Bosch's dreams of a coyote - his animal totem appearing to him in a vision quest, as it were! It is Bosch's personal identification with the lost, wandering coyote that provides him with insight into his own personal travails as he seeks to re-establish purpose and meaning into a life that is drifting aimlessly!

And, of course, like all well crafted thrillers, the ending comes with a twist that will catch you totally flat-footed. Five stars and two thumbs up to a totally enjoyable read ... again!

Paul Weiss

Sensitive Cold-Case Crime Novel.......2006-08-30

Harry Bosch delves into the/his past to come to terms with his mother's murder that happened 33 years ago. He gets pretty aggressive and clever at digging out facts that might help him find the killer. If you enjoy whodunits: use the facts and think it through to get the killer, it should be fairly satisfying.

I was more interested in the character than in solving the crime, but both are intriguing. Harry becomes increasingly lovable and a surprising romance is delightful. Just enough to set off the imagination. Even better, the new love interest isn't tossed aside (but I do not know if she resurfaces again in future MC novels). I like MC's overall philosophy, which comes out in his writing.

Two MC books read so far (Lincoln Lawyer is the other one). Still, saw a formula and these books were years apart. I'll be reading more for sure.

Twisting and turning until the end..........2006-05-31

In The Last Coyote, number 4 in Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series, the LAPD homicide detective finds himself in the cooker. This is not an unusual place for Bosch to be as even his own colleagues call him "an outsider in an insiders job." But things are even more serious this time around. LA is still recovering from an earthquake, and Bosch's cantilevered house has been condemned. Bosch's girlfriend has left for Italy (a permanent move). Bosch is also recovering from his own earthquake in a meltdown that caused him to put his boss through a glass window at the office. The Last Coyote finds Bosch on forced leave and his return to the job is based on the findings of police psychologist, Dr. Carmen Hinojos.

In Bosch's sessions with Dr Hinojos, one theme keeps coming up--the unsolved murder of his mother, Marjorie Lowe. Lowe was a prostitute and lost Harry to an orphanage when the city determined she was an unfit mother. She was trying to turn her life around and regain custody of 11 year old Harry when she was brutally murdered. Lowe "knew" a number of police officers and men in high places, and it is obvious that there was a cover-up. With his free time, Harry decides to try and solve this 33 year old case. This is not always easy as some of the key players are dead and some have disappeared. Also, he has to do it without a gun or a badge, which makes the situation even more dangerous and also makes witnesses more reluctant to talk. As with all Connelly books, The Lost Coyote will keep you twisting until the end and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.

Connelly is an incredible writer with a keen eye. When Bosch discovers one of the original detectives that investigated his mother's death, he muses "Something about the old case was like a pebble in his shoe. He had worked it over to the side where it didn't hurt when he walked. But it was still there. Bosch had to make him want to take it out." I also stumbled upon Connelly's website which enhanced the book even more with the many photos included that tie in with each book. His books have enticed me to think about a trip to LA--something that never appealed to me before.

I'm hooked enough on Connelly and Bosch that I have already started the next book, Trunk Music. I'm not going to stop until I'm done them all.

Another good one.......2006-03-23

Bosch is back and finally diving into his mother's murder case while he's been place on involuntary leave. Our favorite detective is put through the ringer and has to come face to face with some rather ulgy demons from his past. One girlfriend hits the road and another is quickly picked up on the rebound. For a workaholic, Bosch gets around. This time, however, our rebound chick has some baggage--then again-so did our last girlfriend. Her husband was a psycho-cop. So maybe he just attracts women with serious baggage. Though this was another multi-layered and complex case, I was able to figure out the real killer pretty early. But with Connelly, the journey is just as intriguing as the destination.

One of Michael Connelly's best books in the Bosch series .......2006-02-28

Harry is on suspension for hitting his commanding officer. Part of the suspension includes seeing a psychologist. Less than thrilled Harry participates reluctantly but begins to understand why he's been so angry lately. He has a job that he's been putting off. He must find out who murdered his mother, a prostitute. This book really gets inside Harry's head like no other. We understand who he is and what makes him tick. He discovers his mother's murder may have been swept under the rug by the politics of the 1950s, involving an aspiring attorney general and his lackeys. While the pace is a bit slow, the investigation and end is truly thrilling.

Average customer rating:

The LAst Precinct
The Last Precinct
The Last Precinct
It was okay - entertaining, human Scarpetta, introduces Berger
The ultimate suspence but the ending... ever so disappointing...

The Last Precinct
Patricia Cornwell
Manufacturer: Berkley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0425180638
Release Date: 2001-07-03

Amazon.com

Patricia Cornwell's legendary crime fiction creation, Virginia's Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta, has logged a host of fans among mystery readers and, within the bounds of her fictional world, an equally impressive tally of individuals intent on causing her grievous physical or psychological harm.

The 11th Scarpetta novel, The Last Precinct, doesn't add any new names to the second roster. Instead, in a sweeping narrative gesture toward retrospection (less-than-fervent fans might whisper "or stagnation"), the novel depends largely on ground already covered in its predecessors, Black Notice and, to a lesser extent, Point of Origin. All the familiar faces--friend and foe--are here: police captain Marino, Kay's niece Lucy, the so-called Werewolf murderer, and (in memoriam) Kay's lover Benton Wesley and his killer, Carrie Grethen. Kay, who nearly killed the Werewolf in self-defense as Black Notice came to a close, now finds herself the target of a corrupt police investigation that will dredge her darkest secrets from the deepest corners of her past.

Torn between a desire to clear her name and the instinct of a wounded animal to turn against even its would-be rescuers, Kay sifts through the forensic evidence that seems to link Chandonne to other horrific events in her past, up to and including Wesley's murder. Physical analysis, however, will not be enough to right her up-ended world. Instead, Kay must rely on the strategic support of her niece, cofounder of the Last Precinct (an odd, ill-defined organization that is, in the words of its motto, "where you go when there is nowhere left"), and on her willingness to examine her own fears, misconceptions, and anything-but-altruistic motives. The most important setting in this novel is not the morgue--it's the living room where Kay's therapist forces her to address (you guessed it) "unresolved issues."

The novel's focus on Kay's emotional evolution does not, unfortunately, mask the leaps of illogic that pepper the plot's murky stew. More disturbing than these occasional lapses, however, is the feeling that Cornwell has written herself into a corner. The Scarpetta of The Last Precinct is a far cry from the irritably independent woman of previous books. Her often over-inflated musings are more tiresome than tantalizing. Cornwell's impressive track record makes this excursion a bit disappointing, but that same record means that loyal fans will race to acquire the book anyway and that the odds of her returning to her usual stellar form next time are (hurrah!) favorable. --Kelly Flynn

Book Description

Now Patricia Cornwell brings her millions of readers a novel concerning crimes with roots in a murder from the distant past. When Kay Scarpetta is mandated to investigate the 400 year-old violent death of one of America's first settlers at Jamestown, Virginia, it seems like the perfect match: modern technology's savviest avatar versus an age-old crime. Kay's involvement in the case attracts headlines, and more-the unwelcome ire of a person or persons unknown.

Kay and those closest to her soon find themselves the targets of vicious hate crimes that are clearly inspired by her connection to the archaeological excavation. At first more nuisance than assault, the nature of the attacks quickly escalates to violence. Worse still, those sworn to protect prove to be the enemy, forcing Scarpetta, her niece Lucy, and detective Peter Marino to take matters into their won hands- torquing the rule of law and changing their lives forever. In a case ranging from an 18th-century murder to mortal risk in present day, The Last Precinct pits Kay Scarpetta against a rogue enemy who will stop at nothing to stop her.

Download Description

The new era of Scarpetta begins. In this #1 New York Times bestselling novel, Patricia Cornwell takes her readers deeper into Kay Scarpetta's heart and soul than ever before. Thwarting an attack by a suspected serial killer puts Virginia's Chief Medial Examiner Kay Scarpetta in the harsh glare of the spotlight. As her personal and professional lives come under suspicion, she discovers that the so-called Werewolf murders may have extended to New York City and into the darkest corners of her past. A formidable prosecutor, a female assistant district attorney from New York, is brought into the case and Scarpetta must struggle to make what she knows to be the truth prevail against mounting and unnerving evidence to the contrary. Tested in every way, she turns inward to ask, Where do you go when there is nowhere left?

Customer Reviews:

The LAst Precinct.......2007-08-11

Oh, what a life Scarpetta does lead! And to think that there's a REAL Scarpetta out there solving crimes just intrigues you more. Great story!

The Last Precinct.......2007-07-05

I was very happy with this purchase. It came right on time and in perfect condition just as they said it would. I love reading all of Patricia Cornwell's books. I have collected all but one and about to order it now. I have read them all and want to start over. I hope she releases a new one soon. Also love the 2 cookbooks and stories they share. Thanks again and I will continue doing business with Amazon.
P Pate

The Last Precinct.......2007-03-08

One of Patricia Cornwell's best. Loved the whole book. Could not put it down.

It was okay - entertaining, human Scarpetta, introduces Berger.......2007-02-02

Here Scarpetta becomes a little more human when her boss attempts to indict her for murder. However, that indictment concept is just not believable if you've met her increasingly impossibly impeccable self through the prior books. No one in their right mind would do that to perfect Kay.

You always know she is going to get off the hook, therefore the entertainment factor takes over. I found the regular cast of characters a bit worn out and caricatures of their formerly interesting selves. (I swear they used to have lives outside of their jobs, and were actually sometimes unpredictable) The best thing about this book is that it leaves you wanting to know more about Jaime Berger, the attorney from NY. Berger reminds me of Scarpetta's character in Cornwell's earlier books - refreshing.

Other than the suspense between Berger and Scarpetta, I thought the plot was impossibly and intricately conspiratorial and too tidy to be believable. However, the book is entertaining due to the intracacies, of course the forensics, Cornwell's gift of writing, and the introduction of Berger.

The reason I read this to begin with was my own attachment to Scarpetta through Cornwell's earlier works and my knowledge that Cornwell is a terrific writer. Perhaps a new series starring Berger would be nice :) Her character is the main reason I will read the sequel. The other reason is that Cornwell can make anything entertaining. (Who else could get a 3 star rating using an over the top plot and tired, predictable characters?)

The ultimate suspence but the ending... ever so disappointing..........2006-10-30

It seems to me that everything possible has been said about this book. I do want to add something which is this: It took me quite some persistance to get through the beginning (e.i. the first 1/3 part) of the book but I was determined, and just knew it had to get better SOMEWHERE. It did. The middle part truly was one of the best suspence ever. But I got a strong feeling that the whole story would go out like a night candle and lo and behold, it did.

And that was the biggest disappointment EVER. There, I've said it.

The Devil's Teardrop: A Novel of the Last Night of the Century (A Lincoln Rhyme Novel)

Average customer rating:

Extortion plot that could lead to numerous rampages
Deaver at his meticulous and macabre best
Madness in D. C. Transit
An amazing book
A riveting psychological drama!

The Devil's Teardrop: A Novel of the Last Night of the Century (A Lincoln Rhyme Novel)
Jeffery Deaver
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0684852926
Release Date: 1999-08-10

Amazon.com

Thriller readers can always count on getting extra value from Jeffery Deaver--strong plots, fascinating research, believable characters, and plenty of surprise endings. Like in The Terminator, the bad guys in The Devil's Teardrop just won't quit, and they create enough havoc in the last 50 pages to fill a whole new book.

Although Deaver's brilliant, wheelchair-bound forensic expert Lincoln Rhyme makes a guest appearance, the muscular scientist in charge here is Parker Kincaid--an expert in document analysis who'd much rather be checking the authenticity of letters from Thomas Jefferson than figuring out when a crazed shooter known as the Digger will strike again. But it's New Year's Eve, 1999, and the Digger has begun a reign of terror--promising to shoot into crowds in Washington, D.C., every four hours until he's paid $20 million. As Kincaid searches an odd ransom note for clues (and tries to maintain a low profile so that his vindictive ex-wife won't get custody of his young kids), we get to know the Digger better. He is a frighteningly invisible character with serious brain damage, who methodically obeys a set of instructions from an unknown handler. We also learn many amazing facts about paper, ink, and handwriting analysis, and watch as a relationship slowly and reluctantly develops between Kincaid and the FBI agent in charge. All this as the devious Deaver leads us down several garden paths overflowing with dead bodies. --Dick Adler

Book Description

It's New Year's Eve, December 31, 1999, and Washington, D.C., is under siege. Early in the day, a grisly machine gun attack in the Dupont Circle Metro station leaves dozens dead and the city crippled with fear. A note delivered to the mayor's office pins the massacre on the Digger, a robotlike assassin programmed to wreak havoc on the capital every four hours -- until midnight. Only a ransom of $20 million delivered to the Digger's accomplice -- and mastermind -- will end the death and terror. But the Digger becomes a far more sinister threat when his accomplice is killed in a freak accident while en route to the money drop. With the ransom note as the single scrap of evidence, Special Agent Margaret Lukas calls upon Parker Kincaid, a retired FBI agent and the top forensic document examiner in the country. Somehow, by midnight, they must find the Digger -- before he finds them.

In The Devil's Teardrop, Jeffery Deaver delivers the same intricate forensic detail, masterful plot twists and harrowing breakneck pace that made A Maiden's Grave, The Bone Collector and The Coffin Dancer national bestsellers. The Devil's Teardrop is destined to continue Jeffery Deaver's bestselling track record and thrill his legions of fans worldwide.

Download Description

"It's New Year's Eve, December 31, 1999, and Washington, D.C., is under siege. Early in the day, a grisly machine gun attack in the Dupont Circle Metro station leaves dozens dead and the city crippled with fear. A note delivered to the mayor's office pins the massacre on the Digger, a robotlike assassin programmed to wreak havoc on the capital every four hours - until midnight. Only a ransom of $20 million delivered to the Digger's accomplice - and mastermind - will end the death and terror. But the Digger becomes a far more sinister threat when his accomplice is killed in a freak accident while en route to the money drop. With the ransom note as the single scrap of evidence, Special Agent Margaret Lukas calls upon Parker Kincaid, a retired FBI agent and the top forensic document examiner in the country. Somehow, by midnight, they must find the Digger - before he finds them."-

Customer Reviews:

Extortion plot that could lead to numerous rampages.......2007-09-01

A criminal mastermind is plotting an extortion scheme against the city of Washington, threatening massacres at four hour intervals if 20 million dollars is not paid by noon that day.

The day is New Year's Eve, 1999, and someone is terrorizing Washington D.C., which leads the FBI to turn to Parker Kincaid, who had retired after an ugly incident a couple of years earlier which had endangered his children's lives.

With his expertise as a certified document examiner, they unravel the spellbinding mystery.

Parker is very likeable as a single father, which makes this story all the more enjoyable.

Deaver at his meticulous and macabre best.......2007-06-13

The devil is in the details, they say - and that's always been one of Jeffrey Deaver's strengths: the ability to take well-worn story-lines yet make them refreshingly exciting by going into meticulous detail with regard to characterisation and modus operandi. I have about a dozen Deaver novels, only three-quarters have been read so far but The Devils's Teardrop is as good as any if not the best. The semi-automaton in this novel, known as The Digger, is quite a scary individual and absolutely devoid of remorse. Someone has 'programmed' him however, and that's where the main challenge lies. While the central character here is good-guy Parker Kincaid, the author is confident enough to introduce none other than Lincoln Rhyme in a cameo appearance! It's bordering upon arrogance but he gets away with it.

If you have yet to buy a Deaver novel, here is as good a place as any to start and you will surely want to join the club. And if you're a Deaver reader already, then buy The Devil's Teardrop with absolute confidence, it will maintain or even raise the standards you have become familiar with. Jeffrey Deaver is one of a very select group of contemporary writers I can think of who make it a safe bet to buy everything they publish - he just doesn't write duds.

Madness in D. C. Transit.......2005-11-01

Gilbert Havel, a blackmailer, is the only person who can communicate with Digger, an invisible character with brain damage, which left him a 'half-human killing machine.' Already he'd carried out the massacre in the Dupont Circle Metro tunnel at midnight and had three other explosions to set off if Mayor Gerald Kennedy did not pay the ransom demanded.

Digger is an emotionless, robot-like madman who doesn't know not to follow through on the death job his 'handler' arranged. Havel is killed in a freak accident, but Digger is like a skinny ape man on Halloween, only this is New Year's Eve. He is unseen by those he's been programed into 'making ghosts.'

It is a tense, suspenseful thriller as they try to discover where he will strike next. Jeffery Deaver has written his major success, THE BONE COLLECTOR, NOCTURE, and THE LESSON OF HER DEATH.

An amazing book.......2005-06-30

Deaver really makes the reader stay interested in "The Devil's Teardrop". I found it arduous to put down. The serial killer, "The Digger" knew how to remain unseen. Leaving only a note for the FBI, their only clue, they call upon the help of Parker Kincaid.

A riveting psychological drama!.......2005-06-11

It's New Year's Eve 1999! A fixated killer, known only as "Digger", walks into Washington DC's Metro Station at 9:00 a.m. and empties a silenced Uzi on full automatic into the crowd on a brutal killing spree. The FBI receives a ransom note demanding a $20 million dollar payoff with curt instructions that unless the payment happens without a hitch, the "Digger" will repeat the mass murder at 4:00 p.m., at 8:00 p.m. and again at 12:00 midnight during the height of the New Year's Eve celebrations. Parker Kincaid, a former FBI agent and top flight forensic document examiner, is asked to return to active duty as a consultant to assist Margaret Lukas, special agent in charge of the task force put together to round up the mastermind and his automaton killer before the carnage is repeated. Given the intensely compressed time frames and enormous potential for death involved, Gerald Kennedy, DC's mayor, agrees to the payment demand and the FBI puts a plan in place to track the murderer and his "control" after the ransom is collected. The whole affair comes off the rails when the extortionist is killed in a hit-and-run car accident on the way to the drop. It now appears nobody knows how to contact "Digger" to stop the next three scheduled killing fairs!

The reading is intense and compelling. The excitement builds from the very first page until a breathless climax with two incredible twists that will leave every reader sitting on the edge of their chairs.

Despite the fact that the entire book takes place in less than a one day time frame, the action in this thriller is surprisingly low key and evenly paced. Deaver's success with this novel rests more on the psychological components of the drama - examination of the realistic issue of whether a city should succumb to payment of extortion demands to terrorists and criminals; the fascinating minutiae of forensic investigation of evidence, in particular, the ransom note; the validity of profiling on the basis of criminal conduct and physical evidence such as handwriting; the political maneuvering of governments and the balance of rivalry and cooperation between police agencies during a crisis; and, both the synergy and conflict of multiple brains at work in the environment of a task force assigned to a criminal investigation.

But the climax does arrive, of course, and,when it does, the action switches gears and becomes intense and frenetic. Despite a double surprise ending that has somewhat of a Hollywood over the top flair to it that stretches the credibility factor somewhat, any thriller fan will be left feeling they've got their money's worth! An enjoyable read, a worthy addition to Deaver's extraordinary body of work, and an easy book to recommend to those that enjoy the thriller genre.

Last Shot: A Final Four Mystery (Final Four Mysteries)

Average customer rating:

Great book for young sports fans!
Very good book, with alittle bit of everything
Great Atmosphere, Absurd Plot
Twists and Turns
Last Shot (Britttany Waggener)

Last Shot: A Final Four Mystery (Final Four Mysteries)
John Feinstein
Manufacturer: Yearling
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0553494600
Release Date: 2006-06-27

Book Description

Steven Thomas is one of two lucky winners of the U.S. Basketball Writer’s Association’s contest for aspiring journalists. His prize? A trip to New Orleans and a coveted press pass for the Final Four. It’s a basketball junkie’s dream come true!
But the games going on behind the scenes between the coaches, the players, the media, the money-men, and the fans turn out to be even more fiercely competitive than those on the court. Steven and his fellow winner, Susan Carol Anderson, are nosing around the Superdome and overhear what sounds like a threat to throw the championship game. Now they have just 48 hours to figure out who is blackmailing one of MSU’s star players . . . and why.

Praise for John Feinstein:
“The best writer of sports books in America today.”—The Boston Globe

“Feinstein’s beat, it turns out, isn’t sports; it’s human nature.”—People on A March to Madness

“A basketball junkie’s nirvana.”—Sports Illustrated on A March to Madness

“One of the best sportswriters alive!”—Larry King, USA Today on A Good Walk Spoiled

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

Great book for young sports fans!.......2007-10-09

This is a highly enjoyable mystery set at the NCAA Final Four. The two heroes are a 13 year old girl and a 13 year old boy who have won a writing contest and have press passes to the Final Four. They are likeable, realistic characters and the mystery they solve is surprisingly plausible. My 11 year old son loved this book.

Very good book, with alittle bit of everything .......2007-08-16

I really liked this book because it was about friendship, romance, sports, adventure and suspense. The characters are interesting and the plot was very creative and enjoyable. Yet I didnt like some points of the story that were corny, usually about the kids liking each other. The idea of a famous basketball player being helped by these kids was also hard to buy into. Yet for someone who doesnt like basketball, I really enjoyed the book.
Suggested age: 10-15
Reading Level- 6-7th grade

More of a leisure book then anything.

Give it a try

Great Atmosphere, Absurd Plot.......2007-06-12

John Feinstein is a great writer and I have always enjoyed his commentary on the radio. The strength of this book is the background details. If you want to know what it is like to be at the final four, you will enjoy all the inside information about the fans, the players, the coaches, the sports writers and television commentators. As a mystery, it starts unlikely and ends preposterous. A realistic story of how two teenage reporters uncover a scandal at the final four would probably be too tedious to interest the age level this book is intended for. The more I read the more I felt the plot was borrowed from the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew. I kept thinking the plot had a lot to owe to Gene Autry, didn't he usually have a kid hanging around to solve the mystery and then need saving? And the character names! Does Susan Carol sound like a girl who is around in 2000's, even if she does come from the South? The readers may come for the atmosphere, but the plot won't lure them to the final pages.

Twists and Turns.......2007-05-30

The book Last Shot was a great mystery. There was so many suprises in this book. It made you want to keep reading on and on. It kept you on the edge of your seat with every chapter. The only thing that was a problem was that the plot was unrealistic. Two eigth graders, I don't think, could have stopped blackmail from happening in the final four. In the end the book was a great mix of sports and mystery.

Last Shot (Britttany Waggener).......2007-05-23

After reading this book, the first time I thought it was really dumb. But then I read it again for the second time and I thought it was a good book. There were three main characters, Stevie, Suzan, and Chip Graber. Chip Graber is a famous basketball player that is getting black mailed in the middle of the book. Stevie and Suzan try figuring out who the black mailer is. By winning a contest the two kids are at the NCAA Basketball Final Four games as kid reporters. They become good friends and Stevie realizes that he like Suzan Carol. She is smart, pretty, etc. This book takes place at the Final Four NCAA basketball games. This books genre is adventure and mystery. The theme is even kids can solve problems. My opinion of this book is the second time I read it, I loved it.

Last and First Men and Star Maker : Two Science Fiction Novels

Average customer rating:

Free SF Reader
Imperfect Humans and Angelic Beasts
communist diatribes, not novels
This is my 5th copy!
Don rubber underpants before reading ...

Last and First Men and Star Maker : Two Science Fiction Novels
Olaf Stapledon
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0486219623

Book Description

The greatest future histories in science fiction. In Last and First Men the protagonist is "mankind" in an ultimate definition — intelligence. Star Maker, in a sense its sequel, is concerned with the history of intelligence in the entire cosmos.

Customer Reviews:

Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03

Stapledon's epic ages of man tour-de-force. This is by no means a detailed character study, but a study of a theme - the evolution of humanity, and its spread. You are not quite sure how one man could get his head around this at the time, but he managed, in a masterful way. Very influential and exciting, this book.

Imperfect Humans and Angelic Beasts.......2007-08-03

Olaf Stapledon was an immensely deep-thinking philosopher who utilized science fiction for his expansive ruminations on the place of humanity in the universe. The two books combined here are an excessively heavy read and are considerably more dense than his two well-known character-driven novels - the also weighty Odd John and Sirius (the volume combining those two classics is highly recommended). Last and First Men and Star Maker could be faulted for reading less like novels and more like philosophical tracts, but this is not a sign of weakness because Stapledon's philosophy is robust enough to make the method work. Meanwhile, reviewers who harshly criticize Stapledon's political leanings are members of ideologies that are inherently hostile to creativity and deep thinking. Stapledon was a philosopher, not an ideologue, and his fully developed conceptions of the small place of humanity in the cosmos ultimately revealed his humanist faith. He achieved these philosophical insights with a science fiction vision of an immensity that has never been equaled in the genre.

Last and First Men (1931) gives a future history of the human race that is incredibly far beyond the few thousand years that most sci-fi writers can come up with. Stapledon maps out human progress and evolution over a whopping two billion years, with a narrative scope in which all of human experience as we know it can be glossed over in a single paragraph. Though Stapledon's predictions of future progress are hokey at times (for instance, he was a few hundred million years off on the first human space voyage), his vision is stupendous in its range and depth. The spirit of humanity survives through 18 different species, many near-extinctions and evolutionary dead-ends, and three different homeworlds.

Star Maker (1937) has, amazingly, a vision of universal history that is orders of magnitude beyond Last and First Men. That story's two billion years become but a single paragraph here. Via thought experiments in dream-like omniscience, Stapledon presents the history of the cosmos as a tragedy taking place over hundreds of billions of years, with the rise and fall of galaxies and dimensions serving as the action. Eventually Stapledon envisions the universe as a sentient deity of a vastness and complexity that even his nearly-omniscient narrator can't put into words. Stapledon's works are essential for big thinkers who are obsessed with understanding their place within the billions of years and trillions of light years of the vast infinite universe. Stapledon's ability to shed light on mankind's inconsequential yet fully worthwhile place in the uncaring cosmos was profoundly astonishing. [~doomsdayer520~]

communist diatribes, not novels.......2007-06-14

These books are fiction, but they are not novels. There is no plot, no character development, no dramatic tension. Nothing about them, structurally, is like a novel. There is a great deal of creativity, and the occasional dose of mysticism, but it is all bent in the service of an endless assault of over-the-top communist propaganda.

I was quite surprised by this, since I loved Stapledon's novel "Odd John", which is anything but egalitarian or socialist.

Human spiritual evolution is Stapledon's basic theme in all his works, but in these two, he went down the wrong road. Evolution takes place when individuals separate themselves from the unconscious masses. Socialism can only lead to the masses dragging conscious men down to their own level. Freedom alone can lead to evolution. Stapledon was a victim of the sick philosophies of his time, now, of course, utterly discredited. It clearly destroyed his later works, where he went against his every artistic instinct to pen this socialist tripe for transparent political reasons.

But do read "Odd John", which has none of this gobbledygook in it, is an actual novel, and indeed a bona fide classic.

This is my 5th copy!.......2006-06-29

Last and First Men has been my favorite book for almost 30 years. W.O.S. is my favorite author of all time. I find myself re-reading it every few years to marvel at the accuracy of his predictions. The chapter on the Americanization of the planet and the conflict with China is eerie in it's accuracy. This from a book written before WWII. I've loaned out several copies and they always wind up on extended journeys. I bought this paperback edition to give to my 17y.o. This book is a must for any serious SF fan!

Don rubber underpants before reading ..........2005-09-14

Last and First Men :-
One of the most succinct and accurate renderings of mankind's present state of mind and future progression. It documents the future of man from the start of WW2 and continues until the Sun engulfs the earth, and beyond. Considering this book was first published in 1931, it is remarkable, both in its honesty as regards human nature, and in its phenomenal span. By the time we reach chapter 3 of the 16 in this book, it is already 2300 AD and you feel like you have had the viewpoint of a God. So intense is the writing, that a few pages can take you hours to read and weeks to think about. What a writer, what a visionary. Of particular interest to me was the laconic way he can sum up an entire country's culture and people, and the accuracy of prediction in the first part of the book. Quotes from around what would be the back-end of the 20th century on his timescale (what he terms "Balkan Europe") :-

"... For love of France was the undoing of the French. They prized the truly admirable spirit of France so extravagantly, that they regarded all other nations as barbarians."

"... the practice of communism was gradually undermined. For the Russian state came increasingly under the influence of Western, and especially American, finance. The materialism of the official creed also became a farce, for it was foreign to the Russian mind. Thus between practice and theory there was, in both respects, a profound inconsistency. What was once a vital and promising culture became insincere."

Points to note :-
All budding politicians should be forced to read this book. It should be part of any politics curriculum.
Strikingly accurate and plausible portent of homo sapiens future. Read in the context of 2002, it is easy to see mankind's current folly and the extrapolation of current scientific endeavours. For example, we may achieve global peace ("An Americanised Planet"") for a few millennia, but at the cost of spiritual and intellectual freedom and development. When the "Fall of the First Men" happened, recovery took a very long time :-

"Later, when the epidemic was spent, even though civilisation was already in ruins, a concerted effort of devotion might yet have rebuilt it on a more modest plan. But among the First Men, only a minority had ever been capable of wholehearted devotion. The great majority were by nature too much obsessed by private impulses."

Sounds like the malaise of current homo sapiens.
The theme of continual physical exertion and constant movement of attention as an underpinning for the lifestyles of all successful social inhabitants was beautifully described. This is so true of today's and future societies. No pause for reflection or contemplation. The abandonment of philosophy as a science in the future. The pig-headed clinging to pagan artefact or idol worship, rather than logic.
The brilliant description of the "Second Men", with his finer array of senses, and his natural propensity for altruism.
The plausible evolution of intelligent life on Mars in 10 million years time, with the subsequent misunderstanding of what is intelligent between Earth and Mars.
Man's creation of more evolved forms of man meshes brilliantly with current genetic research.
"Time travel" achieved by mental regression into past minds. The future remains unknown.
Conclusions :-
Apply common sense to the situation as it is now, to work out the best course of action. Never invoke traditions or old beliefs as these threaten your survival in an ever-changing environment.
Within the same species, organisms are equally complex biochemically. Therefore, any social structure that imposes arbitrary division within the species, is intrinsically flawed. This is true of current homo sapiens organisation, where certain people are far more highly regarded than others for stupid reasons, and divisions between cliques of people usually erupt in violence, rather than heated debate.
Just because someone cannot be convinced of your way of seeing things, doesn't mean that physical coercion becomes necessary.
"Live and let live" doesn't mean live it up and let the rest live in squalor.
Nothing should be regarded as taboo, save that which is unnatural.
There are absolutely no restrictions on what anyone can think.
If you can have it, then anyone can have it.

Star Maker :-
After reading "Last and First Men", I approached Olaf's next masterpiece, "Star Maker" ( first published in 1937), with some disbelief as to how on earth he could possibly better the span, pathos and magnanimity he had already laid out. A quick scan of the appendices yielded the impression that this book would embrace not just the tiny fragment of history that was mankind's stay in the universe, but that all history of the universe would be described, and that of other universes too. All of this in less pages than "Last and First Men"! My immediate reaction was simply, "No way, Jose" and I wondered how he was going to set about such an immense task. The vehicle used was, of course, the best man has going for him - his imagination. A contemplative man is whisked off on an imaginary journey through space and time by an ever-gathering mass consciousness. He describes how galaxies of stars formed from nebulae that were born flying apart from each other, how these cooling nebulae condensed into galaxies of stars, and how the rare occurrences of young stars that passed each other, formed planets, and how, on a few rare planets, intelligent life evolved. He shows how certain conditions inhibit the appearance of life, or intelligent life, and how certain evolutionary pathways cause life to stagnate or wipe itself out. He puts mankind's existence into perspective in both universal time and space.

There are touching moments and there are exciting battles. There is both tragedy and comedy. There are uplifting victories and crushing defeats. Far from being stuffy, this book is really a very good read indeed, considering the scope of its subject. The final few short chapters really have you reading a couple of paragraphs, and then putting the book down to have a long ponder over what has just been addressed. And the book's climax leaves you with lifelong matters to mull over - one of these being, "Boy, and I thought I was pretty intelligent..." ;-)

Here are a couple of lengthy quotes for your enjoyment :-
--------------------------------------------------------------
... The sequence of events in the successfully waking world was generally more or less as follows. The starting point, it will be remembered, was a plight like that in which our own Earth now stands. The dialectic of the world's history had confronted the race with a problem with which the traditional mentality could never cope. The world-situation had grown too complex for lowly intelligences, and it demanded a degree of individual integrity in leaders and in led, such as was as yet possible only to a few minds. Consciousness had already been violently awakened out of the primitive trance into a state of excruciating individualism, of poignant but pitifully restricted self-awareness. And individualism, together with the traditional tribal spirit, now threatened to wreck the world. Only after a long-drawn agony of economic distress and maniac warfare, haunted by an increasingly clear vision of a happier world, could the second stage of waking be achieved. In most cases it was not achieved. "Human nature", or its equivalent in the many worlds, could not change itself; and the environment could not remake it.

But in a few worlds the spirit reacted to its desperate plight with a miracle. Or, if the reader prefers, the environment miraculously refashioned the spirit. There occurred a widespread and almost sudden waking into a new lucidity of consciousness and a new integrity of will. To call this change miraculous is only to recognize that it could not have been scientifically predicted even from the fullest possible knowledge of "human nature" as manifested in the earlier age. To later generations, however, it appeared as no miracle but as a belated wakening from an almost miraculous stupor into plain sanity.

and from later in the book :-

... The result of this extraordinary custom, of artificial fatherhood by "brute-men", which was carried on without remission in all countries for a generation, and in a less thorough manner for a very much longer period, was to alter the composition of the whole quasi-human race. In order to maintain continued adaptability to an ever-changing environment a race must at all costs preserve in itself its slight but potent salting of sensibility and originality. In this world the precious factor now became so diluted as to be ineffective. Henceforth the desperately complex problems of the world were consistently bungled. Civilization decayed. The race entered on a phase of what might be called pseudo-civilized barbarism, which was in essence sub-human and incapable of change. This state of affairs continued for some millions of years, but at last the race was destroyed by the ravages of a small rat-like animal against which it could devise no protection.

I must not stay to notice the strange fortunes of all the many other quasi-human worlds. I will mention only that in some, though civilization was destroyed in a succession of savage wars, the germ of recovery precariously survived. In one, the agonizing balance of the old and the new seemed to prolong itself indefinitely. In another, where science had advanced too far for the safety of an immature species, man accidentally blew up his planet and his race. In several, the dialectical process of history was broken short by invasion and conquest on the part of inhabitants of another planet. These and other disasters, to be described in due course, decimated the galactic population of worlds.

In conclusion I will mention that in one or two of these quasi-human worlds a new and superior biological race emerged naturally during the typical world crisis, gained power by sheer intelligence and sympathy, took charge of the planet, persuaded the aborigines to cease breeding, peopled the whole planet with its own superior type, and created a human race which attained communal mentality, and rapidly advanced beyond the limits of our exploring and over- strained understanding. Before our contact failed, we were surprised to observe that, as the new species superseded the old and took over the vast political and economic activity of that world, it came to realize with laughter the futility of all this feverish and aimless living. Under our eyes the old order began to give place to a new and simpler order, in which the world was to be peopled by a small "aristocratic" population served by machines, freed alike from drudgery and luxury and intent on exploration of the cosmos and the mind.

This change-over to a simpler life happened in several other worlds not by the intervention of a new species, but simply by the victory of the new mentality in its battle against the old.
--------------------------------------------------------------
To summarise, "Star Maker" is the best book in the whole world ever, and everybody should be forced to read it and understand it, at gunpoint.

The Last Six Million Seconds: A Thriller

Average customer rating:

A Delightful Read
Wonderfully Dated
Another fine Burdett mystery
Excellent. Brilliant! Bring back Charlie Chan....
One of the Best Mysteries I've Read in Ages

The Last Six Million Seconds: A Thriller
John Burdett
Manufacturer: William Morrow & Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Police Procedurals | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Spy Stories & Tales of Intrigue | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0688147747

Amazon.com

Hong Kong, about to be absorbed into the People's Republic of China, is the setting for this fact-and-action-packed thriller, as a tough and moral policeman tries to solve a triple murder before time runs out. Hong Kong Chief Inspector Chan Siukai's investigation brings him up against all the usual suspects--corrupt British diplomats and businessmen, American gangsters, Chinese warlords--and a few unusual ones. John Burdett, who once practiced law in Hong Kong, knows where the bodies are buried--and his fast-moving scenes of violence add quite a few more.

Book Description

An exciting new thriller, in the tradition of Gorky Park.

In shops throughout Hong Kong, clocks are ticking down the seconds before control passes from the British to the Chinese on June 30, 1997. With The Last Six Million Seconds, John Burdett has written a riveting and timely thriller that takes place on the eve of the changeover.

Royal Hong Kong Chief of Police Chan Siu-kai ("Charlie") is called to the harbor at the South China Sea and discovers three heads floating in the water. Confronted with a case of triple homicide, Chan has to find out why the coast guard and an outside agency are opposed to his investigation. Chan, a determined Eurasian policeman, goes in search of the killer and the truth behind the British government's involvement, while uncovering the shocking behind-the- scenes machinations of the Red Chinese.

Customer Reviews:

A Delightful Read.......2007-01-25

I am a fan of Burdette's, having read his Thailand books. Based on Amazon reviews, I 'had' to buy this even though the lowest price was way more than I usually spend. It was worth it! The previous reviewers have echoed my sentiments; I just wanted to add one more 5 star rating and to say I wish he would write more.
-Martin Freifeld

Wonderfully Dated.......2006-03-30

Burdett shows alot of the promise that is even more evident in his later books based in Bangkok. Excellent pre-handover thriller. I'd have liked to see some more Charlie Chan books.

Another fine Burdett mystery.......2004-08-17

The Last Six Million Seconds is a marvelous combination of engrossing mystery and the drama of Hong Kong's transition from a British colony to the control of a Chinese dictatorship. Throughout the story, one of Burdett's strengths is his ability to capture the intangibles of culture. Consider this insight:

"In the beginning was the Word. But it was sung, not spoken. Prehistoric humans from Peking Man in the East to Cro Magnon in the West used the full range of the vocal scale to sing instructions for the hunt, sing guidance to their children, sing reverence to the gods that provided the mammoths. They would have despised the flat, dead speech of modern times for the tuneless whitterings of ghosts.....the oldest language in modern usage is also the most musical. With nine tones to condition meaning, Cantonese can present a challenge to a tin ear from the Bronx." (p.283)

Burdett uses Richard Hughes' formula of 'a borrowed place living on borrowed time' to explain the psychological challenge Hong Kong residents face during the last six million seconds before they return to Chinese control.

The criminal activities of the People's Liberation Army, including their willingness to use violence and intimidation to create rigged enrichment for a small handful of Generals, are described in accurate details. Burdett even uses official United Nations reports to enhance the sense of realism. He also manages to weave through all this the issue of the Laogai--the prison/slave labor system by which 50,000,000 people live lives of enslavement in China, according to Burdett.

Burdett's protagonist is a driven Chinese-Irish policeman seeking answers to the brutal deaths of two Chinese men and an American girl. The journey is worth the read. Indeed I am beginning to believe that anything John Burdett writes is worth reading.

Excellent. Brilliant! Bring back Charlie Chan...........2004-07-27

Hey, I think I am going to give another synopsis of the story....nah!

Others have already done that better than I could so I will just support their thesis: This is a must read. Granted it has faults: It isn't redundant. Its not obvious. It is well written. Its written for for clever grown ups who don't like to be horsewhipped with the same old cliches and knit-one-pearl-twos. If you can get around those faults, this book might keep you glued to your chair.

One of the Best Mysteries I've Read in Ages.......2004-04-07

It's Hong Kong and there are two months left to the PRC's (People's Republic of China) takeover of the British Colony. Detective Inspector Chan Siu-kai, called Charlie Chan by just about everybody who knows him after the character in the old movies, is out in a launch in search of a clear garbage bag that had been reported floating off the coast by some tourists. The contents, three human heads. And by strange coincidence the Hong Kong police have the remains of three bodies, sans heads, that had been fed alive into a giant meat grinder.

Charlie and his comrades find the bag and its grisly contents, but a PRC Coast Guard launch comes up on them as they are in PRC waters. The Chinese want the bag, Charlie bribes them and takes the heads back to Hong Kong even as he wonders who told the PRC about the heads and why would they care?

The powers that be in Hong Kong meet secretly and they are of two minds. Some of them want Charlie