Last Man Standing

Baldacci's seventh novel - like his others - is one you won't be able to put down. Baldacci packs the book with a brilliant plot and more than a few surprises that will knock your socks off, and includes a wealth of detail that highlights his meticulous research skills. I can only hope that we'll see Web and company again in a future Baldacci thriller.


Excellent!!!!   November 20, 2001
Timothy J. Kindler (Rochester, NY)
18 out of 20 found this review helpful

Having taken a pass on Baldacci's departure from the action/thriller (Wish You Well), I welcomed a return to previous form with Last Man Standing. I believe the latest effort was worth the wait. Like his previous works such as Total Control and Absolute Power, Baldacci grabs you at the beginning of Last Man Standing and doesn't let go. The work is another page turner, packed with action, suspense, plot twists and surprises. In the story, the central character, Web London, is a member of FBI HRT (Hostage Rescue Team). Previously decorated for heroism on many occasions, London finds himself inexplicably frozen during a rescue assault that wipes out the entire HRT assault team and leaves him as the last man standing. As the story unfolds, London is left to deal with the aftermath of the situation and attempt to find an explanation. Baldacci effectively utilizes shifts between the present and the past, and provides a broad character set to complement London's character. All-in-all, Last Man Standing is a great read that marks a return to the genre in which Baldacci made his mark originally. Hopefully, he will continue.


A great thriller   November 13, 2001
Harriet Klausner
22 out of 26 found this review helpful

Web London leads his elite FBI Hostage Rescue Team on the raid of the drug operation, but the enemy is waiting fully armed with remote electronic modern weaponry. Web's team is wiped out with he the lone survivor. Washington DC Field Office Chief Buck Winters, a key contributor to the Waco fiasco, blames Web for causing a media nightmare. Web's peers and the family members of the dead want answers on why Web lived.

Web knows he is the fall guy for this fiasco, but is determined not to just prove his innocence, but learn how his team was set up because this was a high tech precision operation that required a FBI leak to succeed. Web knows that one other witness besides the remote ambushers survived the assault. A ten-year-old boy named Kevin happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He also needs to determine why the other side left him as the LAST MAN STANDING. This trail will lead to some personal revelations that will shake Web to the core of his being.

LAST MAN STANDING is an exciting psychological police thriller that contains two interrelated story lines in which separately either one is very powerful, but collectively one takes away from the other. Readers will empathize with Web who in seconds horrifically observed his team eradicated and feel for family survivors. David Baldacci furbishes an exciting thriller that never slows down even as the tale meanders between the twin plots. Still, readers will enjoy this fast-paced different type of psychological police procedural.

Harriet Klausner


A testosterone-laden thriller, but not just for men   November 28, 2001
10 out of 11 found this review helpful

My 80+ year old aunt introduced me to David Baldacci by recommending "The Simple Truth" a couple of years ago. I have since read all of his books and they've cost me a lot of sleep. The main review provided enough details of the plot, so I'll just add a different perspective here. Yes, there are a lot of characters and plot twists. That just means you don't want to put the book down because it's easy to forget names, but I was so drawn in that I didn't want to put it down. There's also a fair amount of detail about HRT training, which I thought was interesting even though I have never thought about owning a gun.

Like many of Baldacci's other books, you don't know who to trust and often guess wrong. While the hero is male, some supporting characters are female and they are strong. That's important to me as a female reader--I HATE simpy and stupid women. Baldacci writes scenes that are easy to envision and characters that seem real. That sets him apart from many in this genre. I loved this book and hope for a sequel to keep Web London and some of the other characters alive.


I love David Baldacci's books!   December 31, 2001
12 out of 15 found this review helpful

Baldacci books are required reading in my house! I always start looking for them around Nov 1 and buy the first one I can find. I have read all of these reviews and many from his other books. It seems that most people find a favorite and the rest are disappointing simply because they are not the same. Oddly enough, that's what I find most intriguing about them. It's not always a love story or a lawyer story or an espionage story. They are each unique, well researched, intriguing, thrilling page turners written by a skilled storyteller.

This one has several characters that are easy to relate to and develop a relationship with them. The plot takes you all over-from the inner city to rich horse country and back. There is a child for whom your heart aches but has the brains of a street scholar for handling himself. You spend the entire book thinking, "Okay, I've got this one, now" and David throws you for another loop. Some things seem obvious but are not. Other things would never occur to you and then sneak up to kick you in the teeth. It's great!

If I had a complaint with his books, it would be two fold. First, I wish they came out in October when there was less to do so I didn't spend so many nights up until 2 or 3 a.m. to finish it! Because once I start, I can't stop! (Is there any such thing as a Baldacci addiction?!) Second, I wish they'd give me the book for a week before they publish it so that I could weed out the typo's. They are in every single Baldacci book and they drive me to distraction!! They are obviously proofed by computer and since the word is spelled correctly (albeit the wrong word,) it goes through. But I will say this, I liked it well enough to give it out as Christmas gifts.