Customer Reviews

The Last Best Hope

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Ed McBain tried to tie his two best selling series together with this novel set both in Matthew Hope's Calusa Beach and in the world of the 87th Precinct. While I'm not sure if he completely succeeded I do think this noirish story of a swinging married couple, their young girlfriend (for lack of a better term), their involvement with a murderous ex con, a scheme to steal a priceless art object, and an unsolved murder or two make this still a vintage exciting McBain novel. The friendship that detective Steve Carella and lawyer (kind of PI) Matthew Hope strike up long distance over the phone seems entirely believable and adds some sympathetic empathy for two of the longest suffering "good guy" crime fighters in modern day mystery fiction. I was glad to see these two each find a sympathetic ear.

The story itself is a little raunchier in terms of sex than previous McBain's, but I don't think it detracts from the story. Indeed it seems kind of essential in explaining the actions and motivations of some of the characters. I could definitely see the book being cast as a noir type of film with one wondering to the end what the outcome will be.

One last note, it isn't necessary to have read any of the other Matthew Hope or 87th Precinct novels before having read this one. It stands on its own well enough, but I do think that it might be helpful to have at least a little bit of a previous acquaintance with Hope and Carella. If nothing else it helps to show the reasons these two would feel a connection with each other. However, once again it isn't necessary for one to enjoy the novel.

Without giving away the ending, the title implies that this might be the last Matthew Hope novel. I certainly hope not, I for one would love to see a follow up where Hope visits Carella and the 87th Precinct in the big city. I'll certainly keep my hopes up. No pun intended.

I am a big fan of the murder mysteries series genre: Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone, J. McDonald's Travis McGee, Robert B. Parker's Spenser... As teens, my brother and I devoured as many of McBain's "87th Pct" books as we could get our hands on. I hadn't read anything by this author in awhile when I stumbled on "The Last Best Hope" last year. I couldn't put it down -- especially after one of the 87th Pct detectives showed up! I'm only sorry that I didn't know about Matthew Hope before -- I've got a whole lot of reading to catch up on!

This most recent Matthew Hope novel is the best in the series. Ed McBain, mystery master, has developed a story involving personal agendas, a dead body washing ashore, and a complicated theft. It also features McBain's other protagonist, Steve Carella, in a crucial role. I've always enjoyed this series. McBain does a solid job with his Florida setting. His Hope series is great! I'm hoping for more!

once again better then before.please give us more:there still are several not yet mentioned fairy caracters:what about little tumb,now here must be something mcbain can do with.still preferring his books about others:for ex.:horse's head,downtown,every crook and nanny,buddwing,sentries or even he who hesitaded.please keep writing !look out for his big bad city-in audio and in paperback,and for some new hunter books.j.p.engels

In Florida, Jill Lawton hires private investigator Matthew Hope to locate her missing spouse, Jack. Nine months ago, Jack left Jill (don't say a word) to looking for work as a graphic designer in the north. He never came back to Jill, who assumes that he abandoned her. She wants to find him, divorce him, and collect alimony from him.

Matthew follows Jack's trail which takes him to New York's 87th precinct. Matthew enlists the help of detective Steve Carella (star of McBain's 87th precinct series), but soon learns that Jack is apparently dead. However, Matthew has uncovered some discrepancies in the man's death that leads him back to his own hometown of Calusa. The local museum is about to unveil a Greek antiquity that has the attention of several folks, which may or may not include Jack. It is up to Matthew to thwart a robbery and uncover motives and identities without being killed during the climatic melee.

Ed McBain, recognized as one of the all time greats, has written is best novel in several years with THE LAST BEST HOPE. Readers will enjoy Matthew meeting Steve, but in a lesser novel that would be a diverging gimmick. In this book, it is fun to watch them interact. However, what makes this fiction an earl contender as one of the best robbery novels of the year are the constantly changing loyalties and the fact that no one knows the rules to the game that they all are participating in, with their lives as the ante. After four plus decades of writing, Mr. McBain stil remains one of the best talents in today's writing field of stars.

Harriet Klausner

As of the date of this review, Amazon.com com reviewers have rated this book with four stars (on average). I am the first one star reviewer.

I can find nothing positive to say about this book - McBain multiplied characters, many with similar names and characteristics, so that by the last one-third of the book I gave up trying to keep all the characters straight. The only suspense in this book was in the expectation of a slam-bang finish that would tie all the loose-ends together. I defy any living mortal to demonstrate the ending of this book as even interesting, let alone slam-bang.

If you are bored and have nothing better to read at the beach, I wouldn't even recommend this book. Take a nap instead.

One final criticism - Detective Carella, a central 87th Precinct protagonist who has a bit part in this book, near the end proclaims his atheism as a function of his time in the armed services, when he concluded that no god would permit the carnage he witnessed. This is the kind of slimy subliminal suggestion authors like to insert to influence a reading public one way or another. By way of rebuttal I would like to point out that most persons who serve in the U.S. military, and see combat, have the opposite reaction - death and carnage inspire a faith in God, rather than retard it. Also, if one follows the logic of McBain's argument, then the carnage of war is a function of millions of years of evolutionary development is it not? Are not wars more destructive now than they have ever been? What does this say about the theory of human progress through evolution? Do not the facts accord better with the biblical prophesy of a world that will need to be saved from itself by the intervention of God at the end of time?

While I remain hopeful, I wonder how much refuse I am going to have to wade through in the debris field called modern fiction before I encounter quality.

...

I have read several other books written by the author. He shamelessly gets right down to the nitty gritty. In an unabashed style, he puts the reader in close company with his characters. With this novel, he had me lapping up each and every word; soaking up the content completely. It was as if I were on the production set of this book as a movie, watching the scenes unfold. The sex scenes were captivating and sensually titilating; the hunt for the missing husband was enthralling - as the reader went from the suffocating humidity of Florida to snowbound New York. The way he took the reader in and out of the present was fabulous. Nonetheless, the spellbinding effect was completely shattered, when at the end of the book - after all the characters and the parts they played had been revealed - the reader was left floundering on dry land like a fish that had been playing too close to the water's edge, expecting the tide to come and go again. Without any forewarning, after reaching the proverbial lead in for the greatest climax ever, the book ran out of steam and ended leaving the reader with feelings of immense void, vagueness, and extreme query.

I have read all the previous M. Hope books, and many 87 Precinct. In this one, none of the characters seemed worth my time. If I had met any of them in a bar, I would have turned away and talked to the bartender. Hope seems to have lost his reason for living, and along with it, my reason for reading about him. The people from the 87th novels were just tossed in. From the many 87th precinct books I know them as wonderful multifaceted characters, but little of that was shown here. Hope's legal partner was almost invisible, yet in the previous books, there was a complex ongoing relationship, both personal and in the business. If this were my first Hope or 87th novel, I think I would have been lost. As it is, I just hope Hope recovers more from the effects of the coma.

I FIRST READ ED MCBAIN WHEN I RECEIVED SNOW WHITE, ROSE RED, ONE OF THE MATTHEW HOPE BOOKS. THAT LED ME TO DISCOVER THE 87TH PRECINCT AND HAS GIVEN ME HOURS OF READING PLEASURE. THE LAST BEST HOPE RANKS TOPS ALONG WITH THERE WAS A LITTLE GIRL AS THE BEST OF THE SERIES.

Opened fast, proceeded at a swift pace, flushed out the characters as only McBain knows how to do (a little flushing at a time, thank you, to keep you guessing), and some sane, alongwith some "kookie" characters. A good read! A little more heavy on the sex, but, hey!, it fit the story nicely. And, I don't live too far from where the story took place...not a bad addition to my library. It's got MY TEN!