Customer Reviews

The Last Good Day

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

By far Peter Brauner's best, the book compares favorably to something like Updike's RABBIT REDUX.

On every page I had to pause to remind myself that I don't actually live in Riverside, the New York suburb where the action is largely set, but far away in California. That's how convincingly he draws you into the story.

Most writers have no idea how to integrate the working lives of their characters into the give and take of a thriller. Here I was totally taken in by Barry Schulman's working world in the high concept life of a biotech company, by Lynn's photography and the way a reader could actually visualize many of her best pictures, by Mike's life as a small town detective with a big city style crime to solve.

There was a lot of class stuff too, which again most American novelists can't handle. And most of all, the suspense which got to be so overpowering I didn't want to do anything but finish the book. The 9/11 material was handled with distinction; I liked Barry falling all over the commuter who, because he wasn't seen on the train for some time, was believed to have perished at the World Trade Center.

With Slow Motion Riot, Blauner reinvented the urban crime novel back when the so-called New Realists were still trying to cop a puff on Elmore Leonard's cigarettes. With his newest book, he stretches into new territory and takes on suburban life in the new century with the same unsparing eye. Unlike some other readers, I felt the 9/11 references were skillfully done and heartfelt, without stooping to sentimentality. And the writing is carefully wrought and richly textured from line to line. Readers looking for phony tough guy heroes and breathless escapism should look elsewhere. This is a fine American crime writer telling uncomfortable truths.

Peter Blauner's fifth novel salvaged an otherwise miserable and rainy Memorial Day weekend on Eastern Long Island. Put on some sweats, throw a few logs on the fire and begin turning the pages of an enormously readable murder mystery--probably one of the best I've read in years. Set in a bucolic Westchester bedroom community in the wake of 9/11 (a skillfully employed subtext), murder interrupts and ultimately destroys the lives of several well developed characters. With Blauner's brilliant dialogue and crystal clear images, you can almost feel the characters' pain. If the sun ever does come out, it will be a great beach read.

Blauner is one of those authors that just keeps getting better and better. From SLOW MOTION RIOT to THE LAST GOOD DAY, he brings an extraordinary sense of authenticity to his novels. His latest is his best and most compelling. Great characters, a plot that gets more and more interesting as it develops, and a wonderful ending make this the best novel I've read this year.

Thanks to the author for two of the more fun days of my life....reading his novel compulsively. Now my husband is reading it and making a lot of the same enjoyment sounds I made while devouring what has to be one of the more entertaining reads around. It's so hard find a literate,
amusing, cohesive thriller with fascinating, fleshed-out characters to boot. I just loathe some of the "best-sellers." even Grisham is mostly shallow. The only good book I've ever read of his is "Runaway Jury." I read that compulsively, too, but these kinds of books are, truly, rare. More from Mr. Blauner, please... Oh - and it is so vivid and dramatic, I hope it 's made into a movie. I thought a lot about which actors would play his characters...I'd be first in line for a ticket.

Welcome to the suburbs, crime-fiction style. This is Peter Blauner's best since SLOW MOTION RIOT. Thoreau says that most men lead lives of quiet desperation. Here's exhibit A. Except that the women are just as desperate. And the police may or may not be of much help. The Irish/Jewish interplay is honest and effective, the plotting superb, the middle-class tragic ending satisfying. Considering the fact that most of the violence is psychological and the frightening atmospherics result largely from mundane suburban situations, this is impressive work indeed. Blauner delivers all of the suspenseful un-put-downableness of a Lee Child, but with very different materials and in a quite different ethos. Bravo.

I loved The Last Good Day. It is an amazing read. The writing is great and the characters are so real.Lynn and Barry Schulman are a happy couple who are unprepared for the nightmare that Mike Fallon brings into their lives. The background of 9\11, the local suburbs and recent events are woven together to form a suspensful and exciting murder mystery. I knew I was hooked from the very first paragraph. I highly recomend this book to everyone who likes this genre.

Blauner is the best. Once again he gives us an intelligent thriller that you can't put down. He seems to get better with every book. He is a master of the little details that make characters and their worlds come alive. Fascinating. A must read for anyone who rides past manicured lawns and wonders what really goes on in the houses behind them. But beware. You'll never hear a suburban sprinkler again without feeling a chill.

This is easily Blauner's best book so far. It moves like a freight train but carries a motherlode of good writing and sharp characterization. And the mystery element could give you whiplash from doing a surprised double-take. I was all ready to throw Shutter Island in my bag and say I was all set for summer reading. Now I'm revising my list to include The Last Good Day

Lynn Schulman moves with her family back to her hometown of Riverside, NY and finds herself wrapped up in the murder of a friend. The lead detective turns out to be a former boyfriend and as the case unfolds, Lynn finds herself more involved than she would like. With more depth than the average murder mystery, this book illustrates how past history affects the present.