Last High Ground [Mass Market Paperback]

Robin A. White (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 1996

"BLISTERING ACTION, BRILLIANTLY PACED. You're drawn into a vortex of intrigue from the moment you start reading."
--Clive Cussler
In Hiroshima, a dying crime czar releases his power, his mistakes, and his money. . . . In Washington, a lawyers investigator uncovers the truth about the worst U.S. aviation disaster in history. . . . And 40,000 feet above Utah, an airline pilot feels a sudden shudder and knows the impossible is about to happen--again.
Now three men from different worlds must infiltrate a vast conspiracy that is wreaking havoc in the skies. Shig Onishi is a Japanese accountant turned cop. Brian MacHenry is a dogged ex-marine investigating a string of horrible airline crashes. And Roger Case is a lawyer who specializes in aviation litigation. All three men are following a trail of money, power, and shocking criminality that stretches across the Pacific and into the halls of U.S. industry and politics. The questions Onishi, MacHenry, and Case are asking are more than enough to get them killed. But the answers are enough to rock the
world. . .
"A THOROUGHLY ENTERTAINING THRILLER."
--St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"A SLAM-BANG CLIMAX . . . [A] SOLIDLY CRAFTED THRILLER."
--Kirkus Reviews

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Japanese villains in a conspiracy novel are sometimes a pretext for gratuitous Japan-bashing; but in this crisp thriller by White, everything he has to say about Japan is an integral part of the premise. In October 1995, a high-stakes merger between the Boeing Aircraft Company and a Japanese consortium is in jeopardy because Boeing's new 777 jets are falling out of the sky. Independent investigator Brian MacHenry suspects something a lot more sinister than terrorist bombings, especially after receiving information from a discredited Boeing employee that the crashes are due to faulty parts. Meanwhile, Shig Onishi of Japan's national police force is also investigating the Boeing merger. The company heading the consortium, Nippon Aerospace, is run by the current head of a Japanese gangster family, and he, along with powerful forces on both sides of the merger, wants to make sure that MacHenry and Onishi fail to discover just exactly what is wrong with the Boeing 777. White (The Sword of Orion) keeps the plot complex without making it complicated, and he makes his points about the underlying U.S.-Japanese conflict subtly and dramatically. This hard-edged thriller is somewhat undermined however, by White's decision to use the name of an actual aircraft company and to make innuendos about poor control over software, testing and production. And a final ironic plot reversal involving a high-tech sabotage gimmick could frighten air travelers even more.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Set in the very near future, this fast-paced, suspenseful thriller recounts an attempt by a Japanese crime syndicate to gain control of the Boeing Aircraft Company. The syndicate stages a series of aviation disasters that are intended to look like terrorist bombings. Three disparate men-an American aviation litigation lawyer, an American freelance air accident inves-tigator and former pilot, and a young investigator from Japan-set about to find the responsible party. Working out of different locations and initially unknown to each other, the three men ultimately come together in an exciting conclusion that will keep readers glued to their seats. Filled with detailed descriptions of aviation computer technology and Japanese police investigative techniques, this work is recommended for public libraries.
Erna Chamberlain, SUNY at Binghamton
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 338 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett (October 30, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 044918319X
• ISBN-13: 978-0449183199
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,517,510 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great page turner - worth a look, November 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Last High Ground (Audio Cassette)

While looking for a substitute for Clive Cussler as I wait for his next Dirk Pitt adventure, I chanced upon this - my first read of a Robin White book. It held my interest right from the first pages and did not disappoint until the conclusion which could have been stronger. The jingoistic concerns, which could also apply to Cussler's Red Dragon, are unfounded - the antagonists are the MAFIA, who could be based in Russia, Italy or New York, instead of Japan. Personally, I found the Japanese angle enhanced the story; it did not detract from it. I look forward to further reads from this author ( until the next Clive Cussler novel)

4.0 out of 5 stars Big business and crashing airplanes, November 16, 2003

By 

Lynn Harnett (Marathon, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Last High Ground (Hardcover)

White's complex mystery combines airplane sabatoge with a Japanese takeover bid for Boeing. The story moves from the deathbed of a notorious Japanese crime boss to a passenger plane spinning out of control at 40,000 feet, and a hunted man who claims to know why the planes are crashing.

Aviation lawyer Roger Case and accident investigator Brian MacHenry try to determine if the crashes are bombs, as the FBI claims, or equipment failure, which could torpedo the Boeing deal. Meanwhile, Japanese economic police investigator Shig Onishi finds his own examination of connections between a respectable and wealthy foundation for atomic-bomb survivors, and the Nippon Aerospace Consortium growing ever more strange and complicated and leading, eventually, to the halls of Boeing and a clash with MacHenry.

White keeps the pages turning with a plot that's perhaps too complex, at least on the economic side, and characters that, while not deeply fleshed, are appealing. Shig, particularly, with his unJapanese independent streak and his handy knowledge of marshal arts, could be the beginnings of a series character.

White includes plenty of Tokyo color, from scented telephone booths to the odd details of office protocol and the decorative uses of "office flowers." And the finale offers not one but two hair-raising bang-up, smash-up aerial battles.