THE LAST FAMILY
Reviewed By Jilli
Fiction/Suspense by John Ramsey Miller
Published by Bantam
Hardcover Aug. 1996
Paperback Aug. 1997
A suspense novel revolving around former DEA agent, Paul Masterson, the members of his former DEA strike force, and the plotted revenge of a cold-bloodied killer named Martin Fletcher.
Masterson, an ex-high ranking DEA agent, now a recluse after an ambush master-minded by Fletcher six years earlier, has retired to live in the mountains alone. Half-blind, Masterson left his wife and children after the bombing that left him disfigured and an emotional and physical cripple to withdraw from all contact with those once close to him and the world in general.
The cunning and vengeful murderer and also ex-DEA agent, Martin Fletcher, seeks to draw Masterson out to kill him and his family, and one by one kills the families of Masterson's former DEA strike force team until Masterson's is 'The Last Family'.
There is lots of killing, some of women and children. A lot of action and suspense as Fletcher draws closer to Masterson and his family. The location of most of the action is New Orleans and the southern US.
I was disappointed that the criminal here seemed to be much smarter, with unlimited funds and resources, than the law enforcement agents after him. I was beginning to wonder how in the world the luckless good guys were going to win out, and it is only after most are killed that Masterson does, almost by luck.
I can't say there were any surprises in this book, but if you like action suspense thrillers centered around CIA, FBI and DEA plots, this is a good one. You might be disappointed, as I was, that there is no technical info here or priviledged insights revealed about the shadowy workings of these powerful and secreted forces of our government.
I was interested in the author mostly when I picked this book up, because this is his first published novel and I wanted to read his debut and see what's being accepted from first-time authors by the publishers these days. Killers depicted as super-intelligent, killing in all kinds of heinious ways, the good guys finally winning after tremendous suffering seems to be part of the market. There is no sex in this book.
The deciding factor in my purchase was this statement in the Acknowledgments, "My agent and dear friend ... who weathered 130 rejections [of this book] with steadfast devotion."
The author, John Ramsey Miller, has the knack. His writing is flawless and I hope there will be more to read from him soon. I look forward to seeing how he wields his pen in future writings. Even though this is his first novel he is a mature writer and upcoming publications should be worth reading.
"QUOTE" .. "A man might show up someday. He might say he's an old friend. He might not be armed and he might seem friendly. He'll be here to kill me."
Sign Our Guestbook
View Our Guestbook
