Last Man Standing has the essential elements of a terrific David Baldacci novel: a tough but tender-hearted hero, dirty dealings in the nation's bureaucracy, and a roller-coaster plot. Web London, a member of the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team, froze up on a drug raid and thus became the sole survivor of a remote-controlled ambush that killed six of his compatriots. Now the only witness has disappeared and the inside man on the botched raid has gone underground.

As a pretty psychiatrist puzzles over the corners of Web's brain that kept him alive, Web himself stays on the move. He's certain that the ambush is connected to the prison escape of a neofascist leader, Ernest B. Free, whom he helped arrest five years earlier, and a series of new murders leads him to a Virginia horse farm and the driving force behind all the carnage. It may seem as though Baldacci gives away the mastermind too soon, but both the bad guys and the good guys are complex enough that there's plenty of punch all the way to the last page. --Barrie Trinkle


From Publishers Weekly
Last year's Wish You Well, a historical family drama set in rural Virginia, proved that Baldacci, previously known for his thrillers (particularly his debut, Absolute Power), can do much more than supply maximum suspense. His latest is another exciting thriller, but one that hasn't forsaken the ambitions of Wish You Well, plumbing the emotions and exploring the shadings of human nature in an impressive way. And for the first time, Baldacci has created characters that readers will demand to see back in a sequel. He has chosen an immensely interesting subject: the (real-life) FBI Hostage Rescue Team, a force so elite that many of the Seals, Delta Force grads and other special ops who apply to it don't make the cut. Baldacci's hero is hostage rescue team superstar Web London, who inexplicably (to himself and others) freezes during an operation that leaves the rest of his team dead; hence, the book's title. Web's investigation into the massacre involves him with several bands of criminals, most notably a white supremacist terrorist cell, a gang of D.C. drug peddlers headed by a charismatic giant, and a secret group involved in both terror and drug activities. At the same time, Web's exploration into why he froze leads him to psychoanalysis and hypnosis, to budding romance and, ultimately, to revelations that tie together all the strands and questions of the immensely complicated plot. This is Baldacci's most accomplished thriller. The action, conspiratorial and overt, shifting from urban to rural and back, is nearly nonstop and expertly drawn; heroes and villains alike are believable and equally flawed; and there's a newfound maturity of tone here, a somber acceptance of the suffering that necessarily attends human life. (On-sale Nov. 6)Forecast: The American flag waving on the book's cover will draw readers' eyes; the strong title and the Baldacci name will carry them to the cash register. Expect hefty sales. Simultaneous audio cassette (abridged and unabridged), audio CD (abridged) and large-print editions. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
After a brief sojourn into historical fiction, Baldacci is back in the thriller mode. When his FBI Hostage Rescue Team is ambushed, sole survivor Web London has to prove his innocence. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
In this somewhat convoluted tale, FBI Agent Web London is point man of the super elite Hostage Rescue Team. He becomes the "last man standing" when the rest of his team is gunned down in an alley during a drug bust gone wrong. With the help of psychiatrist Dr. Claire Daniels, London begins to peel away years of repression that may have led to his collapse. Meanwhile, he insists upon tracking down the culprits. This is a story long on hardware (extended sections devoted to guns and ammo) but short on humanity and sympathetic characters. Jason Culp helps the story out with great attention to minor characters, accents, and attitude. Small-time hoods and other FBI agents created with wry humor and wonderful timing help to bring sparkle to this otherwise flat and overly long story. D.G. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
The hero of Baldacci's latest thriller is Web London, a member of the elite FBI Hostage Rescue Team. One night, on what seems like a routine drug raid, Web freezes up, hesitant to rush into the fray. It turns out to be a trap; the team members trigger unmanned machine guns and are slaughtered. Web is the last one in and manages to drop to the ground without getting hit. He destroys the machine guns and saves a little boy, Kevin, but he is tormented by the feeling that he let his team down. Web is regarded as a hero by most people in the FBI because of his actions during a hostage situation at a school, where he saved a member of his team and took two bullets and a fireball, which left him scarred. After his team's death, some members of the FBI are suspicious of Web, and when the news media gets wind of the fact that he froze up, they begin to hound him. He seeks counseling from Claire Daniels, a psychiatrist, who tries to draw out Web's buried feelings. Meanwhile, Web tries to find out exactly who set up his team, searching for drug dealers who had the ability to execute the plan, but as he investigates, he finds he may have enemies closer to home. Baldacci's fans, of which there are many, will be happy to see him back in thriller-writing mode. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"It took ten seconds for Web London to lose everything: his friends, his team, his reputation. Point man of the FBI's super-elite Hostage Rescue Team, Web roared into a blind alley toward a drug dealer's lair, only to meet a high-tech, custom-designed ambush that killed everyone around him." Now coping with the blame-filled words of anguished widows and the suspicions of colleagues, Web tries to put his life back together with the help of his psychiatrist, Dr. Claire Daniels. To do so, he must discover why he was the one man who lived through the ambush - and find the only other person who came out of that alley alive...a ten-year-old boy who has since disappeared.

SYNOPSIS

Web London roars into a dark alley one night with his FBI Hostage Rescue Team. Seconds later, the team is ambushed and every man is dead--except Web. As the FBI conducts their investigation, the suspicion surrounding Web deepens.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Last year's Wish You Well, a historical family drama set in rural Virginia, proved that Baldacci, previously known for his thrillers (particularly his debut, Absolute Power), can do much more than supply maximum suspense. His latest is another exciting thriller, but one that hasn't forsaken the ambitions of Wish You Well, plumbing the emotions and exploring the shadings of human nature in an impressive way. And for the first time, Baldacci has created characters that readers will demand to see back in a sequel. He has chosen an immensely interesting subject: the (real-life) FBI Hostage Rescue Team, a force so elite that many of the Seals, Delta Force grads and other special ops who apply to it don't make the cut. Baldacci's hero is hostage rescue team superstar Web London, who inexplicably (to himself and others) freezes during an operation that leaves the rest of his team dead; hence, the book's title. Web's investigation into the massacre involves him with several bands of criminals, most notably a white supremacist terrorist cell, a gang of D.C. drug peddlers headed by a charismatic giant, and a secret group involved in both terror and drug activities. At the same time, Web's exploration into why he froze leads him to psychoanalysis and hypnosis, to budding romance and, ultimately, to revelations that tie together all the strands and questions of the immensely complicated plot. This is Baldacci's most accomplished thriller. The action, conspiratorial and overt, shifting from urban to rural and back, is nearly nonstop and expertly drawn; heroes and villains alike are believable and equally flawed; and there's a newfound maturity of tone here, a somber acceptance of the suffering thatnecessarily attends human life. (On-sale Nov. 6) Forecast: The American flag waving on the book's cover will draw readers' eyes; the strong title and the Baldacci name will carry them to the cash register. Expect hefty sales. Simultaneous audio cassette (abridged and unabridged), audio CD (abridged) and large-print editions. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

After his fellow FBI Hostage Rescue Team members are massacred in an ambush during a raid on a supposed drug operation, Web London, who inexplicably froze, is branded a coward and worse. Determined to clear his name and seek revenge for his friends, London uncovers an elaborate conspiracy in Washington, DC, and rural Virginia involving drug dealers, white supremacists, and a turncoat psychiatrist. Baldacci's riveting thriller is clever because some of the conspirators don't even know they are working together and of how London painstakingly puts together all the pieces. The author emphasizes technology, la Tom Clancy, a bit much at the beginning, ends his yarn with cloying sentimentality, and indulges in some simplistic psychology London has way too many psychological wounds but his attention to detail and the depth of most of the characters overcome such flaws. Jason Culp flavors things with a variety of voices and accents. Recommended for public libraries. Michael Adams, CUNY Graduate Ctr. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

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