Last Call: A Novel of Suspense

Jack and Theo back again. This time we are trying to find the cold case rapist/killer of Theo's Mother. We roll through the mire and muck of Miami's gangland Ghetto.All through this tied together we have the gangsta's ways involved. We continue with quite a few twists and turns and suddenly at the end we have a real surprise that is quite unexpected. Again we have a great offering from a wonderful Author. I highly recommend this novel.

I am just now listening to Last Call. It is interesting to go back and see what took Theo to where he was in the other books. Well written and, of course, in true Grippando style exciting.

Criminal Defense Attorney Jack Swyteck is back in another adventure involving a friend, Theo McKnight, who Jack had saved, when Theo was on death row in Florida, Theo is really a good guy but his undeserved past reputation is still with him. Theo is in search of the person that murdered his mother some years ago. He has his suspicions but proof has to be discovered. Theo gets Jack to give him an assist in this involved matter. Theo owns a club and has future desires to own another one in a better area. He has some roadblocks occur that slow down that dream for a while. Last Call takes place mostly in the Miami area. There are many gangs active in the area, gangs that have no qualms regarding killing anyone that looks at them the wrong way. They have gang initiations that force their candidates to doing the vilest things to others. Theo felt that these gangs were responsible for his mother's death and he decided to play his old gang contacts so he could find the murderer. The problem became one that caused more murders along with many beatings that included Theo and his Uncle Cy. Uncle Cy had been a musician in his earlier days and still maintained that great memory and played those places all over again in his mind. He was a tough guy but getting older reduced his available actions to retaliate. Swyteck had relationships with Rene but Rene had to go back to Africa, many times sooner than necessary in Jack's thinking. They had great sex but then it was goodbye Rene for months when Jack usually didn't hear from her. Jack had another acquaintance he liked quite well. Andie Henning had been an FBI agent for several years and Jack remembers the 'sparks' that could fly just seeing her. When an old prison acquaintance of Theo's, Isaac Reems, escaped from prison too easily, Andie was called into the case. This, of course, brought Andie and Jack back together in another case and renewed the `friendship' that neither ever forgot. After several murders and beatings, the search for Reems intensified. When he killed a state trooper, the investigation got frantic. While Theo wanted to find his mother's murderer, he hated to get involved in any part of the investigation but Reems forced him into that. Reems was a tough guy. He used some of his many gang contacts in and out of the Miami area as well as in prison to make Theo become deeply involved. He was terrific at using people and at killing them after he was through with them. Last Call tells a terrific story in a very interesting way. The author uses his characters well and keeps the reader guessing all through the book. I read Mr. Grippando's last book, The Pardon, and thoroughly enjoyed it. He gives no less a great story in his new book. I thoroughly recommend Last Call if your interests lie in lawyer, police, gangland, killing, beatings, and of course, love. What more can be said. You will not be disappointed in this great read.

Another triumph for James Grippando. Last Call is one of his best books to date - well worth waiting for. What starts out to be an escapee from jail trying to get his life back, soon turns to murder and it appears that he is an old friend of Theo's. Or is he? As the plot unravels it becomes Theo's and Jack's mission to find out who killed Theo's mother all those years ago - how does this connect to what is happening now? As the book draws you further down into Theo's past it uncovers facets about his early life you never would have imagined. Gritty in parts, the painful truth starts to emerge. The question is, will Theo come out alive? With unexpected twists and turns the Last Call does not disappoint. I give it 5 1/2 stars.

Miami criminal defense lawyer Jack Swyteck still worries about his former client bar owner Theo Knight as he knows his best friend has lingering resentment, rightfully so. When Theo was a teen raised by kind Uncle Cy (after his mom was killed) in the roughest hood, he was arrested and convicted for murder. He became the youngest person on death row and was only saved when Jack proved he could not have committed the homicide; even then he still almost was executed. Jack learns that someone tried to kill Theo in his old hood. Apparently, convict Isaac Reems promised to provide Theo with the name of his mom's killer in exchange to helping him elude the law. Instead the escaped con leaves evidence that Theo abetted his escape while setting Theo up for the failed shooting. Theo has always wanted to avenge his mother's murder, but the case went cold for the cops and him as the trail was outside the hood. While Jack joins Theo on his investigation, he hopes to keep his buddy from committing a homicide, but that may not matter when Isaac is found dead with proof that Theo killed him. Meanwhile an affluent unknown adversary wants the son as dead as the mother so that a two decade old murder stays unsolved. LAST CALL is an excellent South Florida mystery as the key players bring the Greater Miami area to life in a fast-paced tale. Isaac and whoever hired him cleverly use the past that haunts Theo to get at him while Jack is there for him. A touch of two romances and a bit of humor adds depth to a great cat and mouse thriller. Harriet Klausner