Last Man Standing

By: David Baldacci

Narrated by: Ron McLarty

The sole survivor of a devastating ambush, FBI Hostage Rescue Team agent Web London would do anything to find out what really happened that night—and a ten-year-old boy may be the unexpected key in this #1 New York Times bestselling thriller.

Web London was trained to penetrate hostile ground and come out alive. Then ten seconds in a dark alley cost him everything: his friends, his fellow agents, his reputation. Among his super-elite FBI Hostage Rescue Team, Web was the sole survivor of a high-tech, devastating ambush.

Now Web is trying to put his life back together and understand what really happened. To get answers, he'll need the help of psychiatrist Claire Daniels and the one other human being who lived through the attack—a ten-year-old boy. But when his search leads him back to that bloodstained alley, Web suddenly realizes he is about to face his assassin again. And this time, one of them will become the Last Man Standing.

©2001 David Baldacci (P)2005 Grand Central Publishing

Critic reviews

"Engagingly fierce...Baldacci's brain-teasing plot leaves you wanting more."—People

"[This book] finds the author in his familiar bestselling territory, the seamy underbelly of the nation's bureaucracy."—Entertainment Weekly

"Baldacci's most accomplished thriller...The action is nearly nonstop and expertly drawn."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Plot

Another winner for David Baldacci! I mostly listen in the car and this book made my commute less stressful. Good job.

Riveting with complex story line.

Another one of David‘s page turners. I enjoy the character development from this author and also the detailed descriptions of the good guys and bad guy organizations. I found the mood music the end of each chapter to be a little bit too much, but I appreciated the attempts to deepen the feelings that went along with the tension in the story.

great author but hated the background music.

I like this author and have listened to many of his books, but this one had a lot of really annoying background music in it, which was intrusive and sounded really stupid. I don't know why music is being added to audiobooks, and I really hope it is not the latest trend because I hate it.

The great thing about a book is that the author has already done the work of crafting the story, characters and scenes etc. and you get to use your imagination. It's not a movie or radio drama, and it was not written to be one. Adding music is ridiculous and does not add anything to the book. Instead it takes away from it. It yanks me completely out of the story, and I just sit there waiting for it to be over.

Also, this book ends in a random place, like it's missing the last chapter or something. Weird. Overall it was a good story, even though I had to suffer through the music, but it is not my favorite one by this author.

Good storytelling

I always love his books.
Miss Pete Robey though.
I wish he would surface again.

Narration is awful.

Terrible narration and weird music. Couldn’t finish this one. Story might’ve been decent but just couldn’t continue

Where’s the rest of the story?

I didn’t realize this was an abridged version but there was no ending. It just stopped without tying up any of the plot lines. Disappointing and a waste of a credit.

This book didn't end.

I have no idea why this book came to an abrupt halt. Almost like it didn't finish dowdowoading.

Overcomplicated Mish mash

Extremely disappointing book from such a popular author. There are so many plot twists it requires a 5 minute denouement where someone has to explain "we got the forensics back and this guy did this and that guy did that."

The characters are one dimensional cliches who frequently act in the plot's best interest instead of their own. And one of the biggest mysteries, "the swap", is never explained.

The uninspired atmospheric music (AI composed?) adds nothing to the story. Please stop doing this. The performance is acceptable but not standout.

It rambled to nowhere

There was nothing close to any ending. Is just bounced all over. I wish I could have my credit back on this book.

Poor audio

Maybe it’s just not my style, but this one is hard to listen to. The horrible accents and strange music input make it hard to follow.