- Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (Jan 1 1999)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0446606731
- ISBN-13: 978-0446606738
- Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 2.2 x 17.1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 159 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Matthew Hope is at the end of his spiritual rope. He's divorced from his wife, recovering from a coma and tired of living in Calusa, Florida. When Jill Lawton hires him to find her husband, who's been seen "up north" with another woman, Hope thinks it's just another failed marriage ... until a body washes up on the beach with no face and Jack Lawton's driver's license in his pocket.
Hope enlists the help of Steve Carella, from the 87th precinct, and together they find that the Lawtons weren't the wholesome, tennis club members that they appeared to be. Jack Lawton is planning to steal a prized Greek artifact from the Calusa museum. Jill has a plan of her own, and both of them are sleeping with Melanie Schwartz, who is also sleeping with Peter Donofrio and Ernest Corrington-both ex cons.
The Last Best Hope is a wild ride. It starts out as a sleepy, love-gone-bad story and twists itself into a tightly wound tale of murder, deception and kinky sex. Almost every character is unpredictable and almost every character is a suspect. Ed McBain's two series characters-Hope and Carella-make a powerful team and the friendship that develops through the book lends the story an important sympathetic element. -- Mara Friedman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
McBain, an MWA Grandmaster, seamlessly combines the casts and locales of his Matthew Hope and 87th Precinct series into a coherent and entertaining whole. It begins when Jill Lawton approaches Hope, an attorney in Calusa, Fla., for help in finding her missing husband, Jack, whom she intends to divorce. That night, a body carrying Jack's identification turns up shot in the face and dead. It's not Jack Lawton's body, however, but that of Ernest Corrington, a burglar and would-be actor who was the third corner in a love triangle with Jack and a woman who goes by two names, Melanie and Holly. Jack and she have also comprised an erotic triangle with Jill. What binds these people together (besides the sexual geometry) is a plan to steal the Hemlock Cup from a local museum. The cup, the stuff of legends, is reputedly the very cup from which Socrates drank his poison. Jack, Jill, Holly/Melanie and Corrington hatch intricate plots to steal the cup?and to eliminate each other from collecting any part of the payment being offered by a Greek collector. Trying to trace Jack, Hope gets in touch with Detective Steve Carella of the 87th Precinct "up north." Their collaboration is complicated by dead bodies and yet another boyfriend of Holly/Melanie's. Sound tangled? It is, but with McBain's skilled handling, it's crystal clear and an absolute delight.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Matthew Hope meets Steve Carella at last.,
By
This review is from: The Last Best Hope (Mass Market Paperback)
Ed McBain tried to tie his two best selling series together with this novel set both in Matthew Hope's Calusa Beach and in the world of the 87th Precinct. While I'm not sure if he completely succeeded I do think this noirish story of a swinging married couple, their young girlfriend (for lack of a better term), their involvement with a murderous ex con, a scheme to steal a priceless art object, and an unsolved murder or two make this still a vintage exciting McBain novel. The friendship that detective Steve Carella and lawyer (kind of PI) Matthew Hope strike up long distance over the phone seems entirely believable and adds some sympathetic empathy for two of the longest suffering "good guy" crime fighters in modern day mystery fiction. I was glad to see these two each find a sympathetic ear.The story itself is a little raunchier in terms of sex than previous McBain's, but I don't think it detracts from the story. Indeed it seems kind of essential in explaining the actions and motivations of some of the characters. I could definitely see the book being cast as a noir type of film with one wondering to the end what the outcome will be. One last note, it isn't necessary to have read any of the other Matthew Hope or 87th Precinct novels before having read this one. It stands on its own well enough, but I do think that it might be helpful to have at least a little bit of a previous acquaintance with Hope and Carella. If nothing else it helps to show the reasons these two would feel a connection with each other. However, once again it isn't necessary for one to enjoy the novel. Without giving away the ending, the title implies that this might be the last Matthew Hope novel. I certainly hope not, I for one would love to see a follow up where Hope visits Carella and the 87th Precinct in the big city. I'll certainly keep my hopes up. No pun intended.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hoping for More Hope,
By MystMan (Kansas City) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Last Best Hope (Mass Market Paperback)
This most recent Matthew Hope novel is the best in the series. Ed McBain, mystery master, has developed a story involving personal agendas, a dead body washing ashore, and a complicated theft. It also features McBain's other protagonist, Steve Carella, in a crucial role. I've always enjoyed this series. McBain does a solid job with his Florida setting. His Hope series is great! I'm hoping for more!
2.0 out of 5 stars
Heart not in it.,
This review is from: The Last Best Hope (Hardcover)
I have read all of the Matthew Hope series, and have always enjoyed them thoroughly, until now. I found this book just drifted along, and neither the main character or the author really seemed to have their heart in it, so I'm not quite sure why they bothered. I did not find the plot interesting at all, and the writing style was disjointed and unfeeling. I was very disappointed. I hope the new 87th Precint book, which I have sitting in my 'to be read' pile is better than this.
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