Rating: 
Summary: A must read for thriller fans
Review: A must read for thriller fans
I first started with this book by James Grippando, I know completely out of sequence but what a fantastic read. It was one of the best books I have read in such a long time (and I read Plenty). This book has a great opening, strong story with a satisfing ending. His characters are realistic and down to earth. I went out - persistently and purchased 5 of his other books and I am now a devoted fan. If you like this book read The Pardon and Undercover of darkness. James Grippando you have got my vote.
Rating: 
Summary: Would read it again!
Review: Although a little gorey and graphic, this book kept my nose stuck between the pages.
The concept behind the storyline is brilliant and original.
The characters are very well defined, and their stories unfold seamlessly.
Strongly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: (4 1/2) Read This Review - Not The Book Jacket
Review: I was first introduced to the concept of "last to die" by a runaway bestseller titled THE TONTINE which was written by Thomas Costain published as a two volume set in 1955. I read that book at the age of thirteen, and it was a riveting introduction to the magnificent possibilities presented by historical fiction written by a first rate author. The tontine was a type of insurance policy written during the middle ages, and that book not only chronicled with amazing historical sweep the events of that period but convincing demonstrated the concept of "moral hazard" and the perverse incentives involved in such a scheme. (Of course, present day insurers attempt to minimize the moral hazard occasioned in their business, and I believe that tontines are in fact universally illegal.) Meanwhile, the concept has been widely used by mystery writers who slowly kill off their characters and challenge their readers to guess who will be LAST TO DIE.The scope and goals of the author of this book are much more modest than Costain's but the central premise of the book is the same. If a large enough financial reward is payable to the last surviving member of a group, unexplained and perhaps violent deaths of the group's members will begin to occur within a relatively short period of time. The following brief summary of the plot reveals less of the story than the book jacket, since my advance knowledge of a few of the details mentioned there actually detracted from my enjoyment of watching the plot unfold. In this novel, Sally Fenning, a gorgeous divorcee is shot in her Mercedes on the streets of Miami, and her multimillion dollar estate (the book jacket says $48M, the text says $46M) is left to the last survivor among six apparent strangers with unclear connections to her. One of the potential beneficiaries is Tatum Knight, the brother of the best friend of Miami criminal defense attorney Jack Swytek and now Jack's newest client. Jack not only has to prepare for the legal maneuvering that is sure to ensue, but also try to maintain the secrecy of many details of Tatum's past life from the glare of the media publicity that is sure to evolve. This is a well written legal/mystery/action story with some surprising plot twists and interesting characters. Jack Swytek and his sidekick Theo Knight have an appealing relationship, but since this is the first book that I have read by this author I cannot comment on how his characters have developed over time. It is a very easy and fast read; I basically finished it on a long weekend without it monopolizing my time. I also enjoyed the occasional philosophical forays and asides and as well as the clever phraseology, e.g the chain link fence that had "razor wire running across the top like a man-eating Slinky". Despite my enjoyment, there are three reasons why I did not give it a five star rating. The first is minor, there are a few editing and proofreading oversights of the sort that I do not expect in a book from a major publisher. More significantly, after the first murder (or certainly the first two occurred), it seemed highly improbable that such intelligent people as the remaining beneficiaries appeared to be would not taken greater precautions to avoid the obvious danger in which they had been placed. Last, I found the ending rather abrupt and contrived and not up to the quality of the remainder of the book. It seemed as if the author decided that the script has achieved its desired length and the storyline had been plumbed sufficiently so that it was just time to tie up all the loose ends and go home. Unfortunately, it left me with a slight feeling of anti-climax. But I do want to emphasize that my rating reflects the fact that I enjoyed the book and recommend it enthusiastically. I just felt that the promise of the plot was not completely fulfilled. Tucker Andersen
Rating:
Summary: who Killed Sally Fenning?
Review: LAST TO DIE by James Grippando A wealthy woman leaves her estate to six people she had reasons to hate, in LAST TO DIE, a legal thriller by author James Grippando. Flashbacks tell the tale of Sally Fenning, a woman who was attacked and whose daughter was viciously murdered by possibly someone they both knew. Sally's story does not end there, as she rises above the tragedy that was her life, to become a very wealthy woman, worth millions. When Sally is murdered on a public street, a murder that could have been planned by Sally herself, the rumors start flying. Sally had supposedly hired someone to kill her, but the question now was, " Who really killed Sally Fenning?" Enter Jack Swyteck, criminal defense lawyer and all around good guy. His best friend is Theo Knight, a man that was once his client and was accused falsely of murder when he was a young man. His near-death experience on death row bonded Theo and Jack for life, and Jack would do anything for Theo. When Theo asks Jack to represent his brother Tatum when Tatum is named one of the six heirs to Sally Fenning's estate, a man that used to be a contract killer but has turned over a new leaf, Jack hesitates but agrees. What are friends for? When Jack learns that Tatum had been hired by Sally to kill her, but turned the job down, it is up to Jack to find out who really did kill Sally Fenning. At the reading of the will, all but one of the six heirs shows up. What the other five heirs find out is that they were probably on Sally's most-hated list of people in this world, and her stipulation of this will dictates that only one will inherit it all. The one that is left alive wins. And with that announcement, the fun begins. One by one, each of the six heirs are murdered. As the surviving members realize what is happening to their competition, Jack and Theo race to find out who is behind these murders. Is it Theo? Is it Tatum? Or is it someone else? No one is safe until the murderer is caught. This reader found LAST TO DIE an enjoyable, fast-paced book, and will return to read more by James Grippando. Finding out who was the murderer was not obvious and there were plenty of twists and turns to keep this reader interested. The side trip to Africa felt a little out of place, although the entire section was valid to introduce a secondary character important to the case. Otherwise, LAST TO DIE is recommended reading for those who enjoy a good who-dunnit!
Rating:
Summary: who Killed Sally Fenning?
Review: LAST TO DIE by James Grippando A wealthy woman leaves her estate to six people she had reasons to hate, in LAST TO DIE, a legal thriller by author James Grippando. Flashbacks tell the tale of Sally Fenning, a woman who was attacked and whose daughter was viciously murdered by possibly someone they both knew. Sally's story does not end there, as she rises above the tragedy that was her life, to become a very wealthy woman, worth millions. When Sally is murdered on a public street, a murder that could have been planned by Sally herself, the rumors start flying. Sally had supposedly hired someone to kill her, but the question now was, " Who really killed Sally Fenning?" Enter Jack Swyteck, criminal defense lawyer and all around good guy. His best friend is Theo Knight, a man that was once his client and was accused falsely of murder when he was a young man. His near-death experience on death row bonded Theo and Jack for life, and Jack would do anything for Theo. When Theo asks Jack to represent his brother Tatum when Tatum is named one of the six heirs to Sally Fenning's estate, a man that used to be a contract killer but has turned over a new leaf, Jack hesitates but agrees. What are friends for? When Jack learns that Tatum had been hired by Sally to kill her, but turned the job down, it is up to Jack to find out who really did kill Sally Fenning. At the reading of the will, all but one of the six heirs shows up. What the other five heirs find out is that they were probably on Sally's most-hated list of people in this world, and her stipulation of this will dictates that only one will inherit it all. The one that is left alive wins. And with that announcement, the fun begins. One by one, each of the six heirs are murdered. As the surviving members realize what is happening to their competition, Jack and Theo race to find out who is behind these murders. Is it Theo? Is it Tatum? Or is it someone else? No one is safe until the murderer is caught. This reader found LAST TO DIE an enjoyable, fast-paced book, and will return to read more by James Grippando. Finding out who was the murderer was not obvious and there were plenty of twists and turns to keep this reader interested. The side trip to Africa felt a little out of place, although the entire section was valid to introduce a secondary character important to the case. Otherwise, LAST TO DIE is recommended reading for those who enjoy a good who-dunnit!
Rating:
Summary: A fun well paced thriller
Review: Miami criminal lawyer Jack Swytek agrees to represent his friend Theo's brother Tatum Knight. Tatum claims Sally Fenning tried to hire him to kill herself. He refused but she was killed anyway. He now finds himself among the six beneficiaries of her forty six million dollar estate. There is a catch, however. Only one person will inherit the estate after all the others have died or renounce their claim. This will obviously lead to violence. Perhaps it is Sally's way to get back at those who made her life a nightmare after the murder of her daughter. It doesn't take long for the dying to start.
This is the second legal thriller I have read by James Grippando and would now call myself a fan. The book is fun, well paced and at least the main characters sketched with great care. One gets a strong sense of the South Florida environs without all the preaching exhibited by some other authors from the state.
Rating:
Summary: A real pleaser
Review: Seems every novel I read by Mr. Grippando is a pleaser. He seems to always hit the spot. To have built this story with self assasination, revenge and a extra twist in the conclusion shows the abilitys of a fine writer. I am a avid reader and when I see his name I grab the book without reading the story line, I know it will always be a good read.
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Summary: Last to die gets the dough!
Review: This is my 3rd Grippando book and one of the best whodonits that I have read in a while
Imagine this, Sally Fenning is a beautiful, young woman who has decided to end her life. Her life has been tragic since her young daughter was murdered and she was stabbed by a stalker who the police failed to catch and she feels she has nothing to gain. She asks a contract killer to do the deed. He refuses, she ends up dead anyway and she names him in her will. Along with Tatum, the contract killer, Sally also adds her ex-husband, the divorce lawyer, the DA that covered the investigation, a reporter who was planning on writing a book based on Sally's tragedy and finally a stranger name Alan Sirap to the list of beneficiaries. The amount of the inheritance is $46 million and only the last person living will collect the "jackpot".
This is where the fun starts. Jack Swyteck, best friend of the contract killer's brother is hired to defend Tatum and try to secure the inheritance for his client. Jack is too much of a good guy not to be bothered by the fact that this beautiful mysterious women decides to include the person that she hired to kill her, in her will.
As you coast along the book, you will start to understand the reason why each person was named in the will and you will also have fun trying to figure out who is killing each of the beneficiaries and who is Alan Sirap?
Grippando keeps me entertained and also on the edge of my seat, trying to answer all the questions before the book ended.
He just seems to get better with each book that I read. One of my fav.
Rating:
Summary: EDGE OF THE SEAT!!!
Review: This is one of his best. If what happend in this novel ever happend to me I don't know what I would do. Well hopefully make it out alive ;D Keeps you on the edge and his books always have twists and turns so you never know what is going to happen. Buckle of for this ride and it's one of those ones you just don't want to stop reading.
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Summary: Love Grippando's Southern Style and Sense of Humor!
Review: This is the second book by Grippando I've read. Wasn't too sure I liked the ending with "Beyond Suspicion," but I have nothing but positive comments to make about "Last to Die". Sally Fenning, young, beautiful and very rich, does not want to live. She tries to hire former contract killer Tatum Knight, brother of Jack Swyteck's best friend, Theo, to murder her. Although Tatum claims he turned her down, Sally is murdered two weeks later. Tatum hires Jack to represent him since Sally had named him as one of the six beneficiaries to her estate. Here's the catch: the 46 million dollars will not be disbursed until all of the heirs but one are deceased. That's where the fun starts. Grippando touches upon a very real, very tragic world situation in this book: child slavery in Africa, where thousands of children are forced to labor in cocoa fields. Believe me, I look at chocolate in a different way now. However, he balances this dark subject with the lighter, comedic relationship between Jack and his somewhat unsavory but lovable friend, Theo. I think Grippando is proving himself to be a mainstay in the legal thriller arena and each book in the Swyteck series seems to entrench him further in a genre that had become tired until he put Swyteck to paper. I'm a fan!
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