Books I've read this week - The Last Family

After reading First Family by David Baldacci, I thought it was only fitting to follow up by reading The Last Family by John Ramsey Miller ©1996 (Bantam Books). This thriller kept my attention from the start and didn't let go until the final chapter. Martin Fletcher is a renegade DEA agent who blames former agent Paul Masterson for his downfall. Fletcher is a psychopath who doesn't care who he hurts in his quest for revenge. Over the past couple of years he has been killing the family members of Paul's former team, making it look like accidental deaths. After killing Agent Rainey Lee's wife, he calls Rainey and tells him what he'd done and that it was he who also killed his two children. He tells him it's all Paul Masterson's fault. Paul himself has become a recluse in a Montana cabin six years after almost getting killed in one of Fletcher's schemes. He's lost an eye, has limited use of one arm and hand, and walks with a limp. He wants nothing more than to try and forget the two men who died trying to save him but his life is filled with nightmares and regrets. He's alienated his family and doesn't know how to make things right

One day two men show up on the mountain looking for Paul. He learns that Fletcher has killed the families of 3 other agents and he needs to return to work in order to stop Fletcher from killing the last family, his family. The only way he can do that is to use his family as bait and try and take Fletcher out before he killst them. Is he up to the task? He and his former teammates, who have already lost their wives and children, are certainly going to try.

This book starts out fast and never slows down. The seemingly untouchable Fletcher gets away time after time. He's a makeup artist and has had plastic surgery and hides in plain sight a lot of the time. He taunts Paul with messages and phone calls. He's pure evil and you just want them to get him SO badly! I probably wouldn't watch this type of movie because of all the graphic violence and killing, including children, but it had so much character background that it made it really interesting to read. If you like this type of book, I guarantee you won't be disappointed.