The Last Good Guy

Roland Ford, Book 3

By: T. Jefferson Parker

Narrated by: Will Damron

Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

In this electrifying new thriller from three-time Edgar Award winner and New York Times best seller T. Jefferson Parker, Private Investigator Roland Ford hunts for a missing teenager and uncovers a dark conspiracy in his most personal case yet.

When hired by a beautiful and enigmatic woman to find her missing younger sister, private investigator Roland Ford immediately senses that the case is not what it seems. He is soon swept up in a web of lies and secrets as he searches for the teenager, and even his new client cannot be trusted. His investigation leads him to a secretive charter school, skinhead thugs, a cadre of American Nazis hidden in a desert compound, an arch-conservative celebrity evangelist - and, finally, to the girl herself. The Last Good Guy is Ford's most challenging case to date, one that will leave him questioning everything he thought he knew about decency, honesty, and the battle between good and evil...if it doesn't kill him first.

©2019 T. Jefferson Parker (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“[T. Jefferson Parker] does a masterly job of ratcheting up the tension, and the often lyrical prose is a pleasure to read. This entry could well earn three-time Edgar Award-winner Parker a fourth Edgar.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

“In this powerful thriller, Parker leaves us aching for the damaged souls left behind by false prophets and hate-mongers, and hoping that there still really are some good guys.” (Booklist, starred review)

“As is typical for Parker's novels, the stage upon which the story unfolds is a microcosm of today's America, with racism and intolerance, the escalating struggle between conservatives and liberals and the pervasive intelligence of megachurches and the politics espoused therein. As is also typical of Parker's novels, it is a mighty fine read.” (BookPage)

Two Thumbs Up!

One for author Parker’s complex and twisty stories. And one for Will Damron’s absolutely marvelous narration. The Roland Ford series is the best!

Not Parker's best.

The story is actually pretty good, but some of the characters don't seem real enough. Listened to this almost 2 years ago, so I really can't remember all the character names. I've always measured Parker's books up against my favorite of his called "The Blue Hour". "Where Serpents Lie" and The Triggerman's Dance" were excellent too. This title didn't even match up to the "L.A. Outlaws" series. This title is a good story for a first time Parker reader but there are better novels of his earlier works.

5 Easy Stars for Roland, Damron and Parker!

Once again T. Jefferson Parker has written another winner with his new Roland Ford book. This book is the third in the series but each can be read as a stand alone.
This book has so much going for it with many issues right out of the current headlines.
The story begins with a woman coming to Roland's office and hiring him to find her 14 year old missing sister. There are 14 years between them and with their parents deceased she has custody.
What starts out as a simple runaway soon turns to murder turns to kidnapping. This all stems from a possible rape or seduction of a very popular evangelical minister who also happens to be a hard core right winger.
From there we go to politics, terrorism, truths mixed with lies, betrayal and vengeance. And of course Roland gets a few lumps along the way.
Will Damron is the perfect narrator for this book!
This book has my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION.
If you found this review helpful please indicate so.
Thank You.

Good story

Like the Roland Ford series. Although he seems like such sad person, it was a sound mystery. Interesting characters.

Unoriginal

This book isn't bad, the prose is good, the Southern California locales are a great backdrop, and the characters ( the Irregulars in particular ) are engaging. But the plot seemed like a retread of others, even with the references the recent and current events. It was a struggle to stay interested.

Parker Ruined The Story With His Personal Agenda

The narrator, Will Damon was excellent. The story was fine until Parker decided to lump all conservatives in with White Supremacy and his disdain for our current president was obvious. I and every conservative I know despise the alt right but Parker makes it sound like if you’re a conservative you’re already a member of the KKK. Ruined the whole thing for me. He has every right to his lopsided opinion but I have every right not to pay for it. I’ll be returning this one to Audible.

Monotone Narration & Unrealistic Story

The first few chapters sounded promising; but the monotone narration, combined with an increasingly unbelievable/unrealistic storyline, caused me to give up by chapter 10.