Last Looks

A Novel

By: Howard Michael Gould

Narrated by: John Michael Higgins

Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE!

A razor-sharp, exquisitely paced, madly fun debut thriller that gleefully lampoons Hollywood culture and introduces the highly eccentric yet brilliant ex-detective gone rogue: Charlie Waldo.

There are run-of-the-mill eccentric Californians, and then there's former detective Charlie Waldo.

Waldo, a onetime LAPD superstar, now lives in solitude deep in the woods, pathologically committed to owning no more than 100 possessions. He has left behind his career and his girlfriend, Lorena, to pay self-imposed penance for an awful misstep on an old murder case. But the old ghosts are about to come roaring back.

There are plenty of difficult actors in Hollywood, and then there's Alastair Pinch.

Alastair is a onetime Royal Shakespeare Company thespian who now slums it as the "wise" Southern judge on a tacky network show. He's absurdly rich, often belligerent, and typically drunk—a damning combination when Alastair's wife is found dead on their living room floor and he can't remember what happened.

Waldo's old flame Lorena, hiding peril of her own, draws him toward the case, and Alastair's greedy network convinces Waldo to take it on. But after such a long time away from both civilization and sleuthing—and plagued by a confounding array of assailants who want him gone—Waldo must navigate complicated webs of ego and deceit to clear Alastair's name... or confirm his guilt.

©2018 Howard Michael Gould (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Some books are just plain fun, sidesplitting in the case of Carl Hiaasen and Tim Dorsey. And now, thanks to Last Looks, we can add Howard Michael Gould to that list...The relentlessly entertaining Last Looks actually resembles the work of Michael Connolly more than Hiaasen or Dorsey, its lightness wrought by the colorful Hollywood grotesques in a manner that would make Nathanael West (‘The Day of the Locust’) proud.”—Providence Journal

“A wild, madcap homage to and satire of the Hollywood noir thriller. Gould, an accomplished screenwriter and showrunner, knows how to keep it fast, smart, and funny.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer

“The plot is good and the protagonist is even better. It's fast, funny, and well worth a sequel."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Dialogue

Unrealistic plot line. Protagonist has no like-minded characters.Trite, tough dialogue . Stereotypical characters. True to LA neighborhoods.
Excellent reader.

Enjoyed completely!

Wonderful plot, very suspenseful, great development of characters, fun interactions!
Great book! Howard Gould is a terrific writer!

Solid entertainment

Thos one is both different and somewhat familiar. Our protagonist is a genuine eccentric but the usual tropes about Hollywood decadence are in the story. But there are enough surprising twists to make for and interesting read.

Light hearted mystery

With just enough of violence etc to enhance storyline. Enjoyed the eccentric main character and found the writing very funny. I will listen to his other books because I enjoyed this one so much.

Great Reading of a Fun Mystery

I truly enjoyed John Michael Higgins' reading of "Last Looks" audio book. A variety of entertaining characters brought to life by this talented actor with different voices and accents kept the pace moving and made the plot easier to follow -- always appreciated when listening to a book with many characters. The story was entertaining and best of all, there were no inexplicable loose ends when I finished. I can't wait to listen to Howard Michael Gould's next mystery with Charlie Waldo!

Not very believable

This book was sufficiently entertaining that I finished it, but overall I found it disappointing because the author strained believability in order to further a thin plot. I wish he had worked harder to make his story more reality-based. Here are the major points I had issues with: (spoilers ahead)


The main character, a former LAPD detective failed to spot the difference between uniformed LAPD officers and actors dressed up as New Orleans police officers..twice. It seemed to me that he would have noticed if even the smallest detail of the uniform was not correct for the LAPD, but a quick Google confirmed that the two uniforms are nothing alike. Aside from the obvious color difference (dark navy vs. light blue shirts), the badges are totally different. I can’t think of a scenario where ANY cop would be so indifferent to police uniforms and insignia.
Another important character, a life-long alcoholic, switched from drinking pitchers of vodka to bottles vitamin water overnight just by deciding to do it. No withdrawal symptoms, no professional support—not even a hangover. Apparently the author is unaware that alcoholism is a disease, not a casual lifestyle choice.
And finally (BIG SPOILER), I don’t believe a coroner would give a dead body to a friend to burn up in someone else’s car—even a “Jane Doe” that was going to be cremated. I’m not a lawyer, but I’m pretty sure it’s a crime to violate a corpse, and arson is definitely a crime. Risking fines, prison time and their careers isn’t something coroners do for a casual favor. The author devoted only a couple sentences to this scenario, probably because there was no way to make it even remotely believable, so better to just gloss over it and move on. That would have been okay if this event wasn’t such an integral part of the mystery and a major influence on the main character.

A pleasant mystery with soft turns.

Last Looks is a serviceable who dunnit on its own, made more enjoyable if you work in or near Hollywood.

Forgive the British accent and you'll enjoy this mystery without having to stop multitasking to pay close attention.

John Michael Higgins

Good story but great narration. I hope that JMH will narrate many more books. I will listen to these regardless whether the book interests me.

Terrific Book & Narrator

Wonderful book and narration. The book has it all, action, interesting characters, and left me a very satisfied reader, except for the part where I want MORE! The narrator is amazing, seamlessly changing characters yet I never got confused as to who was speaking. Excellent book, and am glad it is a series.

it's a good book, although

I got a bit lost in the beginning, too many characters
Towards the end the plot becomes more interesting and has a few surprises for us

Absolutely outstanding narrator