The Last Spymaster

By: Gayle Lynds

Narrated by: David Colacci

Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's Summary

Charles "Jay" Tice was a spy's spy. The chief of the CIA's elite Clandestine Services, he was a legend throughout the world of international intelligence. But secretly he was also a traitor, reputedly selling information that will seriously compromise the security of the United States for decades to come. Since his treachery was exposed, Tice has been kept under strict surveillance in a maximum security prison.

Then one morning, his cell is discovered empty. Jay Tice has vanished - without tripping an alarm or leaving any trace of his passing.

Elaine Cunningham is a hunter - a CIA operative who specializes in finding people who don't want to be found. Young, gifted and a maverick, she is assigned to track Tice and bring him to ground before he disappears forever. But as she matches wits in a perilous game with one of the greatest spymasters of all time, she discovers there is far more at stake than an old spy's last run for freedom.

Lurking in the shadows are other hidden players with their own lethal agendas and, from Geneva to Washington, Berlin to New York City, a deadly conspiracy is coalescing. With only a few hours to go, and the future of millions in the balance, she must uncover the truth behind the legend of the last spymaster.

©2007 Gayle Lynds (P)2006 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

fast and furious

I had never heard of this author before this book, and was reluctant to purchase "The Last Spymaster". I saw the review by David Morrell, and decided to go with it. The book took off after the first few minutes, and the action was fast and furious straight through to the end. I have listened to 200+ audio books, and I'd rank this one near the top for entertainment. The narration was excellent. I don't typically expect spy novels to be particulary deep. I just want to be entertained while i exercise and drive. This novel succeeded in entertaining me from beginning to end, and is well worth the money and time spent.

28 of 30 people found this review helpful

What a disappointment

The premise of the story has promise, but the writing is bland and repetitive. Apparently, while the English language has dozens of euphemisms for "kill", the author only believes in two; "scrub" and "wipe". I'm not kidding; you could use this audiobook as a Forever Alone drinking game; one shot for "wipe", two shots for "scrub".

All the characters are annoying; the protagonist is supposed to be a tough-as-nails wild woman, but really, she's pretty much always holding back tears, or has a lump in her throat. The titular spymaster is running for his life, but he and the wild woman develop an almost instant affection for each other, and over the course of about a day and a half, are hugging each other. This is normal in adventure romances, but this book isn't supposed to be that.

The dialogue is so brutally trite in places that I actually flinched in embarrassment. Like the thug who screams "I'll get you, Tice! I'lllllll gettt youuuuuu!" while shaking his fist in the air.

And then, ye gods, there is the narration! I'm sure that the narrator is a nice person, but this isn't his best work. There are probably a twenty characters that exchange dialogue throughout the book, but only two of them sound different than anyone else. Oh, except the Arab characters, who all sound like pirates. "Allahu Akbar, argghhh!"

I wish I had my credit back.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

fantastic and fast paced!

This was a very good book . excellently written , fast paced , and totally enjoyable. The characters were well developed and the plot believable. Gayle has written three of the Robert ludlum books in the "covert one" series and her continuations of his work were much better than the other authors that tried to continue the series.This book is a testament that she has learned from the master from this genre. get this book you will definately enjoy it.

31 of 34 people found this review helpful

Keep moving, nothing to see here folks

As a fan of mysteries, thrillers, spy novels and other beach reading fiction, I don't approach the books I read for entertainment with the anticipation of memorable dialogue or prose, and I certainly don't expect any redeeming literary value. However, I do appreciate it when the author takes care to avoid strictly expository dialogue and overly-contrived metaphors.
While the plot of "The Last Spymaster" is sufficiently intriguing, the writing itself seems careless and rushed, making the story itself seem like a hastily fattened plot outline that was unfortunate enough to find its way to the bookshelf before ever meeting the pen of a good editor.
If the TV equivalent to a book like Alex Berenson's "The Faithful Spy" is "24," Gayle Lynds "The Last Spymaster" is "CSI: Miami". If that kind of "camp" doesn't bother you, then by all means enjoy. If, however, you don't like your novels with an overly hammy taste, you might want to look elsewhere.

15 of 17 people found this review helpful

A definite winner!

I bought this book based on the predominately positive reviews, and was not disappointed. The story is interesting, but not so convoluted that it's hard to follow. The characters are engaging and well-defined. What really makes this book shine, in my opinion, is the narrator. Many male readers have a hard time getting the right tone for female characters, but David Colacci presented the women as effortlessly as the varied accents of the many male characters. No artificial falsetto screeches here; his women have slightly husky, but definitely feminine voices.

Overall, this is a very interesting and entertaining story. While there is violence (it's a spy story, after all), it's not excessive. I admit to being a little squeamish when violence is described in minute detail, but nothing in this story ever made me want to skip forward.

I'm looking forward to more of this author's writing!

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Fun spy novel

Moves well and does give some of the characters a backstory. I could see it in a movie, and though it is predictable at some points, it does blend enough headlines with the plot to add relevance.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Don't buy this book!

This is the worst written book I have ever read or had read to me. I had to keep checking to see if it was written within the last ten years. It is out of date and not at all cutting edge. Plus the author went out of her way to put women in all the top spots and made the (Maybe the Spartest Spy ever) man look like a total idiot, although I am not sure she could see that. I will not buy another one of Gayle Lynds books. Also the narrator trails off his word at the end of every sentence. It is enough to drive you up the wall.

11 of 15 people found this review helpful

Loved it.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Last Spymaster to be better than the print version?

I have not read the print version, but I loved the audioversion.

What did you like best about this story?

The story kept me interested and entertained the entire book.

What does David Colacci bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narration was great and helped you to feel the different charicters, not just read them, or in this case, listen to them.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The book had some humor but was a good suspense novel.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

i finished it

So cliche, predictable, convoluted and boring!! Topped off by being very poorly read this is the worst spy novel I have purchased EVER. Wanted to quit after a couple of hours but I finished it. Look around, there are better out there.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great Listen

I had no knowledge of this author, and bought the book based on others reviews. Turned out to be one of the best I have read/listened to in months. A little campy, and a little predictable, but those of us who read spy thrillers should never complain about a plot being totally unbelievable, thats why they are sold as fiction.I would recommend this one highly.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful