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Jack Widow #9

The Last Rainmaker

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Jack Widow hunts for a sniper with deadly range, and an even deadlier secret in book nine of Scott Blade's bestselling series.

A deadly range. The world record for longest range of a sniper kill shot. Ever. No contest. No question. What happens when a new sniper comes alone and takes out the world's top shooter from further away? Terror.

Jack Widow is unlucky enough to end up in the hospital after an accidental train crash. Wrong place. Wrong time. But his luck goes from bad to worse when CIA Agent Benico Teller, forgotten, walks out of Widow's past and into his hospital room with classified intel that Widow must hear and an offer that he can't refuse.

Turns out that the US government needs Widow's help. He's the only man alive to ever survive an encounter with their only suspect: a whisper, a phantom, a ghost sniper, known as Rainmaker.

Rainmaker's skills fall somewhere between the best there ever was and godlike.

As more snipers on the list of top shooters are being murdered, one by one, only Jack Widow can track the sniper and stop him.

Kindle Edition

First published May 11, 2018

1702 people are currently reading
599 people want to read

About the author

Scott Blade

48 books311 followers
USA TODAY and AMAZON BESTSELLER - Scott Blade is a Nomadvelist, a drifter and author. He writes the bestselling Jack Widow book series, two of which reached the Top 100 list on Amazon, knocking Harry Potter & Jack Reacher off the top spots, which angered one of the big publishers. Scott wears that fact as a badge of honor.

Scott Blade isn't a traditional novelist who spends his time stuck behind a computer desk in some dreary office. He truly walks the walk. He drifts around like the nomad he writes about, touring the world, writing mysteries and searching for the perfect coffee.

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5 stars
1,496 (52%)
4 stars
981 (34%)
3 stars
301 (10%)
2 stars
27 (<1%)
1 star
22 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
Profile Image for William.
676 reviews412 followers
August 18, 2019
Jack Reacher look-alike, but mostly very well done. Some clues hint that Jack Widow might be Jack Reacher's son (via Lee Child's "The Affair", Reacher #16), although the timelines for that don't really mesh very well. (More on this in my review of Widow book #1, "Gone Forever").

Still, an interesting idea, perhaps an excuse for re-creating Jack Reacher on the author's pages. I'm okay with that. I can call it self-interested Homage to Lee Child.

As usual with my reviews, please first read the publisher’s blurb/summary of the book. Thank you.

I enjoyed this, but the prose seems a touch repetitive, and the location/costume descriptions are a bit over-egged. A bit more spare and the pacing would have been excellent.

The plot is fine, and the pacing is very good, especially in the last 1/4 of the book.

There is a gentle mutual affection between Widow and another character, a painful past, and a high body count. And of course, there is the....

Gun porn

Arctic Warfare Magnum L115A3 Sniper Rifle

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Author Error (to be corrected in later editions, per Scott Blade)
... announced the flight time of five hours and some change, and said they were flying to an American Air Force base in the UK called Lakenheath.
You would never fly a V22 Osprey from the USA to the UK.
1. Top speed only 315 mph
2. Top range 580 miles
3. Andrews AFB to Lakenheath is 3,600 miles. A five hour flight would have a top speed of around 800 mph


Sig Sauer P226 Legion RX

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MP5SD Heckler & Koch submachine gun

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Walther P99C

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Valkyrie Sniper Rifle

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Chinese Type 05 Submachine Gun

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150 reviews1 follower
November 24, 2018
This is my first Jack Widow, it will not be my last!

Jack Widow is another Jack Teacher, from a slightly different mold. He has many of the same type of traits. I totally enjoyed the book and will be back for more!
Profile Image for P..
Author 1 book11 followers
April 19, 2020
All action

This was a very enjoyable read and full of action. Widow dips into a crisis and helps to bring it to a suitably violence resolution but does not longer - what happens the supporting characters is not relevant for it is about Widow and he has to get on the road again.
Profile Image for Jeff Benham.
1,718 reviews12 followers
October 26, 2018
Jack Widow, ex Navy SEAL, ex NCIS under cover, current wanderer. While on a train ride, it derails and he is seriously injured. This brings him to the attention of people he didn't want to find him. This time, though, they need his help. A sniper, The Rainmaker, is taking out record setting snipers, at a longer distance. Although he didn't know it at the time, 12 years ago, Widow escaped from that same sniper. The Rainmaker is also killing anyone involved with the gun that he used, so it cannot be traded back to him. Lots of traveling for Widow, and action too.
1 review
May 13, 2018
Outstanding

Another fabulous adventure for Jack Widow as usual can't wait for the next one will pre-order it as soon as possible!
42 reviews
June 1, 2018
Excellent

Jack Widow just gets better and better, good deal of action around the world,look out reacher he’s catching you up.
Profile Image for Richard Lelievre.
139 reviews1 follower
June 10, 2018
As usual a very good book from Scott Blade. This one à little bit different. Good action good writing. Love it 4.5 stars.
Profile Image for Laura Vahle.
1 review
July 25, 2018
Good book

Like the rest o the Jack widow series this doesn’t disappoint fast paced and packed with action cant wait for the next one
141 reviews2 followers
December 19, 2018
I'm scoring 3 stars for the book though on my private scale, it's actually 2-1/2 stars.

Scott Blade is imaginative and weaves interesting story lines. He has come up with a damaged hero, Jack Widow (who gets physically damaged several times during the yarn) that seems like a poor copy of Jack Reacher: ex-NCIS (and undercover in the NCIS, was deployed as a SEAL - match that, Jack Reacher!); homeless; no luggage; jobless – "I had a job three years ago"; and when pressed, describes himself as nomadic.

While much of the story is far-fetched, it's enjoyable and the plot twists keep the interest up. However, some potholes really interfere with fully engaging in the book. For example, opening the first chapter, the author describes Widow: "He stood six feet tall, only not then, because right then, he wasn’t standing." Fortunately, not much prose like that, though the effect persisted for some time.

The author also has an Irish detective assert: "'All weapons are legal in America,'” to which Widow doesn't reply because, "They weren’t wrong." Such erroneous ideas beg the question of what country is the author's home. Also worth considering: why the author didn't do any research; he went so far as to look up a particular sniper rifle on the Internet.

Regarding lack of research, Widow and others, both good and bad guys, get shot at – and some (several) killed. Most heard the shot before being hit; some realizing it was a gunshot and trying to dodge.

Finally, a note on the careless writing or editing that parts of the story exhibit: one example of the carelessness rendering a passage meaningless or nonsensical. A supreme leader of North Korea had a relative killed; it was done by a poison: "It killed him by simply touching someone who had it smeared on fabric."

Although the anomalies and shortcomings did not prevent reading the book, they did seriously diminish my enjoyment of it.
Profile Image for Stefan.
268 reviews37 followers
December 6, 2023
The Last Rainmaker is the ninth book in Scott Blade’s Jack Widow series and I thought this one was much, much more enjoyable than the last one.

After a train derailment sends Jack Widow to the hospital with a serious concussion and an injured arm, he wakes up to find himself with one wicked headache, excruciating pain in his arm, and handcuffed to a hospital bed with an armed Naval Police officer standing guard. Once he is able to somewhat clear his foggy mind, against doctor’s orders, he is quickly discharged from the hospital and whisked away to a military base to meet with a high ranking officer in the US Army and a person from his past that he would rather see dead than talk to.

They are in need of Widow’s expertise, as the best snipers in the world are being eliminated one-by-one by an unknown assassin and the US military needs to find this ghost assassin fast and put a stop to the killings. About 12 years years ago, Widow while on a black op mission in China along the North Korean border, he and his partner were targeted by a ghost sniper (a Rainmaker as legend would have it) that had remarkable skills and a deadly shot from an inconceivable range. Nobody would believe him back then, but they certainly do now. It looks like the Rainmaker is back in business.

Time is ticking as the sniper has their sights set on the next target. It is going to take all of Widow’s skills, a whole lot of luck and the help of some international “friends” to try and track down this Rainmaker. There is a few flash backs from the black op mission that add to Jack Widow’s character backstory.

I really would not mind if at some point in the future Widow reconnects with a few of the characters in this book.

This was such a great story and probably one of my favourite books in the series to date.
Profile Image for Neelabh Pratap  Singh.
Author 43 books26 followers
August 27, 2023
"The Last Rainmaker" by Scott Blade is an exhilarating departure from the usual Jack Reacher style thriller that the other books of Jack Widow series follows. It's a captivating blend of espionage akin to Tom Clancy and Vince Flynn. In this gripping narrative, the shadowy Rainmaker program of North Korea takes center stage, introducing snipers with unparalleled precision. The titular character, the final surviving Rainmaker, emerges as a relentless force targeting elite snipers worldwide.

The plot delves into a past encounter where the Rainmaker failed to eliminate just one individual: Jack Widow. Now, Widow is dispatched to Ireland, collaborating with local law enforcement to track down this deadly sniper.

While the narrative maintains its entertainment value, Scott Blade grapples with the tendency to add a lot of fluff to the storyline unnecessarily. This results in the book's length ballooning from what could be a concise 200 pages to an unwarranted 400 pages. However, for those seeking an engrossing single-read experience, "The Last Rainmaker" undoubtedly delivers.
Profile Image for Jo-Ann Fitzgerald.
753 reviews2 followers
July 13, 2022
This is the 9th book in the series.

In this one, our hero starts off after a bit from the last one with his last heroine (from the last book) until they agree it’s time to move on. He decides to take a train across the US only to have it crash. He comes to in the hospital with handcuffs on - again.

Only to find he’s being arm twisted into helping out the military and other agencies - again (like before he gave it all up). He ends up pairing with someone from his past who he didn’t like. This takes him back to one of his old cases and to Ireland, Canada, and the US. He finds out he did save someone who he thought he didn’t and helps out catching one of the guys who cost almost an entire family their life. At the end, he’s back in the US and on his way again.

Loved the start with how he gets suckered into this case but then it goes a bit weird. I liked the ending but it wasn’t very realistic.
Profile Image for Don.
1,028 reviews5 followers
August 29, 2020
Ok Blade, why can’t you be realistic like Clancy, a V-22 Osprey only has a range of a little over 1000 miles yet you make it from Andrews AFB MD to Lakenheath , a distance of 3670 miles? Be real for Gods sake! Then you do it in jet time of 5 1/2 hrs? Again, you are just lazy, or you are counting on your proof readers who are failing you. Reality makes all stories BETTER! His last book was much better, this is a very choppy read, trying to hold on to different events, next thing you know Widows in China, but then you figure it out that this was his past. Not written with the reader in mind. I totally skipped chapter 17, past history BS. Again he goes flipping back to the past from the present with no warning, not my kind of book. If this was the first Jack Widow read I probably wouldn’t be reading anymore Scott Blade. 3.9


49 reviews
November 22, 2018
Scott Blade tries mightily!

The main protagonist is a caring former Navy SEAL, CIA agent and is now a freelancer. This assignment has him traveling to the North Korean-China border and now to Ireland. He finds a gun runner who is shot in front of our main man. In the meantime he finds a beautiful Irish policewoman. In the final pages we are transported to northern Canada where a final confrontation takes place. Scott's characters are stilted and we get no understanding of what makes the players tick. Sorry but this is just a ho-hum novel. I had been hoping for more but the Last Rainmaker does not deliver.
Profile Image for Denise White.
2,030 reviews
September 27, 2024
Not one of my favorites either with this book it was kind of dumb the whole rainmaker thing I’m sick of him with these women and everybody is just so beautiful. This author doesn’t know how to write about women Jack widow comes off juvenile every time he describes a woman and his experience with them he needs to just stop also this book ended abruptly. What happened to Tiller and it didn’t explain why Cassie was even with them in Canada in the first place why didn’t she keep her ass where she was at in Ireland that didn’t make no sense this was not, but I did give three stars because I finished it deciding if I’m gonna go to the next book thats all I got
66 reviews1 follower
November 26, 2018
Please hire an editor

I hesitated to give this book 4 stars. It should have been 5 and easily could have been 2.
I throughly enjoyed the book. As a fan of Child, Thor and Silva this author ranks right up there. I know that is very high praise.
So, why the reluctance to go all in? For goodness sake, hire an editor or proof the manuscript before publishing it! I found at least 5 typos and not the spell check kind. That is embarrassing.
I will continue to read this author because I enjoy this genre. Hopefully the errors improve!
Profile Image for Helen Lewis.
154 reviews3 followers
June 6, 2019
This is the third Jack Widow book I have read. The others were talking about events that were happening then, but in this book, there were flashbacks that explained what was happening in the present time. I never really understood why Widow was brought into this search other then he was one that got away from the Rainmaker and even at that, it was not really stressed in the story. I found the build up to the climax of the book, exciting but the ending left me with questions. I look forward to continue reading these books.
356 reviews4 followers
May 19, 2020
Another great read. I am enjoying this series very much. As this was my ninth book I feel as though I have got to know the main character quite well. However, I have to smile to myself about the various predicaments that Jack Widow finds himself in. For a guy who wants to live a simple life as a drifter he is not doing too well! Still that is a positive for us readers. I guess a book about sitting by a swimming pool for days on end, relaxing and enjoying life would not be quite as attractive for a reader. Again a well deserved 5 stars.
55 reviews
February 23, 2021
The only thing that stops me giving this 5 stars is it comes to an end too fast. One minute its jogging along nicely, setting the scene for the big finale and then BAM, its all over in about two pages. I felt the same about the previous book in the series. It feels like someone has called for him to come out to play and he's just rushed to finish it. It needs a better editor and a better proof reader. Its a shame as these has such potential. But I will continue to read books from the series and recommend them to anyone who enjoys a thriller or is a Reacher fan.
Profile Image for Laurie C..
168 reviews5 followers
December 28, 2018
THE LAST RAINMAKER #9

My first Jack Widow book and I'm hooked! Great plot with good characters. I was caught up in the beginning pages as the main character Widow sat in the observation deck on a train. His thoughts of his past torture him, but as the train wrecks, his past as a covert agent fades as he's knocked unconscious. When he awakens he soon realizes that he left the military but maybe they aren't ready to let him go!
1,538 reviews5 followers
December 15, 2019
Gutsy

Full of action and movement. Widow can be effective even with a concussion and a broken hand. He's scooped up from a hospital bed following a train wreck, to help stop a long range sniper before he kills the remaining snipers who have beat his record. Widow is helped along the way by a woman that he though dead as a child- from one of his past missions that went wrong. He'd been haunted by her death twelve years earlier. Great, complex read.
Profile Image for Avalon.
618 reviews3 followers
April 28, 2024
Jack Widow is hunting down the last Rainmaker, an elite sniper who can kill from over 2 miles away. Jack was helping a Chinese family cross the border when they were picked out and shot one by one, a husband and wife and their son and daughter. Jack held the daughter in his arms when a chopper picked him up and was ordered to leave the girl behind as she was already dead. Years later Jack meets the girl and with her team, they hunt for the rainmaker
Profile Image for Jennie.
1,334 reviews
April 20, 2025
injured and concussed after a train crash, Widow is coerced to join with a CIA team to chase down a sniper. Tensions rise as it is clear that past issues between Jack and the team leader and Jack’s personal nightmare of losing all but his life 12 years ago through the same elite sniper provides a multi-faceted plot from the USA to Ireland and further afield. The action starts early in this book and there is lots of personal intrigue.
Author 0 books1 follower
November 30, 2018
Jack Widow is a very compelling character

The world of Jack Widow is a tragic, cold world, one you don’t want to think really exists, but you know it does. You deep down know it isn’t far away, either. So you’re glad for people like Jack. Well written, tense, fast paced, compelling, bitter-sweet.
8 reviews
December 5, 2018
Easy read: action adventure

Premise of killing the top 5 sniper sharp shooters in the world to establish a reputation as the world's top long distance shooter seems a little far fetched to me.
The hero, Jack Widow, a loner by choice, wanders the globe without rhyme or reason after life as a former Navy Seal and undercover NCIS investigator. But why I kept asking myself.
Profile Image for Stefan Bogdanski.
Author 11 books10 followers
March 26, 2019
While being enjoyable, some parts had the feeling of being hushed, like the author wanted to be done with this thing immediately and get on with a different aspect. Like something you write down and mark for later rework, only there was no rework.

Spoiler: And we don't know what happened to Tiller - might be a bad idea to get on the bad side of a spook.
21 reviews2 followers
Read
March 30, 2023
Jack Widow needed help this time, lots of it

I cannot help it. The character of Widow captivates my reading interest. This time he is asked to help find someone for the CIA who killed a lot of people as a sniper.
Scary revelations of the Valkyrie sniper rifle being such a horror killing weapon that frightens even Widow.
Great page turning thriller. High body count.
Profile Image for Neil.
667 reviews3 followers
March 13, 2024
I enjoy this and the Reacher series but I do find that the Widow series although very similar are less complex. In this one massive amount of pages went to how they travelled describing every aspect of how, where, when etc. Got a bit tedious. The story overall was ok but such a tame end. Maybe this is what Scott is trying to achieve - a less complex story for a quick Reacher fix.
526 reviews6 followers
November 26, 2018
Breathtaking action

A truly breathtaking novel. Action from start to finish with some truly surprising little twists from out of the blue. Well worth the read for those who enjoy xuspense and mystery
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews

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