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Jack McClure #2
Last Snow
"When an American senator who is supposed to be in the Ukraine turns up dead on the island of Capri, the President asks McClure to investigate. Jack sets out from Moscow across Eastern Europe, following a perilous trail of diplomats, criminals, and corrupt politicians. His task is complicated by two unlikely, unexpected, and incompatible companions---Annika, a rogue Russian FSB agent, and Alli, the President's daughter. Thrust into the midst of a global jigsaw puzzle, Jack's unique dyslexic mind allows him to put together the pieces that others can't even see. As he struggles to keep both young women safe and uncover the truth behind the senator's death, Jack learns just how far up the American and Russian political ladders corruption and treachery have reached."
517 pages, Paperback
First published February 16, 2010
115 people are currently reading
712 people want to read
About the author
Eric Van Lustbader
166 books1,223 followersEric Van Lustbader was born and raised in Greenwich Village. He is the author of more than twenty-five best-selling novels, including The Ninja, in which he introduced Nicholas Linnear, one of modern fiction's most beloved and enduring heroes. The Ninja was sold to 20th CenturyFox, to be made into a major motion picture. His novels have been translated into over twenty languages.
Mr. Lustbader is a graduate of Columbia College, with a degree in Sociology. Before turning to writing full time, he enjoyed highly successful careers in the New York City public school system, where he holds licenses in both elementary and early childhood education, and in the music business, where he worked for Elektra Records and CBS Records, among other companies.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/ericva...
Mr. Lustbader is a graduate of Columbia College, with a degree in Sociology. Before turning to writing full time, he enjoyed highly successful careers in the New York City public school system, where he holds licenses in both elementary and early childhood education, and in the music business, where he worked for Elektra Records and CBS Records, among other companies.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/ericva...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 170 reviews
June 14, 2020
When a senator is killed on the island of Capri, when he was supposed to be in The Ukraine, dyslexic genius Jack McClure is on the case. Along the way, he gathers a bit of a harem, The POTUS's daughter, and lovely Russian agent.
Of course he follows the chain of corruption to the top echelons of power.
Not bad, but nothing special.
Of course he follows the chain of corruption to the top echelons of power.
Not bad, but nothing special.
May 19, 2023
Listened to an abridged edition.....much better than "First Daughter".
September 23, 2010
I was tempted to abandon this book after about 60 pages. But I kept at it until I finished it. Wish I had gone with my first impression. The focus of the book seems somehow irrelevant to the overall background of the book.
February 27, 2010
i found this book to be a major disappointment. Our hero is unique because he is dyslexic and this gives him an extraordinary ability to solve puzzles. That still doesn't leave the author off the hook for explaining the plot to the rest of us. The first third of the book is entertaining as we follow Jack, Annika the rougue Russian agent, and Alli the mentally damaged first daughter across the Ukraine, but things fall downhill fast. Annika is clearly an enemy from the moment she walks into the bar, there's no way you could believe Secret Service would let Alli gallavant across Ukraine with Jack and the characters are all 2-dimensional and uneblievable. Between Russian oligarchs, Annika's father, the Alizarin group, Ukraine oil interests, Russian-American politics, the impact of pyschological abuse, Jack talking to his dead daughter, General Brandt going off the reservation for who knows what, Paull and his family etc there were just too many separate aspects to this story that didn't come together in a meaningful way.
June 7, 2015
The story was OK, but the writing! At times it was so bad that it lifted me completely out of the story. I would read something and think, "I can't believe I just read that. Was it a mistake? No, it looks like that's what he meant to say. Is this his first book? No, and OH MY GOD! The Ludlum Estate chose this guy to carry on the Jason Bourne novels??!! No way!!" And then I'd read some more and then, Wham! Another ridiculous, trite, romance novel cliche would slap me in the brain, taking me out of the story. It was so bad that I marked passages for this review.
I plan to add them later, after I read another novel (just about anything would work, this makes "The Da Vinci Code" look like a work of genius) to get the yucky stuff I read in this one out of my mind.
I plan to add them later, after I read another novel (just about anything would work, this makes "The Da Vinci Code" look like a work of genius) to get the yucky stuff I read in this one out of my mind.
May 31, 2022
4 sterren - Nederlandse paperback Eric Van Lustbader heeft een rijke fantasie en creativiteit. Met een reeks van boeken van uiteenlopende aard schrijft hij veelal verhalen rond hetzelfde thema.
Na de successen probeert Van Lustbader dit kunststukje nogmaals te herhalen met een opvolger van " de voorganger" met Jack McClure in de hoofdrol. Een verhaal met veel persoonlijk drama en spanning in de internationale politieke verhoudingen. Jack is toch wel een persoon die mij bij blijft. Zeker in dit boek is het een sterke hoofdpersoon en zijn de plotwendingen weer als vanouds.
Na de successen probeert Van Lustbader dit kunststukje nogmaals te herhalen met een opvolger van " de voorganger" met Jack McClure in de hoofdrol. Een verhaal met veel persoonlijk drama en spanning in de internationale politieke verhoudingen. Jack is toch wel een persoon die mij bij blijft. Zeker in dit boek is het een sterke hoofdpersoon en zijn de plotwendingen weer als vanouds.
June 25, 2012
This book was plodding, and at the end, I found myself simply bored with the many intertwining characters, many of whom I simply did not care about. The book deteriorated into exposition, finding it necessary to explain subplot after subplot in excruciating detail rather than moving the main plot along to conclusion. I found myself skimming much of the final pages just to get to the end of the book, which I almost never do. Too many details done wrong - "pizza with pepperonicci" (this from Pappa John's in Washington DC according to the book), an almost sudden death by "arsenic", duh, arsenic is a heavy metal and death, like lead takes months to manifest. If the details can't be done right, and the book is boring and its conclusion bynzantine, there's not much in for most thriller readers.
The characters are not believable and the reader is forever pulling back, questioning their authenticity which makes for unsmooth, jerky reading. A guilt-ridden dyslexic main character who sees visions (Are they? We never know) of his dead daughter; a Graves disease suffering daughter of the US President; a beautiful and lethal Russian agent with carnelian eyes. I asked an opthalmologist-He's never seen carnelian color eyes. The setting is Russia, but the novel's Russian characters speak not only perfect English, "Gurov shrugged, 'Six feet under, I imagine. We required verisimilitude.'" Yeah, I can just hear Gurov saying that. The names, as in any Russian novel become confusing, but that is expected.
Mr. Van Lustbader attacks conservatives, neocons and a person born out of "entitlement" throughout the book. Smart way to allienate 50% of American readers. I guess I'll save my capitalist dollars on any future Van Lustbader novels.
1) This book is a follow-up to his novel "First Daughter." In that book, Agt. Jack McClure saves Alli Carson, the daughter of the President from a kidnapper. Much of this book draws from the previous novel. If you never read "First Daughter" certain preferences might be oblique to the reader.
2)We are asked to believe that this agent is allowed to take Alli on a dangerous, secret mission to Russia because her mother says it's ok. Really?
3) McClure is dyslexic and because of that disability he sees things in 3D. Again,really?? I asked my dyslexic friends about this and none of them see in 3D. Does that mean that the ghost(yes,ghost)of his daughter is also seen in 3D?
4) There are more characters in this novel than in a Russian phonebook. Many of the names are similiar enough to each other that it is easy to get confused.
The characters are not believable and the reader is forever pulling back, questioning their authenticity which makes for unsmooth, jerky reading. A guilt-ridden dyslexic main character who sees visions (Are they? We never know) of his dead daughter; a Graves disease suffering daughter of the US President; a beautiful and lethal Russian agent with carnelian eyes. I asked an opthalmologist-He's never seen carnelian color eyes. The setting is Russia, but the novel's Russian characters speak not only perfect English, "Gurov shrugged, 'Six feet under, I imagine. We required verisimilitude.'" Yeah, I can just hear Gurov saying that. The names, as in any Russian novel become confusing, but that is expected.
Mr. Van Lustbader attacks conservatives, neocons and a person born out of "entitlement" throughout the book. Smart way to allienate 50% of American readers. I guess I'll save my capitalist dollars on any future Van Lustbader novels.
1) This book is a follow-up to his novel "First Daughter." In that book, Agt. Jack McClure saves Alli Carson, the daughter of the President from a kidnapper. Much of this book draws from the previous novel. If you never read "First Daughter" certain preferences might be oblique to the reader.
2)We are asked to believe that this agent is allowed to take Alli on a dangerous, secret mission to Russia because her mother says it's ok. Really?
3) McClure is dyslexic and because of that disability he sees things in 3D. Again,really?? I asked my dyslexic friends about this and none of them see in 3D. Does that mean that the ghost(yes,ghost)of his daughter is also seen in 3D?
4) There are more characters in this novel than in a Russian phonebook. Many of the names are similiar enough to each other that it is easy to get confused.
April 29, 2010
I loved this book! It is the best thriller/political intrigue I have read in a long time. Never had it figured out because of all the layers built into the story. There was a big shock at the very end. I will probably go a read First Daughter as a lot of the same characters were in this book.
February 5, 2010
Last Snow is what a thriller should be: Tense, engaging and with enough solid characterization to make you care what happens to the people about whom you're reading. I really had to think through this whole book thanks to all the twists and turns and new revelations coming around every corner.
The main character, Jack McClure, is a close confidant of newly seated president Carson. He's also dyslexic, which apparently gives him a unique ability to piece together some pretty far-flung clues to come up with an answer. I'm not sure how much I believed this particular portion of the story, but I was easily able to suspend my disbelief and just pretend that Jack was really, really good at what he did.
I liked Jack a lot. He had just the right balance of tough-guy exterior and soft-heartedness to strike me as being a real person. Characterization, to me, is one of the main faults of thrillers, which tend to be so plot-heavy that the authors don't take enough time fleshing out their characters to satisfy my liking. Not with this book. I was able to get a real sense for not only Jack and the other main characters, but also some of the more minor characters.
Van Lustbader's prose is really easy to read. I wouldn't say that it's necessarily poetic or anything, but it is far above what I've experienced with many other thrillers (The short, choppy sentences that oftentimes aren't even complete sentences -- I hate that!) and it moves you along nicely. Here's an example:
He simply did not know any other way to live, if this was living at all, which he'd begun to seriously doubt. And therein lay the rub, as the good Bard wrote, he thought, because the only thing to fear was doubt. He knew from his mentors that the moment you allowed doubt to creep into your thinking -- doubt about your ability, about the people around you, about the dark and gravelike profession you were in -- you were as good as dead.
The plot was also very interesting. What started out as one mission for Jack turned into something else entirely, and every step of the way made sense in the end. There were times when I could barely read fast enough to find out what was going to happen next.
And the ending. Wow. Talk about a punch in the gut that you don't see coming. You think the book's going to end one way, but then something else completely happens and you're left stunned. I'm still not totally sure if I'm pleased with the ending, but I will say it was not one of those neatly-tied-up-with-a-bow kind of endings where all the bad guys are in jail and the good guys will fight crime another day.
Another little thing I liked, just because I'm a nerd like that, was that each of the three parts of the book opened with a literary quote -- two Shakespeare and one Edmund Spenser -- and there were literary references sprinkled throughout the novel. Every time I'd see a work I know referenced, I would smile a little bit, but that's just me.
If there's one criticism that I had about this book, although it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book at all, is that every single character seemed to have some kind of tragic or checkered past. Everyone had experienced some kind of unspeakable event or heartbreak, or had a family member with a major illness or disability. While I understand this is what helps a lot of readers relate to the characters, I just couldn't help but wonder if there were any people in Jack McClure's world who hadn't experienced anything catastrophic.
Overall, this was a really enjoyable read that put a little bit of my faith back in thrillers. Of course, I'm not going to run off and read anymore James Patterson anytime soon, but it was refreshing.
The main character, Jack McClure, is a close confidant of newly seated president Carson. He's also dyslexic, which apparently gives him a unique ability to piece together some pretty far-flung clues to come up with an answer. I'm not sure how much I believed this particular portion of the story, but I was easily able to suspend my disbelief and just pretend that Jack was really, really good at what he did.
I liked Jack a lot. He had just the right balance of tough-guy exterior and soft-heartedness to strike me as being a real person. Characterization, to me, is one of the main faults of thrillers, which tend to be so plot-heavy that the authors don't take enough time fleshing out their characters to satisfy my liking. Not with this book. I was able to get a real sense for not only Jack and the other main characters, but also some of the more minor characters.
Van Lustbader's prose is really easy to read. I wouldn't say that it's necessarily poetic or anything, but it is far above what I've experienced with many other thrillers (The short, choppy sentences that oftentimes aren't even complete sentences -- I hate that!) and it moves you along nicely. Here's an example:
He simply did not know any other way to live, if this was living at all, which he'd begun to seriously doubt. And therein lay the rub, as the good Bard wrote, he thought, because the only thing to fear was doubt. He knew from his mentors that the moment you allowed doubt to creep into your thinking -- doubt about your ability, about the people around you, about the dark and gravelike profession you were in -- you were as good as dead.
The plot was also very interesting. What started out as one mission for Jack turned into something else entirely, and every step of the way made sense in the end. There were times when I could barely read fast enough to find out what was going to happen next.
And the ending. Wow. Talk about a punch in the gut that you don't see coming. You think the book's going to end one way, but then something else completely happens and you're left stunned. I'm still not totally sure if I'm pleased with the ending, but I will say it was not one of those neatly-tied-up-with-a-bow kind of endings where all the bad guys are in jail and the good guys will fight crime another day.
Another little thing I liked, just because I'm a nerd like that, was that each of the three parts of the book opened with a literary quote -- two Shakespeare and one Edmund Spenser -- and there were literary references sprinkled throughout the novel. Every time I'd see a work I know referenced, I would smile a little bit, but that's just me.
If there's one criticism that I had about this book, although it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book at all, is that every single character seemed to have some kind of tragic or checkered past. Everyone had experienced some kind of unspeakable event or heartbreak, or had a family member with a major illness or disability. While I understand this is what helps a lot of readers relate to the characters, I just couldn't help but wonder if there were any people in Jack McClure's world who hadn't experienced anything catastrophic.
Overall, this was a really enjoyable read that put a little bit of my faith back in thrillers. Of course, I'm not going to run off and read anymore James Patterson anytime soon, but it was refreshing.
May 5, 2013
After having read "Blood Trust" as my first Van Lustbader (non-Ludlum) novel and being a big Mitch Rapp and Jack Reacher fan (as well as Jason Bourne), I thought that Van Lustbader just might have started a good thing with the Jack McClure/Alli Carson pairing. I decided to back up and read Jack McClure #2 to get a better feel for the main characters. At least that much of my strategy worked. I have no feeling of need to go back to read "First Daughter" as much of the backstory comes through clearly in the flashback sequences in "Last Snow." That said, I would really like to see Van Lustbader hit his better stride in the fourth of the series which I believe is out in hardcover now. I wanted to be able to give "Last Snow" a 4-star 'really liked' rating, but the latter part of the book just got too bogged down (or too balled up - your choice) with quirky Russian subplots and character entanglements. Plot twists are one thing, but that second half was nowhere near where it should have and could have been. I really hope he hits the mark with #4 or I'll be moving away from his Jack McClure/Alli Carson series.
July 4, 2010
The Last Snow isn’t your typical spy novel because it actually follows today’s politics quite closely. Reading it reminds me of what’s going on today with the current two political parties. Last Snow gives you pause to think about truth and untruths and what politics is really about.
Read
December 25, 2020Over the years, Van Lustbader has written some fairly good novels, from his early fantasy in the Dai San series, to one of the Bourne adventures. Unfortunately, this one isn't really some of his best work. In fact, I grew so disillusioned with it that I gave up rapidly, and had to look up the characters' names just to write this review.
It's the sequel to an earlier work about Jack McClure, an ATF agent who once saved the President's daughter from a sadistic kidnapper, First Daughter. In this book, McClure is traveling with the President's entourage in Russia when the president sends him on a mission to investigate the death of a Senator in Capri. He gets sidetracked on the way by interfering in a squabble between a Russian mafia thug and his mistress, who turns out to be a secret agent for the FSB, then picks up another impediment in his investigation in the form of the president's daughter stowing away on his plane.
All of these people have deep psychological disturbing issues in their past, and the book begins to read more like a soap opera than a thriller after a while. It's a pity; I thought I could count on Mr. Van Lustbader for a good read.
It's the sequel to an earlier work about Jack McClure, an ATF agent who once saved the President's daughter from a sadistic kidnapper, First Daughter. In this book, McClure is traveling with the President's entourage in Russia when the president sends him on a mission to investigate the death of a Senator in Capri. He gets sidetracked on the way by interfering in a squabble between a Russian mafia thug and his mistress, who turns out to be a secret agent for the FSB, then picks up another impediment in his investigation in the form of the president's daughter stowing away on his plane.
All of these people have deep psychological disturbing issues in their past, and the book begins to read more like a soap opera than a thriller after a while. It's a pity; I thought I could count on Mr. Van Lustbader for a good read.
July 16, 2024
When an American senator is killed in Capri, his friend, the President of the USA, askes Jack McClure to investigate how this happened. Strangely enough, the senator was supposed to be in Ukraine on a political assignment. While on the hunt for the killer, Jack is joined by the President’s daughter Alli and a rogue Russian FSB agent, Annika.
His investigation leads him from the Russian secret service to American assassins and advisors of former presidents. Somehow, Jack makes sense of the convoluted and intricate ties and manages to help the American and Russian presidents to sign agreements. In the background, Annika’s grandfather is working on his own plan. With Jack’s help to save the USA and his President from a dangerous scenario, he plays directly into the hands of Annika’s grandfather who comes out on top of it all. And Annika? She never sided with Jack but was the one to kill the senator and get him to steer the outcome in their favor.
His investigation leads him from the Russian secret service to American assassins and advisors of former presidents. Somehow, Jack makes sense of the convoluted and intricate ties and manages to help the American and Russian presidents to sign agreements. In the background, Annika’s grandfather is working on his own plan. With Jack’s help to save the USA and his President from a dangerous scenario, he plays directly into the hands of Annika’s grandfather who comes out on top of it all. And Annika? She never sided with Jack but was the one to kill the senator and get him to steer the outcome in their favor.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 25, 2018
This is another truly great thriller and I've read quite a few over the past 3-4 years since I retired. It's fast paced, seductive, swift moving and and a provoking book but Eric Lustbader went over the top with this one. It has an ending that I wasn't prepared for. I just finished it tonight (11:57pm) but I'm going to re-read the last chapter again right now!!!!
It's an absolute must read.
Problem: What do I read now that can top this one?
It's an absolute must read.
Problem: What do I read now that can top this one?
December 10, 2020
A bit confusing but interesting story lines. Running through Russia, chased by unknown assailants, interesting characters especially Jack McClure with his dyslexic mind putting together the global jigsaw puzzle. As well as unravelling what had happened to Alli (the president's daughter) when she had been kidnapped and tortured in the previous book. Eric Van Lustbader manages to bring a reader to the edge of their seat a number of times. I really enjoyed the book.
March 14, 2020
Hard to rate this book. Pretty hard to get this as had all Russian names. The setup was Kiev Russia or locales and I forgot this much. I had the Annika then rogue Russian agent with FSB hard to understand and his Alli the Presidents daughter. Very slim pickings. I take it Bourne will be better.
January 30, 2018
Disappointed since jacket had a Lee Child quote endorsing this story. There were too many unbelievable twists and turns and it seemed he kept adding things that didn't move the story along. It was a quick read and kept me in suspense but it was too much for me to believe.
July 5, 2019
A whole lot about nothing. If you read the first several chapters and the last, you would have the entire plot of the book. There was a lot of frantic writing in between that means little. Certainly not one of his best.
November 26, 2021
It started out great but kind of fizzled out. The last few chapters had a bunch of story lines in them. One and a half pages about one story and the 1 1/2 about another...no flow! And the lines about how his brain works...and a spy/CIA person would not use the word frienemeis.
May 22, 2025
My first book by Van Lustbader and I was not impressed. The plot, if there was one, was so oblique and twisted all of the place. And the run-on sentences just about drove me crazy. Not a good read and I should have left it unfinished and moved on.
July 9, 2017
Too confusing, I will try one more of his books
June 5, 2018
complicated story, hard to follow political intrigue between USA & RUSSIA
December 2, 2018
Long, too twisted and ultimately unsatisfying
June 17, 2019
Review to follow ....
December 19, 2019
Hard to believe that someone would take the President's daughter into danger.
December 29, 2019
Jack McClure and allie stop a Russion takeover of a uranium mine
January 3, 2020
I have enjoyed this series. This one was complicated with lots of Russian names and for some reason my brain does not do well with Russian names.
March 21, 2020
Too many Russian names. I had a hard time finishing the book. It just seemed to go on and on. At least there was an explosive ending.
June 8, 2020
Eh. Did not buy the plot where the main character is set up to try to save a woman who is part of a scheme by Russia.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 170 reviews