The Last Policeman

Winters, Ben. The Last Policeman. Philadelphia : Quirk Books. 2012

First Sentences:

I'm staring at the insurance man and he's staring at me, two cold gray eyes behind old-fashioned tortoiseshell frames, and I'm having this awful and inspiring feeling, like holy moly this is real, and I don't know if I'm ready. I really don't, 

Description:

Sometimes I am attracted to a book by the setting alone, hoping to see how major characters deal with foreign, often threatening situations caused by their environment and the forces faced. Such books include The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (stranger in a magical land); The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury (evolving human settlement of Mars); Seveneves by Neal Stephenson (Earth's moon blows up on the first page and humans have 18 months to figure out how to preserve some form of mankind); and even Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchel (living in a Civil War-torn country).

 

Ben Winters' The Last Policeman is exactly such a book. Here is the situation: Earth scientists have discovered a monstrous-sized asteroid heading for earth and are 100% certain it will hit Earth in six months with the destructive force that killed the dinosaurs. 

Hearing this news, people have reacted differently, from quitting jobs, pursuing Bucket List adventures, delving into drugs to leave the world high, and more and more commonly, suicide.

 

In this world of small town Concord, New Hampshire, Detective Hank Palace narrates the tale of how he tries to preserve his sense of order and justice. Recently promoted to Detective (since so many police officers above him had simply left the police department), Palace finds himself in his dream job. But he is surrounded by fellow officers who are unwilling to make any effort to confront crime. 

Detective Palace, nonetheless, doggedly pursues a new case, the suicide of a man found in a MacDonald's bathroom. Palace believes this, his first murder, is not a suicide as all appearances point to. Fellow officers, the Police Chief, the coroner, and even the victim's sister all feel this is merely one of a huge number of self-inflicted deaths, an act easily explained by the hopeless despondency felt worldwide.

 

But Palace is not to be deterred. There was no phone found on the body, an expensive belt was used in the hanging, and the location was an unusual one. Palace digs in, exploring seemingly minor leads and people to understand who this man was, his work, his relationships, his emotions, and any possible reasons to do away with himself.

 

Working in this highly tense environment, Palace is in contact with people who demonstrate they have no hope left, have religious convictions of salvation, feel they have uncovered highly secretive plots, want to lead believers to safe underground compounds, and even those who dream of space travel to the secret moon colonies the government has hidden from the world.

 

Crackpots, fanatics, dreamers, rebels, and even a few ordinary people who accept their inevitable fate are part of people Palace must interrogate to try to wring out of them the circumstances of this man's life and whether Palace's theory of murder is any more than just a fancy. And all this occurs in a world with unreliable phone service, businesses shut down, gasoline unavailable, and when friends, colleagues, and everyday people you meet one day are gone forever the next day from their jobs, homes, or life itself.

I would characterize the mood, here in town, as that of the child who isn't in trouble yet, but knows he's going to be....He's sullen and snappish, he's on edge. Confused, sad, trembling against the knowledge of what's coming next, and right on the edge of violence, not angry be anxious in a way that can easily shade ito anger.  

Clever, twisty, completely unexpected, and totally involving, The Last Policeman is a gripping, fascinating deep dive into a world so foreign, yet so possible, along with the people who have to plan and then undertake the manner of how they will live out their final days.

 

Best of all, there are two more Detective Palace books available (Countdown City and World of Trouble). Of course, I immediately borrowed these from the library and absorbed them. One is set with only three months before Earth's destruction, and the last one takes place with only a few weeks to go. They both were fantastic, but you must start with The Last Policeman. It's a delightful, thought-provoking, wild ride.

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:]

 Stephenson, Neal. Seveneves

In the first sentence, the Earth's moon blows up and scientists worldwide predict the debris will begin raining down on Earth in 18 months. It is up to the combined resources of the world to somehow address this situation and try to survive this cataclysmic disaster to preserve the human race. It's simply the best sci-fi novel ever. (Previously reviewed here.)

 Happy reading.

Fred

[P.S. Click here to browse over 500 more book recommendations by subject or title and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader.]

The Mailman

 Welsh-Huggins, Andrew. The Mailman. New York : Mysterious Press, 2025. Print.

 

First Sentences:

Rachel Stanfield paused, not sure she heard her husband correctly, but wanting as always to give him the benefit of the doubt. Grateful for the distraction of a sound outside, she peered through the kitchen window but saw nothing.  


Description:

But the sound Rachel Stanfield thought she heard in these opening sentences was not an animal nor any other natural cause. It was four thuggish men who break into her house, tie up her and her husband, and demand information from her, Unfortunately, she has no idea what the answers they want are. When one of the men pulls out some special tools to "help her remember," things look completely bleak.

 

Then her doorbell rings. 

 

Thus starts the new thriller by Andrew Welsh-Huggins, The Mailman. It is a whirlwind ride of twists and turns, threatening situations with narrow escapes, mysterious data which good guys and bad guys alike are seeking for differing reasons. And then there is an questionable sum of $20 million that seems to play a part in the adventure.

 

Welsh-Huggins introduces into this environment Mercury ("call me Merc") Carter, an independent delivery man with a packet he wants to deliver to the story's narrator, Rachel. He says he has never missed a delivery before to a client and, despite all obstacles, doggedly does not want Rachel's package to be his first failure. 

So after ringing Rachel's doorbell, he finds himself entering into the aforementioned delicate hostage situation. But Merc conducts himself unexpectedly well despite the dangers to everyone in the room, and the adventure begins.

 

I cannot reveal any more of the plot, but will say that it involves kidnapping, lottery payoffs, some very nasty people, mysteries galore, secret numbers, and some nifty MacGyver-like extractions of various people from some very tight situations. 

There is an overwhelming sense of urgency throughout the book, a foreboding threat of violence and crimes, and touched with a bit of ironic humor as well. But after all, it is a thriller, so if you are not into that kind of scenario, give this novel a pass.

 

But for those of us who enjoy tense encounters, good vs. evil face-offs, impending dire consequences, and impossible last-second escapes, this is definitely the book for you. A great read that will keep you flipping pages long into the night as it did me. It's now in my top 5 thrillers of all time, and that's saying a lot! 

 

Best of all, this is the first book in a new Mercury Carter series, with the next edition to come out later in 2026. Cannot wait to dive into that one as well. 

 

 

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:]

Andrew Welsh-Huggins. Fourth Down and Out.

Former Ohio State University quarterback, now turned private investigator, needs to recover a friend's laptop and erase a file. Easy enough, but the trail leads him throughout Columbus, Ohio and eventually Ohio State itself where the people there still won't forget the huge mistake he made decades ago in an important football game.

 Happy reading.

Fred

[P.S. Click here to browse over 500 more book recommendations by subject or title and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader.]

Rogue Male

Household, Geoffrey. Rogue Male. New York: New York Review of Books 1939. Print.

First Sentences:

 

I cannot blame them. After all, one doesn't need a telescopic sight to shoot boar and bear; so that when they came on me watching the terrace at a range of five hundred and fifty yards, it was natural enough that they should jump to conclusions. And they behaved, I think, with discretion.

Description:

Geoffrey Household's Rogue Male came to my attention because it was repeatedly mentioned in another great book, The Ministry of Time. One of the men in this other novel, a man destined to be killed in World War I, was snatched by this future experimental Ministry to prove people could be relocated to the present era from the past. They could then be studied to observe how they adapt to the modern age. This unwilling WWI time-traveling soldier now had to live in the new, unfamiliar world of the present. During this time-switch he was constantly reading Rogue Male, so many times that the book cover fell off. 

 

Now that is a book I just had to explore.

 

Written in 1939, Rogue Male opens with a British gentleman sportsman lining up his high-powered rifle sights on an unnamed, vicious European foreign leader. This "sportsman" is unexpectedly apprehended and questioned, all the while claiming he was just performing an intellectual challenge to test whether a skilled hunter could break through this leader's security. Already an internationally-known hunter, he somehow escapes his enemies, only to begin months of pursuit and survival.

 

He is doggedly chased by two men whom, as fellow huntsmen, he cannot shake. He has several close escapes from them, sometimes even after confronting them face to face, as he uses his ample wits to flee from one hiding place to another. He must use all his hunting skills avoid capture and, if caught, to insure there is no tie-in to the British government whom his pursuers think is responsible for his "assassination attempt. To him, this situation was only a mental challenge.

And dawn, I think, is the hour when the pariah goes out....It is the hour of the outlawed, the persecuted, the damned, for no man was ever born who could not feel some shade of hope if he were in open country with the sun about to rise.

There is a strong sense of honor, of British dignity, loyalty to country, and general life in rural parts of Europe that provide the backbone of the novel. The narration by the sportsman is formal, clipped, and gripping, and always in control. His words and thoughts reminded me a bit of a James Bond figure but without any weapons, gadgets, or exotic locations. Just clear, organized thoughts about his next steps and potential consequences.

 

It is a fairly short book, only 182 pages, but written with such beautiful language that it was a pleasure to spend time enveloped in the mind and words on a pre-WW II British gentleman on the run. Highly recommended for lovers of intrigue, thrillers, survival, and wondrous language.

 

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:] 

  

Howarth, David. We Die Alone.   

Twelve men try to sabotage a German military post in northern Norway, but only one survives the mission. He swims through freezing water and is forced to elude enemy pursuers through icy Norway, without boots, gloves, shelter, or friends. Riveting true survival story (Previously reviewed here.)

Happy reading.

Fred

 

Click here to browse over 500 more book recommendations by subject or title

(and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader).

 

Beautiful Ugly

Feeney, Alice. Beautiful Ugly. New York: Flatiron. 2025. Print.

First Sentences:

 

If all we need is love, why do we always want more? I dial her number. Again. Finally she answers.

Description:

I think Alice Feeney is one of my favorite "soft" thriller writers. Author of the twisty, gripping books Sometimes I Lie and Rock, Paper, Scissors among others, she takes ordinary people, often couples, and explores their personalities, relationships, dreams, and foibles that lead them into very tense, maybe threatening situations. No ax murders here, just edge-of-your-seat, something-funny-is-going-on-here, don't-know-what's-behind-that-door-that-I'm-about-to-foolishly-open kind of situation found on every page.  

 

Feeney's newest thriller, Beautiful Ugly is another fantastic read, full of sudden surprises, quirky characters, unexpected plot twists, and slightly unnerving settings. It opens with an author, Grady Green, talking on the phone with his wife while she is driving home to see him. She suddenly says she sees a body in the road and tells Grady that she us going to stop to help. Grady warns her not to get out of the car, to stay safe, but she gets out anyways. That is the last she is heard from by Grady or anyone else.

One year later, Grady is struggling. He desperately misses his best friend, his wife. He cannot afford mortgage payments on their house, so has moved into a cheap hotel while trying to write the second novel he is contracted to produce (and, of course, has already spent the advance).

Fortunately, Grady's publishing agent has inherited a small "writing cabin" from a former writer/client on a remote island in Scotland. She feels Grady needs a quiet environment to produce his required novel, and the cabin might be just what he needs. She will sponsor him with her own money for a few months in hopes he can free himself from his block and produce a new book.

But once settled into the luxurious cabin, Grady makes a discovery that might change his fortune, despite the far-ranging risks involved. While considering which path to follow, he begins to notice strange things about the island and its people. With no phone coverage, no internet, and no way of communicating with the non-island world, Grady soon feels an unease that makes him question his sanity.

All this happens in the first few pages, so I am not giving away the plot twists that unfold from this point. Alice Feeney is the master of characters glimpsing things out of the corner of their eyes, reading questions into seemingly ordinary situations, and misinterpreting everyday conversations. 

All this leads to a very tense, unputdownable story. It only reveals its secrets in the final pages, and even then there are several completely unpredictable revelations.

I really enjoyed letting this plot, characters, and environment engulf me completely. Pick it up if you like to follow a lead character who experiences ambition, confidence, questions, suspicion, anger, love, and uncertainty in his life among an unusual village full of quirky townspeople (whom he cannot quite figure out if they are crazy or he). 

 

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:] 

  

Feeney, Alice. Sometimes I Lie.   

A woman wakes from a coma without any memory of how she got there or anything about her past few months. She cannot talk or move, so people visiting her do not know she can hear them. Slowly from their conversations and foggy memories, she begins to piece together the incidents that led to her hospitalization and current situation...and not everything she learns is positive. (Previously reviewed here.)

Happy reading.

Fred

 

Click here to browse over 470 more book recommendations by subject or title

(and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader).

 

Cross My Heart

Collins, Megan. Cross My Heart. New York: Atria 2025. Print.

First Sentences:

 

Hi,

I've decided there's no way to begin this message that isn't either [1] creepy or [2] awkward, so I'm just going to dive right into the Creepy/Awkward Pool and hope I don't drown.

One year ago today, your wife saved my life. And it breaks my heart that, in order for me to live, she first had to die. 

Description:

OK, I'm only going to tell you the premise of Megan Collins' Cross My Heart and what happens on the opening few pages. That's all you're going to get because this is a genuine thriller with more red herrings and twisty-turns than Perseus and the Minotaur together couldn't put together. Any more details from me would only spoil your own adventure into this riveting story, one that I highly recommend.

Here's some nutshell details to get your interest peaked. Rosie Lachlan, the writer of the opening text message above, had received a heart transplant over a year ago. Somehow, she learned the identity of the anonymous donor: the wife of a local celebrity author who happens to live in Rosie's own suburban town.

With her opening letter to Morgan Thorne, the author, and the clever, bantering return message from him, Rosie dreams this man definitely could be the answer to the depression she endures after her fiancé broke up with her before her heart transplant.

I didn't think of surviving as something I'd do -- actively, with intention. I thought of it as something that may or may not happen to me, a think like the weather, completely beyond my control.

This all is in just the first few pages.

What author Collins so skillfully presents then is how this relationship between the heart recipient and the donor's widowed husband plays out. Despite warnings from her best friend, Nina, the email exchanges continue. Rosie obsesses over Morgan in her mind, walks her parents' dog past his house to possibly catch a glimpse of him, and even sees him while in a local coffee shop, debating in her mind a scenario where she could "accidently" bump into him to actually meet and talk with him. She researches everything about him from his writings to interviews to podcasts in order to learn everything about him.

But Rosie dismisses the few rumors about Morgan's relationship with his wife and how her accidental death might not have been what it seemed. Other characters enter Rosie's life, each one contributing a bit more information (good and questionable) about the man, but she keeps her dreams about a potential relationship with him secret.

Or does she? Is she really just dreaming about him or is she actually meeting him on the sly, away from her co-workers', friend's and parent's knowledge? And is Morgan the perfect man she learns about or someone else?

The risk seemed worth the reward.

You may think you can guess where this story is going, a kind of Play Misty for Me stalker tale that ends badly for the relationship. But I am here to tell you that Collins has a lot of surprises to spring on you throughout Cross My Heart at the most unexpected moments. Enough quirky plotlines that made me want to read this book straight through, trying to figure out what the next page would reveal.

That's it. Enough said on my part. I really loved this book and highly recommend it for its seemingly straightforward, if obsessive plot that halfway through turns everything on its head and doesn't let up until the very last page. 

Go get it and be entertained/duped/delighted in the most unexpected ways. Highest recommendation.

You have his wife's heart.....You can't have her life, too.

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:] 

  

Feeney, Alice. Sometimes I Lie.   

A woman awakens from a coma with no memory of how she got there. She can hear everything that is going on around her, but cannot move or otherwise respond. Visitors talk to each other about her situation and slowly she begins to piece together her history and remember ... but what she remembers may not really be what happened, nor the people around her who they say they are. Riveting. (Previously reviewed here)

Happy reading.

Fred

 

Click here to browse over 450 more book recommendations by subject or title

(and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader).

 

Hotel Lucky Seven

Isaka, Kotaro. Hotel Lucky Seven. New York: Overlook 2024. Print.

First Sentences:

 

"It's Room 415 right?" Blanket is talking to Pillow, who's walking ahead of her. They're both wearing the beige tops and brown bottoms that constitute the uniforms worn by the cleaning staff at the Hotel Vivaldi, Tokyo.

 

"Exactly. 415. Rhymes with For One Life." 

Description:

Ever since I read Kotaro Isaka's Bullet Train, I have been addicted to his four-book series about quirky Japanese assassins. His newest thriller, Hotel Lucky Seven, continues the dark humor mis-adventures of Nanao, code-named "Ladybug." He is tasked by his superior to perform a simple task: deliver a birthday painting from his daughter to a man in Room 2016 located in the elegant Winton Palace Hotel. What could be easier for the self-described unluckiest assassin in the world? Well, everything.

 

First, the man in the room seems suspicious as to why he is receiving a portrait that is not of him. Nanao also is wary in general due to his profession as a hit man, and thinks this delivery may possibly be some sort of trap to harm him. Sure enough, when Nanao is leaving the room, the hotel man rushes at him with arms outstretched as if to strangle him from behind. But the hotel man trips, falls, and hits his head on a table, killing him. 

 

Was this man another "professional" tasked to kill Nanao or merely surprised by Nanao, and decided to end any possible threat to himself? Ladybug realizes he mis-read the blurry room number on the package as "2010" when it was actually "2016" where the true recipient of the portrait probably awaits. Nanao/Ladybug sees it as just another of his simple tasks unluckily complicated by circumstances, just like on the Bullet Train.

 

And so it starts. Ladybug's mistake and resulting accident occur in the first few pages, but set in motion circumstances that just keep building. While beating a hasty retreat to the elevator and escape, Ladybug rescues a young woman, Kamino, from nefarious pursuers. He learns from her that her pursuers' mission is to kidnap her and then tap into secrets held in her perfect memory that forgets nothing. Especially passwords which someone would rather not have unleashed into the world.

 

Soon the hotel is crawling with assassins on different missions. Many have rather silly nickname, such as the teams of Blanket and Pillow who clean up criminal scenes, and Soda and Cola, the explosive devices experts. Others are more straightforward in their identities: the blowgun-wielding Six and the elderly woman, Koko, who can erase your past and set a person up with a completely untraceable new life. 

 

All these deadly strangers chase after or try to escape each other, like an old film where corridor doors open and shut as occupants look for friends or enemies. While there is certainly some killing and always the threat of death, Hotel Lucky Seven  has a rather dry sense of humor about it, much like a Keystone Kops film as characters miss each other by seconds or are captured, only to reverse fortunes on their antagonists.

 

I admit this kind of scenario is not for everyone. But for anyone who enjoy a thriller with oddball characters with uniquely deadly skills who are trapped in unusual situations, Isaka and his Assassins series of books are definitely for you. Well-written, gripping, unexpected, and overall satisfying, Hotel Lucky Seven is the right kind of read for the adventurous reader.

 

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:] 

  

Isaka, Kotaro. Bullet Train.   

Unlucky Nanao/Ladybug is tasked with another simple job where absolutely nothing could go wrong. Just board a specific Bullet Train, pick up a suitcase from the rack, and get off at the next station. But unbeknownst to him, that particular suitcase has great value to many people, including a trainload of other assassins who encounter and try to deal with each other and the suitcase without other passengers being alerted. Fascinating. (Previously reviewed here.)

Happy reading.

Fred

 

Click here to browse over 435 more book recommendations by subject or title

(and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader).