Last Man Standing

The sole survivor of a devastating ambush, FBI Hostage Rescue Team agent Web London would do anything to find out what really happened that night--and a ten year old boy may be the unexpected key in this #1 New York Times bestselling thriller.Web London was trained to penetrate hostile ground and come out alive. Then ten seconds in a dark alley cost him everything: his friends, his fellow agents, his reputation. Among his super-elite FBI Hostage Rescue Team, Web was the sole survivor of a high-tech, devastating ambush.Now Web is trying to put his life back together and understand what really happened. To get answers, he'll need the help of psychiatrist Claire Daniels and the one other human being who lived through the attack--a ten-year-old boy. But when his search leads him back to that bloodstained alley, Web suddenly realizes he is about to face his assassin again. And this time, one of them will become the Last Man Standing.

Web London roars into a dark alley one night with his FBI Hostage Rescue Team. Seconds later, the team is ambushed and every man is dead--except Web. As the FBI conducts their investigation, the suspicion surrounding Web deepens.

Publishers Weekly

Last year's Wish You Well, a historical family drama set in rural Virginia, proved that Baldacci, previously known for his thrillers (particularly his debut, Absolute Power), can do much more than supply maximum suspense. His latest is another exciting thriller, but one that hasn't forsaken the ambitions of Wish You Well, plumbing the emotions and exploring the shadings of human nature in an impressive way. And for the first time, Baldacci has created characters that readers will demand to see back in a sequel. He has chosen an immensely interesting subject: the (real-life) FBI Hostage Rescue Team, a force so elite that many of the Seals, Delta Force grads and other special ops who apply to it don't make the cut. Baldacci's hero is hostage rescue team superstar Web London, who inexplicably (to himself and others) freezes during an operation that leaves the rest of his team dead; hence, the book's title. Web's investigation into the massacre involves him with several bands of criminals, most notably a white supremacist terrorist cell, a gang of D.C. drug peddlers headed by a charismatic giant, and a secret group involved in both terror and drug activities. At the same time, Web's exploration into why he froze leads him to psychoanalysis and hypnosis, to budding romance and, ultimately, to revelations that tie together all the strands and questions of the immensely complicated plot. This is Baldacci's most accomplished thriller. The action, conspiratorial and overt, shifting from urban to rural and back, is nearly nonstop and expertly drawn; heroes and villains alike are believable and equally flawed; and there's a newfound maturity of tone here, a somber acceptance of the suffering thatnecessarily attends human life. (On-sale Nov. 6) Forecast: The American flag waving on the book's cover will draw readers' eyes; the strong title and the Baldacci name will carry them to the cash register. Expect hefty sales. Simultaneous audio cassette (abridged and unabridged), audio CD (abridged) and large-print editions. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

It took ten seconds for Web London to lose everything: his friends, his team, his reputation. Point man of the FBIs super-elite Hostage Rescue Team, Web roared into a blind alley toward a drug dealers lair, only to meet a high-tech, custom-designed ambush that killed everyone around him. Now coping with the blame-filled words of anguished widows and the suspicions of colleagues, Web tries to put his life back together with the help of his psychiatrist, Dr. Claire Daniels. To do so, he must discover why he was the one man who lived through the ambushand find the only other person who came out of that alley alive-- a ten-year-old boy who has since disappeared SUMMARY: When Web London's FBI Hostage Negotiation Team is ambushed in a dark alley, Web is the only survivor. As the FBI investigates, suspicion surrounding Web deepens. Now, he needs help from an unlikely ally in his desperate search for the killer of his friends, and finds himself up against a force intent on finishing the job that began in the alley. When Web London's FBI Hostage Rescue Team is ambushed in a dark alley, Web is the only survivor. As the FBI investigates, suspicion surrounding Web deepens. Now, he needs help from an unlikely ally in his desperate search for the killer of his friends, and finds himself up against a force intent on finishing the job that began in the alley. Web London, an FBI agent in the Hostage and Rescue Team, becomes the only survivor of a particularly brutal ambush of his squad. An investigation takes place to discover why he - and no-one else was spared After a brief sojourn into historical fiction, Baldacci is back in the thriller mode. When his FBI Hostage Rescue Team is ambushed, sole survivor Web London has to prove his innocence