David Rheem Jarrett

This story gets you to wondering if there is a Last Straw in all of us. Where is our breaking point, that tender spot which when poked too many times disintegrates into an unidentifiable mass of pure anger, evident only in the bodies we leave behind? Could Pickering be any one of us; years after losing the love of your life and your life savings thanks to your financial "expert" flushing most of the money away and then walking away with the remainder, your current wife stretches all your show more patience to the breaking point and then snaps the wire?

So many people to blame, so many people to pay ... so little time.

David Rheem Jarrett keeps his reader coming back for more until the end ... so unexpected.

A most enjoyable read. show less

Intriguing!

From the moment the reader is introduced to Thomas Pickering, you feel sorry for him, his bitterness, his life, past and present. Then, he surprises you. His vengeance that he moves forward with captures the suspense of the story. I was truly engaged and even rooted for Pickering to find peace with himself.
Life is not always black and white, right or wrong. The characters are brought to light with great detail, and the only thing that I could complain about is that some things show more were overly detailed, but that is my own personal preference. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good thriller. show less

The topical content of Last Straw by David Rheem Jarrett is good. Many people can relate to the desperation surrounding the loss of financial security when the market tanks. The overall plot is interesting and Jarrett did a decent job developing his main character, Thomas Pickering.

There are issues with Jarrett’s supporting characters, Mike Kingman and Tess Brogan. It was tough to swallow that an educated and ambitious officer, such as Kingman, would frequently present himself as an show more unprofessional, hormonal adolescent. This secondary storyline dragged the pacing and took away from the suspense.

Although the novel appears to be written in 3rd person subjective narrative, in a number of places, Jarrett switches from one character’s POV to another mid-scene. This interfered with reading ease, as did multiple grammatical and spelling errors. show less

BOTM for August, 2014 in the Goodreads Group Psychological Thrillers.
Strong beginning, and a cold one, like toilet-paper, use and discard.
I still wonder, how they deliver the mail-order-brides, wrapped in jiffy-bag or packed in a cardboard-box?
And COD? Do you have to pay customs or declare them for tax?
Took me some time to get to the end, slow month reading, and me being tired.
The most interesting person was Thomas the main character, but no one you could (or should) like.
Despite what others show more think ( see discussion in the Psychological Thrillers with maybe spoilers ) I think he was trained to kill by the military and had his problems brewing inside for a long time, till last drop happened and he set his plans in motion.
The collecting and copying of master-keys during is job shows me, he planned ahead.
One scene could have played different or at least faster, although I am not sure.
The flexi cuff could would have melted I think (!) if the Bic flame was applied long enough.
Although he would have risked burn hickeys, the speed with which plastic melts would have offset this, I would have risked it.
May it would not have worked, but he should have tried.
I did not want to go into spoiler-territory here, but if you read the book you know the scene.
Tess and her partner still have a lot to learn, and the ending was just plain stupid from them, although I guess, they where lucky to have lived.

What I really liked was that the chief of police and the police in general where trying to stay within the box the law confined them in, not bending it or breaking it. But that stands in stark contrast to the ending, which was just plain wrong from Tess as it was planned.

And some explanations, like the police-procedures read like an "I must explain that word for word, so the readers know why this happens".
Not dumping down, but more like a teacher, tacked on, not like it would really play out. But thats just me, other people may see that differently.

This is more 3.5 than 4 stars, but as this is the first book by this writer I read, I lean to 4 stars.
Also some plain, non-kinky sex-scenes to lighten the mood where ok, not boring and not too much boring romance.
Why? The characters where ok, but I did not like any one of them, nor could I relate to them. show less