Miami criminal defense lawyer Jack Swyteck doesn't exactly have it all, but life's good. If it weren't for his best friend, bar owner Theo Knight, Jack would have nothing to worry about. Theo grew up in Miami's roughest neighborhood. His Uncle Cy tried his best to raise him right, but Theo ended up a teenager on Florida's death row for a murder he didn't commit. Jack was the lawyer who proved him innocent. A phone call at 3 a.m. reminds Jack that the past is never that far away. Theo has been ambushed by a punk from the old neighborhood.Up until two hours before, Isaac Reems had been in prison. He's now a fugitive, and promises that if Theo will help him elude the manhunt, he will name the guy who killed Theo's momma. Theo's mother died when he was a boy-brutally murdered. The crime was never solved. It's clear from the get-go that it wasn't a lowlife from the old 'hood who slit his mother's throat. Someone has a very dark secret, one that he will stop at nothing to protect. Jack and Theo's search will take them right up to the doors of Miami's elite, but for Theo the danger is personal. Jack's friend doesn't want jusice. He needs revenge. As the two men draw closer to the truth, the twists and turns along a twenty-year-old trail of evidence seem to point in a direction that chills even Theo.

Miami criminal defense lawyer Jack Swyteck doesn't exactly have it all, but life's good. If it weren't for his best friend, bar owner Theo Knight, Jack would have nothing to worry about. Theo grew up in Miami's roughest neighborhood. His Uncle Cy tried his best to raise him right, but Theo ended up a teenager on Florida's death row for a murder he didn't commit. Jack was the lawyer who proved him innocent. A phone call at 3 a.m. reminds Jack that the past is never that far away. Theo has been ambushed by a punk from the old neighborhood.Up until two hours before, Isaac Reems had been in prison. He's now a fugitive, and promises that if Theo will help him elude the manhunt, he will name the guy who killed Theo's momma. Theo's mother died when he was a boy-brutally murdered. The crime was never solved. It's clear from the get-go that it wasn't a lowlife from the old 'hood who slit his mother's throat. Someone has a very dark secret, one that he will stop at nothing to protect. Jack and Theo's search will take them right up to the doors of Miami's elite, but for Theo the danger is personal. Jack's friend doesn't want jusice. He needs revenge.

As the two men draw closer to the truth, the twists and turns along a twenty-year-old trail of evidence seem to point in a direction that chills even Theo.

2008-01-19 A Gritty Look at the African-American Ghetto Experience in Miami

Last Call brings back witty defense attorney Jack Swyteck and his best friend, Theo Knight, with a twist -- this is Theo's story with Jack as the sidekick. That means the humor is downplayed while the stomach-curdling violence is vividly displayed. If you like suspense novels where the hero has a chance to die at almost any moment, Last Call is a good choice. You'll be exposed to most kinds of human weakness and sin within a wildly dangerous setting. The story has enough twists and turns to keep you interested with occasional moments of humor to lighten the deep darkness of the story.

Theo has been redeeming his life since Jack got him off Death Row where Theo was about to be executed for a crime he didn't commit. His bar is doing well, and Theo is about to make a move up to a better place. Theo's relationship with Trina is going well . . . despite her being hard to please at times.

That middle class focus is blown apart by the re-entry of Isaac, a gang leader from Theo's youth, into Theo's life at the point of the gun, a gun stolen from Theo's bar. Isaac has just broken out of prison and needs help. He threatens Theo and takes off. But that's not the end of the story. The two are tied together by the night they rode together when Theo's hooker mother was killed, and Isaac claims to know who did it. From then on, Theo is in the play so that he can protect himself from Isaac and find out the secret. With Jack's help, the defense becomes quite extensive . . . and dangerous. Taking apart one source after another, Theo and Jack begin to sort out what happened before Isaac arrived in the bar.

A minor theme of the story is Jack's continuing attraction to two women, the altruistic Rene (who isn't into commitment but likes Jack in bed) and the coolly professional Andie (who threatens Jack by being suspicious of Theo).

The story isn't like the typical book in the series so if you are looking for a clone of When Darkness Falls, this isn't it.