Charles Martin returns following his Murphy Shepherd series with his latest standalone, THE LAST EXCHANGE. From Hollywood to Montana, an unlikely pair, a Scottish bodyguard and a former waitress/Hollywood star, team up as their paths diverge in this complex tale of love and sacrifice.

Kelly MacThomas Pockets (known as Pockets) in his early forties, fit and raised in Scotland, and later with the Scottish Special Forces (classified). Most recently, he was hired to consult for a film director to help with some of the scenes, then moved to LA to work as a bodyguard to a movie star, Maybe Joe Sue. Pockets has seen much, often quiet and an enigma.

"Scars are just the body's response to things that shouldn't be there. A reminder of pain."

Maybe Joe Sue came from a poor, traumatic background as a diner waitress and has made it to Hollywood. However, she is addicted to pills and desperately wants a child. She’s married to a narcissistic actor, Syd. She has endured multiple trips to a fertility clinic, and all has failed. She has had a tough childhood and is looking for love and validation. She returns to the pills to pull her through when she can't get it.

She has been in rehab more times than she can count. Oxy was her go-to, alternating between Adderall, Ambien, Xanax, Valium, Ativan, and trazodone. Something to stay awake. Then, something to sleep or keep sleeping. Up and down. Then, her surrogate disappears. She is devastated. She is kidnapped.

Pockets will protect and love her even if he has to go to extremes to help this woman and give her what she desires. How far would you go to save someone you love?

Alternating between before and after, the past and present slowly unraveled. In Charles Martin's signature fashion, a budding romance. The loyal, caring, strong protector defends the flawed, troubled woman.

I have been an avid fan of Charles Martin for many years since his first book, and have read all his fiction books and some of his non-fiction. While I have always enjoyed his beautiful writing and storytelling, his last two books and this one are different than the older emotional literary stories I long for from Charles. I own all his hardcover books except this one and the last two. His storyline seems to be changing, and often, it does not seem like the same author. Unfortunately, these last few are 4 stars instead of his usual 5 glowing stars.

I would love to see Charles go back to writing similar to his earlier novels, When Crickets Cry, Chasing Fireflies (all-time favorites), Water From My Heart, and all those in between to The Water Keeper. But the second and third Murphy Sheperd series and this one, The Last Exchange, appear to be moving towards the thriller genre and away from the beautiful Southern emotional literary fiction I adored that made Charles Martin so famous. His writing seems more commercialized and contemporary, and I am saddened by the change from my favorite author.

CON: This is a sweet story of love and sacrifice if you can get through it. I read the e-book and listened to the audiobook narrated by Joshua Manning and MacLeod Andrews, both outstanding narrators. However, every time he spoke, the 'mum' from Pockets to Joe Sue drove me nuts! I could not finish the audiobook. It was so distracting. It sounded like a child talking to his mom. Also, reading the e-book was repetitive and distracting for the same reason. The audio was much worse because you had to hear it. I would not recommend the audiobook.

I was teetering between 3-4 stars for a while on this one, but it is Charles Martin, so I will stick with the 4. However, the audiobook would be a 3 or less, not due to the narrator but to the writing of 'mum' throughout the book.

Fingers crossed, Charles will return to the type of books fans grew to love and his earlier storylines with more emotional depth. I like him for literary fiction. Even though I do like thrillers—not from Charles. I am looking for something deeper and more meaningful. His earlier books are classics!

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for an ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

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My Rating: 4 Stars
Pub Date: Oct 3, 2023
Oct 2023 Must-Read Books

Absolutely excellent narration, Voices were easy to understand, calming and wouldn’t change a thing.

A tale of love, the unloved, brokenness, healing, and the spirit of overcoming life‘s challenges. Pockets is a bodyguard hired to protect three time academy award winning actress Maybe Joe Sue. She is married to another actor Syd, who later turns out to be not such a nice person. I don’t really want to spoil this book for you! Please trust me and just read it! I will be thinking about this book for a long time! I did include some of my favorite quotes below—-

How far would you go for someone you loved?

“This love is wrapped around my soul. It can’t be doused. Or appeased. Or talked off the ledge.” I tapped my chest. “And it doesn’t die because you lock it up. Or grow old.” I held out my hand and uncurled my fingers, noticing the scar where the bullet entered. “This kind empties itself. Holds nothing back. Gives you all of me. When your hope hurts, this love stands on a rooftop, or shackled in a courtroom, and screams at the top of its lungs. This love stands up and stands between. It says to those who would hurt you or steal from you, ‘Not today. Not as long as I have breath.’ So that’s what I did. I stood up. I gave you me.”

How far would you go to protect those you love?

“That said, there was one thing I had not protected her from because it’s the one thing on planet Earth that sets us free from the stuff that enslaves us and holds our heads under the water. The stuff trying to kill us. We can lie to one another to soften the blow, but lies only strengthen the chains. There’s only one thing in this universe or any other that cuts through prison bars and sets us free from the prisons in which we live. And that thing is the truth. Without it, there is no freedom.”


“So Pockets did for me what I could not do for myself.”
“Which was?”
“The last exchange.”
“The what?”
She spoke slowly. Enunciating. “Last exchange.”
He looked confused. “I don’t under—”
She cut him off. “It’s when you cross paths with someone who’s broken, just a mess of pieces, unable to fix anything about anything, and yet for some inexplicable reason, you stoop down, reach out and say . . .” She paused. Collecting herself. “Me for you.”
He protested. “But he took you—”
Joe cut him off again. Her voice stronger. “He took from me my pain and gave me what I do not deserve.”
“Which is?”
“My next breath.” She tapped her chest. “And the reason to take another.”

“Brokenness is not weakness.” She waved her hand across the crowd. “Look around. We’re all broken. Welcome to the human race. Weakness is being broken but too proud to ask for help. Sitting there thinking you got this.” She shook her head once. “You don’t got this. You don’t got this at all. Real strength is knowing that and when you’re broken. Only then do you got anything.”

Huge thank you to Netgalley, Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Audio for my advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Wow. Charles Martin writes stories that break your heart and heals it at the same time. This might be my favorite of his ever! I don’t think men like this actually exist, but it is a beautiful reflection of God’s love for us! Highly recommend!! Huge thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read/listen and review this amazing book!

This book took me on an adventure I didn't know I wanted to go on. I won't give away spoilers but I didn't see the ending coming the way it did. There were many pieces I could put together but not the final blow to this story. Martin turns out another masterpiece.

4.5 stars
As with every book by Charles Martin, you can take the story for what it is on the surface--an intriguing adventure tale with twists and turns--or you can look a bit deeper and see the themes relating to faith, love, sacrifice, and freedom. This is a gorgeously told, multi-faceted story about sacrificial love.

There are so many genres represented here: mystery, thriller, domestic drama, romance, courtroom drama, and so much more. It's the story of a broken woman and a stoic man charged to protect her, even from herself. Because isn't that what all of us need? Someone to save us from ourselves? I know I do.

I listened to the audiobook of this one and the narration captures the main characters perfectly. I listened to this in less than a day because I was on the edge of my seat wanting to know what would happen.

I highly recommend this book, and all of Martin's other books. His writing is superb.

Wow! What a fabulous novel by Charles Martin. I have read Charles Martin in the past, but this story was incredible. There were surprises that were unexpected, and the author gave little clues to keep you guessing and rooting for the larger-than-life characters.

MacThomas Pockets, who was trained with the Scottish Special Forces, is hired by an Academy Award Winning actress, Maybe Joe Sue, to be her bodyguard. Joe is married to a popular Hollywood actor and the two of them are struggling to have a baby and balance their busy celebrity lives. The evening of an award show, Joe is kidnapped, and the entire world is searching for her. The story jumps from her humble beginnings to her present glamorous life to explain how Joe ends up in a cabin in the mountains with an unidentified abductor.

I read this book on audio and loved the character’s voices, especially the Scottish voice of Pockets. The narrator did such a great job that jumping from past to present was easy to follow.

There are some triggers about fertility issues that some readers may need to be aware of.

Charles Martin is such a wonderful storyteller, after finishing this book, I will now go back and read all his backlist novels.

Thank you NetGalley, Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Audio for this advanced reader copy. Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Audio, please send me any future books by Charles Martin. I absolutely love this author. #NetGalley #TheLastExchange

Book Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narration: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was my 4th Charles Martin novel and I can't get enough of them! Martin is such a talented author. I love his writing style and story telling. His works are always deep, with relatable plot lines. In all of his books I can see the character of Christ and the references of our need for Him, making Martin one of my favorite authors. The narration of this book was also great! I loved the Scottish accent ♥️ Both Manning and Andrews did a phenomenal job at bringing these characters to life.
I also enjoyed the podcast interview at the end of the audiobook. It gave me hope for the possibility of more Murphy and Pockets! Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the opportunity to listen and review this wonderful audiobook.

This audiobook was terrific and kept me engaged and interested in the story and characters until the end. There were a couple of voices that we a bit annoying and the Before and After sections would have been a little easier to keep track of with the physical book but Charles Martin is a wonderful story teller with characters that jump off the page and into your heart! For those who care about content, this one has some mature adult themes and actions but they are all dealt with in a discreet manner.

“Brokenness isn’t weakness”

Loved this book! Charles Martin is a talented author who has once again created a beautiful and moving story. The characters are real with all the complexity and complications of humanity. The story line is intriguing and emotional as it addresses how far you would go for the ones you love.

Really enjoyed the narrator and the interview with author! (Yes we need another Pockets book!!!)

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins Christian for giving me early access to the audiobook. All opinions are my own.

I have read a few Charles Martin books and I think this has been my favorite.
Great depth of characters in a plot line with some nice twists.

When MacThomas Pockets finished his last tour as part of the Scottish Special Forces, he was hired to consult for a film director to finesse some scenes that weren’t working. In a twist he never saw coming, he ended up moving to L.A. to work as the bodyguard for movie star Maybe Joe Sue.

It didn’t take long for Pockets to realize there were two Joe Sues: The Joe Sue the public saw with her perfect life and her Hollywood husband. And the private Joe Sue: the one with the traumatic youth that no amount of pills could cover up, who desperately wanted a child of her own.

Even after their paths diverged, he continued to track Joe Sue’s life. Only a few would notice when the bottom fell out. But he did. And that’s when he stepped in.

This novel starts at a slow burn then really just blasts off. It is a current and past timeline that leads to one time line bundled together with explanations along the was for someone reading and paying attention. The question overall is how far would you go to save someone you love? Keep that front and center while reading and see if you can figure out the direction of the book. Finding beauty in the messes of life, knowing brokenness and need are not weaknesses. Martin has written a story that draws the reader in from the beginning and doesn't let go until the end. It is a story that addresses real-life situations of addictive behavior and childlessness. It is an amazing story of how far one would go for the love of their lives.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity.