Last Target Standing

Clandestine operatives are sent into China via secretive routes/methods to assassinate an enemy of the United States. As the action continues, things begin to go wrong, and eventually it becomes a journey to return home unscathed. Hurdles, detours, battles, and betrayals abound while minimal support is provided from home in this non-stop thriller.

I began reading Jason Kasper over the last year and have become a big fan. I've jumped around his different series but I began with Enemies of My Country and enjoyed it so much I went back and began his American Mercenaries series. What sticks out to me is how much Kasper has grown and improved as a writer. Last Target Standing is the best thing he's written and I don't think it's particularly close. It's a fast paced thriller with a tight plot and a cast of characters that Kasper manages to play off each other incredibly well. The only gripe I have is I finished it too quickly.

I want to thank Severn River Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of Last Target Standing.

Last Target Standing is a surprising treat for military action thriller fans best described as the much more realistic and interesting version of “The Expendables”, with constant shootouts and a one-setting premise utilized to near perfection by Jason Kasper.
After the events of The Enemies of My Country, a ragtag team of violently talented CIA contractors are on the bloodthirsty hunt for a person of interest who had concocted an attack on American soil on the 4th of July. Their mission takes them in the treacherous rugged mountains of China’s Xinjiang Province, an area filled with opium smugglers and Chinese secret agents. The story plays out entirely around the team’s insertion into the region and the subsequent mission that is plagued with the infamous Murphy’s Law as the team contends with twisty accidents and constant showdowns with enemy combatants, resulting in detailed adrenaline-pumping action sequences written with razor-sharp authenticity that is found only in the finest of action thrillers.
Jason Kasper’s experiences as a former Green Beret immensely help to set a captivating tone for remarkable characters that fit the real-world modern-day escapades of deniable assets sent behind enemy lines. Far from cliched tropes, each member of the CIA contractor team is distinctive and extremely fun albeit dark to read. The narrative changes POV frequently between the different characters to help readers connect with each team member in unique fashion. The dynamic nature of the team’s mission with utmost unpredictability hooks readers in from the very beginning.
With an arching storyline that is preserved to be told over multiple books, Last Target Standing entertains with high action and tense situations brimming with realistic challenges for the “good” guys to overcome, and a fascinating backdrop ripped right from the most current worldwide news.

This review is also posted on this website with a blurb image: https://www.bestthrillerbooks.com/kashif-hussain/last-target-standing-by-jason-kasper

Kasper writing continues to get better as the missions Rivers' team partake get more intense. I enjoy reading these military thrillers written by actual Special Forces warriors, they've been there, done that and it shows up in their writing. Tactics and combat scenes are frighteningly realistic, you can hear the bullets whizzing past your head, and I've caught myself more than once starting at an unexpected noise safe in my home. This team is awesome! They are not superheroes, they are guys we know and have served with. They aren't perfect and don't always follow the rules and make the right decisions, but damn if they don't get the job done and find a way to complete their mission. My only gripe is that I wish they had a couple more shooters on the team, but I'm enjoying the makeup of the team so far. This story flows directly from the previous novel exactly like his previous series, if you find something that works, don't mess with it. I find when my heart rate speeds up while I'm reading, I'm definitely reading the right books; and Kasper makes my heart race reading his stuff. I wholeheartedly recommend this series (and the previous one) and have purchased his other stuff because I'm sure he will not disappoint.