The Last Town by Blake Crouch

There's little to keep secret by now if you've read both Pines and Wayward but if you've stumbled across this review without having read those two I'll try to be somewhat vague :)

Just weeks ago, Special Agent Ethan Burke was on assignment tracking down two missing agents. His investigation took him to Wayward Pines, a town that turned out to be anything but normal. Ethan's knowledge and skills left him perfectly aligned to be of use to the town's founder, David Pilcher, and so he was shown the truth about Wayward Pines. But being part of the inside circle wasn't all it was cracked up to be, especially when Ethan began learning more about Pilcher himself. In saving his friend and former partner, Ethan told the citizens everything he knew about Pilcher, the town, and what lay beyond its borders. 

As the walls of his built paradise began to crumble, Pilcher decided that Ethan and everyone else in Wayward Pines would have to pay the price for such a betrayal. 

The Last Town picks up immediately where Wayward leaves off, with the citizens of Wayward Pines reeling from Ethan's announcement. And of course everything soon goes to hell in a hand basket. Pilcher has cut the power to the fence and Ethan has to try and save his family and as many of the other Pines citizens he can. But with few weapons and an enemy only Ethan has faced, it seems the endeavor might be destined to fail.

I'm on the fence about the ending of The Last Town. It's not at all a bad ending but it is one that left me wanting more. Perhaps it's the flip side of the coin here - I've benefitted by being able to zip through the series now that all three are out, but I've also immersed myself so completely in the world Crouch has created that it's very hard to leave it behind.

There are a series of shorts associated with the trilogy out via Kindle Worlds, which is an interesting concept. Some of the contributing authors are authors you might well know (F. Paul Wilson, Brett Battles...). Unfortunately I don't have a kindle nor am I quite so desperate that I'll read the shorts on my computer at this point. I'm also not sure that any of these pick up in the aftermath of The Last Town, and that's what I'd really be hoping for. I may dive in at some time in the future, though, especially after I get a taste of the tv show.

Aside from knowing that I'll miss the universe, this has been a quite fabulous and fun trilogy! I definitely recommend it if you're in the mood for three quick and gripping, action packed reads.

Rating: 4/5