THE LAST MAN
A Novel of the 1927 Santa Claus Bank Robbery
by THOMAS GOODMAN
Narrated by Eric Priessman
Historical Fiction / Heist Thriller / Texas History
Publication Date: August 28, 2023
Publisher: Mainsail Media
Print Length: 312 pages
Audiobook Length: 8 hours, 52 minutes
~Literary Awards~
*2023 Grand Prize Winner for the 2023 Chanticleer Laramie Award for Americana Fiction*
*2024 Spur Award Winner for Best Western Historical Novel*
*2024 Will Rogers Medallion Award Winner*
ABOUT THE BOOK: When Santa Claus enters a Texas bank just before Christmas in 1927, no one expects him to pull a gun.
The fake white beard hides his identity from his neighbors while he and three others take everything. But their easy heist goes sideways fast when armed lawmen and citizens assemble to claim a new reward for dead bank robbers.
Taking hostages, the gang forces a path through a frenzied and bloody shootout, setting the whole Lone Star state on their trail.
One bandit dies in the getaway. One is executed in the electric chair. One swings from a rope in a mob lynching. The last man finds a life he always hoped for … if only he can keep it.
Closely based on a true story, The Last Man is a gritty Prohibition-era crime novel filled with flawed characters and second chances.
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BOOK REVIEW
HALL WAYS AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: 4.5 STARS. I became familiar with the 1927 Santa Claus robbery of Cisco, Texas, in 2019 when I read the nonfiction, aptly titled Santa Claus Bank Robbery by Tui Snider. It's a fascinating and horrifying true crime story, and Snider's interpretation of facts is one of several on the subject, and certainly the most recent -- until Thomas Goodman's The Last Man hit my radar in 2023. My interest was certainly piqued, but it wasn't until I won an audiobook copy in 2024 that I was able to finally get to reading, and it was worth the wait.
The Last Man starts with what we know historically happened, and Goodman’s description of it is excellent. Readers are on the edge of their seats as one by one, the fugitives are dropping. This is the mark of great writing when even though we know how it turns out, maybe even some of the details, the story is still suspenseful.
I went into the book without real expectations since it is a fictionalized account of what happened all those years ago, and Goodman fleshes out the characters and brings the action to life. There is more time spent in courtrooms and jails than I prefer, but those scenes also reflect the reality of what happened post-robbery.
ABOUT THE NARRATION: Narrator Eric Priessman does a great job with pacing and delivery, and he places emphasis on just the right words at just the right time to draw listeners in. His narration is storytelling, not story reading, and is a good complement to Goodman's text. There were several mispronounced words (including "Brazos," which a Texan would tell you is wrong, though it's correct in Spanish), and those definitely caught my ear and took me out of the story a bit.
The Author’s Notes section at the end of at the end of The Last Man is outstanding and shows the depth of Goodman's research. I appreciate his explanations of how he fills in blanks between fact and fiction, providing logical fiction for readers to enjoy.
I have The Last Man on my to-buy-in-print list because I'm particularly interested in the bibliography that I'm assuming is there, and I would happily lend it to friends. I also think it would make a terrific, unique gift for lovers of Texana and the offbeat, truth-is-stranger-than-fiction tales that Texas offers.
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