From Product Description:

Jack McClure, Special Advisor and closest friend to the new President of the United States, takes on a personal mission along with his official one: keeping safe from harm his two incompatible companions--Annika Dementieva, a rogue Russian FSB agent, and Alli Carson, the President's daughter--and finding the people responsible for murdering an American senator who was supposedly on a political trip to the Ukraine.

First objection: this book was so implassable that it was difficult to accept. Do we really believe a trusted employee of the US government would put the daughter of the President of the United States in life-threatening situations? Really? <br />Second objection: there were two many Russian bit-players. I had trouble keeping the names straight and giving them an identity. Thus, in addition to the author's intended confusion; I added confusion of my own..a real snow job. <br /> I put the book down for a day or two and couldn't reinvest myself in the plot. I don't think I'll buy another book by this author.

I tried to read the First Daughter - and couldn't get attached to the characters. Having LOVED Lustbader's early books, I decided that I just might have judged him too harshly, and decided to give this Last Snow a chance. 200 pages into the book and I couldn't decide what I disliked more - the plot or the characters. <br /> <br />Sorry, but this is just an average - at best - novel for me. With so much out there that exceeds expectations, I'm sorry that his current books are not up to par with his earlier works. Just my humble opinion.

I have read a couple of Van Lustbader's books before, so I am familar with his work. <br />I was somewhat disapointed in the "Last Snow" however. <br /> <br />A friend of the President is asked to take the President's daughter on a <br />dangerous mission - not very believable. <br /> <br />Too many Russian names that were similar - hard to keep the players apart. <br /> <br />Again, not a bad read but I wont read again.

Last Snow is Eric Van Lustbader's sequel to his smashing hit, First Daughter. The lives of the United States President and the family of Jack McClure are intertwined. Not only are the men good friends, but their daughters are best friends and roommates. In the first book, Jack is able to rescue Alli, the President's daughter, when she is abducted. That act leads to him becoming the President's special and trusted advisor, the one man the President trusts entirely. <br /> <br />As Last Snow begins, Jack and the President are in Russia, where the terms of a historic treaty are being worked out. Then a member of the delegation, a Senator who is supposed to be in Russia working, is found dead in Capri. No one knows why he was there, if the death was accidental or a murder, or if it will impact the treaty talks. Jack is asked to investigate the matter. <br /> <br />As he prepares to depart on his mission, he becomes embroiled in an assault on a beautiful Russian FSB agent, Annika. He saves her but then realises that she will remain in danger in the capitol. However, with her contacts and knowledge, they agree that she will be useful in the investigation and agree that she should accompany Jack on his trip. They are surprised when they get to the plane to find Alli Carson, the First Daughter, ready to go also. Since her return from captivity, she is only comfortable around her rescuer Jack, and refuses to stay behind. <br /> <br />The three travel across Eastern Europe. They quickly discover there are several factions working behind the scenes; some to insure passage of the treaty, and some to defeat it. There is treachery, counterspying, betrayals, alliances and a world where nothing is as it seems. Can the trio manuver their way between the obstacles and find out what is behind the various groups before the treaty signing? <br /> <br />As with his other books, Van Lustbader delivers a heartstopping suspenseful story, full of plots and counterplots and story twists. The reader feels compelled to read to the end, many holding their breath in especially exciting areas. The characters aren't as fully developed in this book as in others, as plot and pace is everything, although Jack is a strong character and the villians are especially memorable. This book is recommended for readers who like action suspense.

"Everything comes to an end, he thought. Love, hate, even betrayal....In the final moment, everyone falls, even the would-be kings.... In the silence of the tomb, we all get what we deserve." <br /> <br />In LAST SNOW, indeed everyone falls --- somewhere along the way. Some just fall harder than others. Maybe it's because some deserve harsher treatment than others, maybe because their betrayal is greater. <br /> <br />We met Jack McClure in FIRST DAUGHTER, as he saved President Edward Carson from a would-be assassin, his daughter Alli. To be fair, you need to know that Alli had been kidnapped and brainwashed by a supremely malevolent man. Now both Alli and her father see Jack as her savior. In the intervening months, the first daughter has been gaining ground toward recovering her mental health and rebuilding her trust, but she still clings to Jack for support. <br /> <br />Jack's boss, President Carson, has come to Moscow to forge an accord with the Russian president Yukin. If successful, their agreement would put an end to Russia's military assistance of Iran. Of course, the United States would have to make some concessions, but they would be minor ones, taking into account the enormity of the gains. But is everyone giving the President the straight scoop, or does Carson have an advisor with ambitions at odds with the country's? There seems to be more than one faction at work, each believing in its singular goal. Only one can truly benefit the Americans. When word comes of Senator Lloyd Berns's death in Capri (when he should have been in Kiev), the President asks Jack to investigate. <br /> <br />Now, as Jack is leaving for Kiev, Alli blackmails her mother into letting her go along. What the First Lady doesn't understand is how dangerous Jack's mission is. Nonetheless, her headstrong daughter wins and Jack now has two thorny problems: find out what happened to their man in Capri, and somehow keep Alli safe. Wait, he has three thorny problems. Before he left Moscow, he became embroiled in a domestic dispute at his hotel, ultimately shooting a man and running off with the damsel in distress. That damsel turned out to be a fairly high-placed operative in the FSB, and her lover was connected to the Russian mob. Could Jack have gotten himself into a bigger mess? <br /> <br />Actually, yes. As he's working on his latest assignment, he discovers a hornet's nest of intrigue. The dicier things get, the more Jack begins to feel that no one is telling him the truth. What saves him is a malady that most consider a curse. Jack is dyslexic. But while some people see that as a handicap, he has turned it into a gift, allowing him to assess situations in a uniquely three-dimensional way. His mind maps and choreographs facts instead of forming them into a lineal path. In that way, he finds solutions unavailable to the majority of us. Of course, having that gift can also make him susceptible to betrayal. Connivers will take advantage of it, feeding him erroneous information and using him for their own purposes. <br /> <br />LAST SNOW is full of betrayal but also redemption. Jack is in the middle, juggling to keep things in balance. He continues to harangue himself with guilt over the death of his own daughter, which reinforces the bond with Alli. Fortunately, his focus on the first daughter helps him come to grips with his grief over the loss of his child. And he knows that Alli has a lot of healing to do but very little time for it. She will be lucky to have Jack in the end, for she will need all her strength to handle the challenges that come her way in the cold snows of Russia. <br /> <br />Beware, this novel comes to a whopping shocker of an ending. If you like espionage, action stories, thrillers, mysteries, or all of the above, Eric Van Lustbader should be at the top of your list of must-read authors.