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The Last Kind Words

(Terrier Rand #1)

Tom Piccirilli

3.68 · Rating details · 2,582 ratings · 319 reviews

From award-winning author Tom Piccirilli comes a wholly original crime novel introducing the Rands, a vipers’ nest of crooks and cons, one generation stealing from the next. Upon the razor-thin edge between love and violence lives a pair of brothers, their bonds frayed by betrayals and guilt, their loyalty to each other their last salvation.

Raised to pick a pocket before ...more

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Hardcover, 320 pages

Published June 12th 2012 by Bantam (first published January 1st 2012)

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Jul 21, 2012 karen rated it really liked it

Shelves: grit-lit

goodbye, tom piccirilli. i have loved your books so much.

mmmm... love this book.

a family of thieves, in various states of leaving the lifestyle behind them, living in a custom-made house where generations-worth of ill-gotten loot is squirreled away behind the walls, growing old and soft together; the older generation succumbing to alzheimers, and the younger ones either trying to go straight, or to make the decision to follow the family trade.

one of their own is behind bars after a spree ...more

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Dec 30, 2017 Dan Schwent rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2018, 2018-books

Terrier Rand returns home, summoned by a phone call telling him of his brother Collie's impending execution. While Collie admits to the murders he committed, he knows one of the killings he's been charged with isn't his doing and wants Terrier to find out who was behind the murder of Rebecca Clarke. Will his investigation tear his family, a multi-generational gang of thieves, apart?

While I enjoyed A Choir of Ill Children, I wasn't super motivated to read another Tom Piccirilli book. I snapped Terrier Rand returns home, summoned by a phone call telling him of his brother Collie's impending execution. While Collie admits to the murders he committed, he knows one of the killings he's been charged with isn't his doing and wants Terrier to find out who was behind the murder of Rebecca Clarke. Will his investigation tear his family, a multi-generational gang of thieves, apart?

While I enjoyed A Choir of Ill Children, I wasn't super motivated to read another Tom Piccirilli book. I snapped this up for $1.99 and soon found I'd been quite a fool.

The Last Kind Words looks like a crime book on the surface. Terrier Rand has been on the run from his past for five years, a past full of burglaries and such, when he gets the fateful call. Terry slips back into his old life like a pair of shoes that don't fit right anymore, all the while trying to make sense of why his brother would murder eight people and wondering if he didn't have the same potential in himself.

While the mystery element is there, it's more about what binds a family together and what can tear it apart. Terrier didn't leave town under the best of circumstances and now he's reaping the rewards. His family mostly communicates through silence and minding their own business. A lot of things aren't the way he remembered them. His little sister is a teenager. His grandfather has Altzheimers and his uncles seem to be heading in that direction. Reports swarm the Rand house daily and Detective Gillmore is around all too often.

The mystery in and of itself was pretty engaging. It was just over the halfway mark that I had an inkling of who the killer was and I turned out to be right. I knew the big confrontation was going to be bad and I was not disappointed. The final ending was pretty sad.

Terrier Rand is one of the more interesting protagonists I've come across in recent years, a man from a family of thieves who finally has to take a long hard look at himself. While he's not a killer, he's definitely a thief through and through.

The Last Kind Words is a dark, funny, sad, thought-provoking book, so much more than what I thought I was getting. Time to buy more Tom Piccirilli. Five out of five stars. ...more

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Apr 03, 2018 Kemper rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-mystery, bad-guys-rule, thieves, serial-killers, we-are-family, 2018

It’s hard to be a black sheep in a family of thieves and swindlers, but Collie Rand managed to pull it off by going on a murder spree during which he killed several innocent people including a child.

Terrier Rand couldn’t cope with what his brother did and took off for five years, but with the execution date approaching he reluctantly comes home when Collie asks to see him. Collie tells Terry that while he’s guilty of most of crimes that he didn’t kill one young woman that was pinned on him, and It’s hard to be a black sheep in a family of thieves and swindlers, but Collie Rand managed to pull it off by going on a murder spree during which he killed several innocent people including a child.

Terrier Rand couldn’t cope with what his brother did and took off for five years, but with the execution date approaching he reluctantly comes home when Collie asks to see him. Collie tells Terry that while he’s guilty of most of crimes that he didn’t kill one young woman that was pinned on him, and that he fears that a serial killer may be out there commiting more murders.

Collie has a long history of play mind games as well as being a homicidal jerkface so Terry doubts his brother, and his homecoming isn’t a pleasant trip down memory lane. He finds his family still reeling with the shock and shame of Collie’s crimes as well as other issues, and he’s still in love with the woman he skipped out on even though she married one of his best friends. As he tries to help his family pull the pieces back together and come to terms with his past Terry begins looking into the possibility that Collie is telling the truth about another killer.

I’ve heard a lot of good things about the late Tom Piccirilli, but while there was a lot I liked in this it also had a lot of elements that didn’t work for me. The idea of a guy raised by a family of criminals coming home and investigating a murder is a nice hook, and the writing is very solid overall. However, I had a lot of problems with the tone of the book.

As our first person narrator we spend the entire book with Terry’s angst, and that’s understandable to some extent. If this was straight-up character based crime fiction, like from a Richard Price type of ultra realistic story, then it’d be fine and Piccirilli kinda gets there. Yet it’s also got this kind of gimmicky criminal underworld thing that seems more like something that belong in a Richard Stark novel or a John Wick movie. There’s so much stuff like that from the way the whole Rand family is named after types of dogs to the descriptions of their house being stuffed with hidden spaces filled with loot from heists over the years. (You’d think a family of known thieves wouldn’t want a house filled with evidence of their crimes.) Again, if that’s what you’re going for and you put a criminal playing detective in that world then that’s a solid idea.

But trying to mix serious character drama with a guy brooding about his family and his regrets doesn’t sync up with a story about thieves who seem to have been imported from a pulp novel. Then you add in the serial killer story which gets pretty stupid and melodramatic in the end, and it just feels like a lot of scattered elements that don’t work well together.

It’s also possible that I’m still so creeped out from reading I'll Be Gone in the Dark a few weeks ago that I refuse to sympathize with a guy who breaks into people’s houses when they’re sleeping. Whatever the reason, this one didn’t live up to a strong start for me. ...more

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Nov 06, 2013 Barbara rated it liked it

Terrier Rand's family are "gentleman" thieves - no violence.

So when Terry's brother Collie goes on a murder spree resulting in the death of eight people, Terry leaves town, abandoning his girlfriend Kimmy.

Five years later, shortly before his execution, Collie asks to see Terry. Collie tells Terry that he's guilty of all but one of the murders, that of a pretty teenage girl. Collie wants Terry to find the real murderer.

Terry reluctantly looks into the claim while navigating the competing ...more

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Jul 07, 2015 Richard rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: essential-crime, crime-mystery-thriller, author-piccirilli, noir-contemporary

Tom Piccirilli is already one of my favorite authors even though this is actually the first novel I've read by him. I've read and loved a handful of his great novellas in the past year and have been infatuated with his sensitive but uncompromising writing. Tommy Pic doesn't disappoint in the full-length novel form either! Here, we follow the Rands, a family of Long Island thieves and burglars that go back generations who's strong bond has fallen apart after Collie, the oldest son, goes on an Tom Piccirilli is already one of my favorite authors even though this is actually the first novel I've read by him. I've read and loved a handful of his great novellas in the past year and have been infatuated with his sensitive but uncompromising writing. Tommy Pic doesn't disappoint in the full-length novel form either! Here, we follow the Rands, a family of Long Island thieves and burglars that go back generations who's strong bond has fallen apart after Collie, the oldest son, goes on an inexplicable killing spree that lands him on death row, and after the youngest son, Terrier, decides to abandon the family and go off on his own. But now after five years, Terry has returned and must confront this broken family that he deserted years before.

The characters pulled me in almost immediately, each one clearly drawn and familiar; each one deserving enough of their own novel. But the focus here is on Terry, a man haunted by the the potential legacy of the Rand name. Will he fall victim to severe Alzheimer's like his grandfather Shepherd, fall into the underneath and go mad-dog like his brother Collie, or will he simply just live the rest of his days in a house full of stolen junk; a faded, washed-up and lonely thief, breaking in to and creeping around in other homes at night, witnessing the lives of people happier than he is, and pining for his lost love? These questions haunt Terry throughout the novel as he knows that these are real possibilities. The themes Piccirilli tackles here are very similar to the one he explored in the last novella I read by him, All You Despise , the theme that the pull of family bond and obligation is almost impossible to explain, but can affect someone for the rest of their life. Both this novel and All You Despise can be seen as companion pieces, where Piccirilli tries to investigate why the power of family can be so strong and crippling. The novel is about family: longing for it, hating it, or simply just being stuck with it whether you want to be or not. ...more

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Oct 02, 2012 James Thane rated it really liked it

Shelves: crime-fiction

This book is less a crime novel and more a meditation on the family ties that both bind us together and drive us totally nuts. After suffering a personal crisis, Terrier Rand left his close-knit family of thieves and grifters and ran away to become a ranch hand. Five years later, he is called home to visit his elder brother, Collie. (It's a family tradition that all of the Rands are named after dog breeds.)

Collie is days away from being executed for multiple murders. Murder is a crime totally ...more

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Jun 14, 2015 Sandra rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: grit-lit-noir, 2016

“The last kind words ever spoken to Jesus were spoken by a thief.”
“Excuse me?”
He tried to pull away but I held on.
“You’re—you’re—”
“We were the first let into heaven. Thieves are pardoned.”

The motto of the Rand's family of honorary thieves.
Thou shall not kill, nor use weapons...
But Collie broke that code and is now on death row for killing eight people. Now that the time has come of his final hour, he denies having to anything with the last murder. Now Terry, his brother, needs to find out who ...more

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Jul 26, 2012 Melki rated it really liked it

Shelves: crime-fiction, thriller

I glanced at the register. I could have it cleaned out in under ten seconds. I could wait for the bartender to go get another case of beer from the storeroom. Or I could sucker-punch him and nab the cash. No one would try to stop me. That kind of draw was always there for me. Knowing I could reach out and grab what I wanted at any time. Of course it was. I was a thief.

You really don't expect a family of thieves to have high moral standards, but while Collie Rand sits on death row for the murder ...more

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Apr 01, 2013 Greg rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, crime-fiction

Tales from Long Island

(this isn't so much a review as a rambling of some not quite right in the head people I've known in my college days.)

This book is excellent. Not perfect, but very very good. You might want to consider reading it. It might be the sleeper hit of this year's reading for you (sorry, I couldn't figure out what to call that, this season's reading? What season?)

Karen wrote a good review of this book and it gives the major plot stuff you might want to know about. So you should read ...more

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Apr 20, 2012 Steve Lowe rated it it was amazing

Shelves: crime

You there, with that book in your hand. Put that down. Now, pick up this one and resume. No, seriously. You don't want to be reading that, you need to be reading this.

Sometimes you read a book and can just tell the author is trying too hard to make it something more than it is. That is not this kind of book. The Last Kind Words is literary crime fiction that doesn't feel like it's trying to be anything but a great fucking story. There is no frill or filler here, no need to seem smarter than your ...more

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Apr 28, 2014 Zoeytron rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: new-fangled-e-reader, public-library

The ties that bind kinfolk together are strong, and three generations of the Rand family live under the same roof in this noirish tale. The Rands have a predilection for naming their offspring for breeds of dogs, and have always done so. It almost sounds silly, but it works here. The other thing they all have in common is their inherent talent for sneak thievery. The Rand boys became criminals because they were born to it. Even so, they have a code - no guns, no murders. There are lines you ...more

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May 03, 2012 Diane S ☔ rated it really liked it

The Rand family has long been family of thieves, second story men but thieves who do not carry a gun. Until Collie Rand goes "down under" and slaughters innocent people. Terri Rand escaped from all the family anguish until he is called back by his brother, shortly before his brother is to be executed. This book definitely held my attention from beginning to end, it was an interesting concept told amazingly well. Somehow, at least for me, all the family members are extremely likable although some ...more

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Feb 29, 2012 Lee Thompson rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Everybody

Recommended to Lee by: Tom Piccirilli

Wow. Fucking awesome.

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Apr 28, 2012 Benoit Lelièvre rated it it was amazing

Splendid novel. A credit to noirists all around the globe. THE LAST KIND WORDS brings some literary cred to the traditional noir landscapes. The Rand family are terrific characters, bound by blood and secrets. Tom Piccirilli takes ballsy decisions in this novel of including really common crime fiction tropes (killer-on-the-loose being one), but he handles them masterfully. They end up improving the story. This has been by far my favorite release this year and I am very confident this is an award ...more

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Jun 16, 2012 Michael rated it really liked it

Shelves: crime, thriller, 2012

I picked up this novel because I got an email from Amazon recommending this book because I liked Drive by James Sallis. While I didn’t believe it would be anything like Drive the synopsis did intrigue me. Terrier Rand grow up in a household of thieves and grifters; from a very young age Terry had been engaging in theft. He left his family and life to go straight but five years later has been dragged but when his brother is claiming to be innocent of one of the victims of his killing spree. His I picked up this novel because I got an email from Amazon recommending this book because I liked Drive by James Sallis. While I didn’t believe it would be anything like Drive the synopsis did intrigue me. Terrier Rand grow up in a household of thieves and grifters; from a very young age Terry had been engaging in theft. He left his family and life to go straight but five years later has been dragged but when his brother is claiming to be innocent of one of the victims of his killing spree. His brother is only days away from execution and has asked his brother to look into one of the murders. He has pleaded guilty for all the other murders but the police won’t listen. Collie doesn’t want to the real killer to remain on the loose and even though Terry hates his brother and what he did, he finds himself investigating.

Terrier finds himself been sucked into a life he has tried really hard to escape. As the story slowly unfolds Terry begins to find out that maybe his grandfather was right when he told him; "We're born thieves, it's our nature, handed down to me, handed down from me. This is our way." Can Terry really escape a life of crime? Is Collie really guilty of this crime? Can Terry save his teenage sister from falling into a life of crime?

The Last Kind Words has some interesting family elements thought this novel; each member of the how is unique and interesting; even if they are all named after dogs. His father, Pinsch is a retired cat burglar, his uncles Mal and Grey are in trouble with the local mob and his Grandfather Old Shep maybe suffering from Alzheimer but still proving time and time again that he is a master pickpocket. Throughout the book the reader is left wondering if Terry should help his family or try and save himself; always questioning the importance of family, when your family can be so self destructive.

From the start I was hooked, this novel had a nice pace to it, mixing elements of crime and mystery with an interesting character driven story about love and family. While Tom Piccirilli did a wonderful job in writing a novel of suspense, guilt, justice and redemption, I never really understood Terry’s motivations. I get that he wanted to help his family and I get that the book is meant to question the reader but I just felt that the characters motivation never felt clear to begin with, he didn’t want to be there, he didn’t want to help his brother, in fact he hated his brother and never believed him, so it felt like obligation was the only reason to return, even though I thought that reason didn’t fit this character too well.

The Last Kind Words is an interesting book and well worth reading. Crime lovers will love the suspense and mystery throughout this book and literary lovers will love the character building and family turmoil in this novel. The narrative is atmospheric with a slight noir feel to it, personally I would have loved more of a noir narrative but Tom Piccirilli did a brilliant job writing this book anyway. One of better books I’ve read this year; I just had so much fun reading The Last Kind Words. ...more

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Sep 06, 2012 Melissa rated it really liked it

This is a damn fine book. I started it while watching golf on Labor Day & after about six pages, I turned to B & said, "This is a damn fine book." He said, "How can you know that already?" but you know how sometime you get six pages into something & you just know it's going to be absolutely worth your time? This involves a family of thieves who're all inexplicably named after dogs. This guy is named Pinscher, that guy is named Malamute, and, regrettably, that girl is named Airedale. ...more

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Oct 26, 2016 Jenbebookish rated it really liked it

Shelves: purchased, karen-vibez, 2016, thrillers, pleasantly-surprised

Wowza. This was a pleasant surprise. This is on my Karen-vibez shelf because it's one of the books I added to my to-read shelf based entirely upon the goodreads recommendation of a certain Karen Brissette, somebody who's reviews I absolutely LOVE, but have come to realize that it's a toss up whether or not I'll agree with her about books she loves. I've found her to be a tad bit more...generous with her stars and high opinions than I myself generally am. So I chose this one primarily because Wowza. This was a pleasant surprise. This is on my Karen-vibez shelf because it's one of the books I added to my to-read shelf based entirely upon the goodreads recommendation of a certain Karen Brissette, somebody who's reviews I absolutely LOVE, but have come to realize that it's a toss up whether or not I'll agree with her about books she loves. I've found her to be a tad bit more...generous with her stars and high opinions than I myself generally am. So I chose this one primarily because she'd sung its praises, but truthfully, also because it wasn't especially thick and the premise sounded basic enough that I thought it would be something easy to get into and easy to read. I just really couldn't figure out what I was in the mood for at the time, so I opted for something I thought would be EASY. A quickie! But in this instance I gotta say I totally agree with Karen, this thin slip of a book is so much more than it initially appears to be.

I am not a master of words the way Karen is, so I'll refrain from mucking things up too badly by trying to explain things, but I will say a few things about it, starting off with how much of a surprise this turned out to be. It was a slow burn tho, I made it almost half way thru before I really reeally started to like it. It's a really great character study, a story about a family of thieves with crime in their blood. The eldest brother Collie is up for execution following a crime spree that resulted in the death of 8 people, only now he's saying he didn't kill one of them. What difference does it make right? 7 still lands him the same needle. Only it does make a difference, a HUGE difference in fact. And that's the journey we go on with Terrier (yes they are all named after dogs. I thought it was cutesy at first, but by the end saw it as fitting) He's not exactly your most likable character, with a past full of cop outs, mistakes and crimes, but when the time comes, he shows up for his family and does what needs to be done. Smart, damaged, tough as nails...sounds like it's been done before, and it has, but the difference here is that Piccarilli does it well. Terrier is believable in every sense, his brokenness, his sharpness, the hard edge that comes with being born a thief. I felt for him without falling in love with him, and I rooted for him every step of the way, all the way to the story's inevitable conclusion.

Gritty, solid read. I was way stoked to realize there was a sequel. ...more

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Mar 13, 2012 Lou rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery-thriller, arc, june-2012-read

This story involves kin and crimes. Two brothers one incarcerated awaiting a needle of death. His has murdered eight people, a family of five on vacation, a gas-station attendant, an old lady beaten to death and a young woman strangled in a park. He killed them with no real motive mindless and senseless actions. His brother on the outside is also a thief and tries to piece together his brothers killing of one young girl and other girls recently murdered. He must get to the truth amongst the ...more

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Jul 22, 2012 JoAnne Pulcino rated it it was amazing

Shelves: adult-fiction, adult-mystery, thriller, adult-thriller

THE LAST KIND WORDS

By Tom Piccirilli

This impressive creative title captured my imagination and became so integral to the plot and content of the book that it is one of the reasons I was drawn into and captured by this pitch perfect, action packed thriller.

This atmospheric noir novel has a cast of intriguing and fascinating characters. They are a charming family of anti heroes with all their idiosyncrasies. The reader is introduced to the Rand family who for generations have been grifters, card ...more

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Jul 29, 2013 Sheri rated it did not like it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 26, 2017 Tim rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. THE LAST KIND WORDS by author Tom Piccirilli is a book about Terrier Rand, a man from a close-knit family of career criminals whose income is derived from being burglars, grifters, petty thieves, card cheats, and other other forms of illicit income, albeit with one caveat; no guns, and who all share one common theme; they are all given a first name usually shortened to a nickname that is the breed of a dog.

Collie is Terry’s older brother, who is on death row and awaiting his upcoming execution, THE LAST KIND WORDS by author Tom Piccirilli is a book about Terrier Rand, a man from a close-knit family of career criminals whose income is derived from being burglars, grifters, petty thieves, card cheats, and other other forms of illicit income, albeit with one caveat; no guns, and who all share one common theme; they are all given a first name usually shortened to a nickname that is the breed of a dog.

Collie is Terry’s older brother, who is on death row and awaiting his upcoming execution, and who requests that Terry leave his anonymous life on a western cattle ranch to visit him, as Terry quietly disappeared in the wake of the horrible killing spree his brother committed resulting in his conviction, and the shame and family embarrassment being more than he could stand up to.

Terry is apprehensive and experiences mixed feelings regarding his brother, and his visit is very tense and is further aggravating when he finds the reason for his brother’s request as it is quite unusual.

Admission of the murder spree and taking responsibility for the deaths is something Collie never wavers on; except that now he’s come to believe that one of the murders he’s been accused of is a murder he didn’t commit, and that through his bride’s research(newlyweds/married after his incarceration) has unearthed the possibility of others murdered in a very similar way and the victims of a similar profile.

Terry’s initial anger and rejection of Collie’s request is eventually changed to curiosity and he does begin to look into this, only to find closed doors and anger from people he’s known in the past, either because of Collie’s horrific crimes, the lengthy criminal presence of his family, or Terry himself having run away from the situation hurting those who loved him the most.

Deep feelings from the past are unearthed as Terry tries to rekindle old family ties and relationships, at the same time he fears falling back into the old family lifestyle, and possibly becoming affected by the secretly guarded mental condition of several of the male members of the family for generations, making him wonder how much this is a factor in the behavior and actions of his brother, uncles, and grandfather; even to the point of being possibly responsible for Collie’s actions.

Will Terry be able to find the truth behind the one killing his brother claims isn’t committed by him, and will he succumb to the mental deterioration affecting his family whether he stays or goes?
Can he find forgiveness for having abandoned those who needed him most, or will he forever live his remaining days in shame?

Author Tom Piccirilli has written a powerful book that is not as much about the criminal actions of Terry and the entire Rand family; but rather an interesting view into their lives as people born into a life not chosen, yet something they naturally become part of with seemingly no escape from being part of.

Mental health being a subject that is very misunderstood by many, this book broaches the subject, and of culpability based on one’s mental capacity, something that will probably always be debatable in situations such as present in this book.

Great book, I recommend it to all, especially those who like stories that make you pull for the bad guys, since even most criminals have some good in them; however misplaced.

5 stars. ...more

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Sep 03, 2018 April rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery

Very appealing, conflicted protagonist and a gripping page-turner of a plot makes this first in the series a must read. Terrier returns home to a devastated family and dies what he can to put it right.

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Apr 14, 2017 Eric rated it really liked it

Tom Piccirilli's The Last Kind Words is a crime novel that introduces the reader to the Rand family. The Rand family is a well established family known for generations for its skills of thievery and cons. Oddly, each male is also named after a dog.

The main character in the novel, Terrier Rand, absent and out of touch away from the family for over five years, has been requested to come home at the request of his spree-killer brother, currently on death row.

The Rand family consists of a group of ...more

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Mar 28, 2016 AlcoholBooksCinema rated it really liked it

Shelves: crime-fiction

When you see a person who meets his brother after half-decade and the veins in his wrist are tricked away, black and twisted at his brother's presence, you instantly realize there are some things unsettled between them and there is an emptiness to be filled.

Nobody grabs an opportunity like a thief. We all doubt our capabilities, but thieves don't. It is rare that we catch someone stealing our wallet. Movies about thieves are very spectacular to watch, but the scene of realizing there's no wallet

...more

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Jul 20, 2012 Gatorman rated it it was amazing

This was, without question, one of the best books I've read in a while. The story of the Rand clan, a bunch of thieves and scam-artists all named after dogs, and the aftermath of one son's murderous rampage, is a smart, dark, intense tale that pulls no punches. The writing is spot-on and each character has a life of its own that you love getting to know despite feeling dirty just associating with them. What could have turned into another family member-turned Hardy Boy investigation into whether ...more

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Aug 12, 2015 Stephen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Enjoyed this one - probably my favourite of the late great Tom's books.
Similar to the Cold Spot with its dysfunctional criminal family but slightly better story and characters (including the dog). Also got the sequel so will be reading that one pretty soon too.

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Feb 25, 2019 Kathy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I had never heard of this author and probably would not have but for Goodreads. Whatever genre his books were listed under, they missed me. I surprised myself by enjoying reading about a family of criminals. I would have bopped right into the following book about Terrier Rand, the last one this author wrote before his death, I believe...but I have a bunch in my reading queue I must read before expiration of loans.
Some pretty hard core crime gets spotlighted within a family that previously had ...more

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Jan 24, 2013 Larry H rated it it was amazing

So let's get this out of the way: nearly every member of the main family in this book, The Rands, are named for dog breeds. It's a somewhat bizarre affectation that sometimes proves a little distracting, but don't let that stop you from reading this fantastic, brooding book from Tom Piccirilli.

Terry (Terrier) Rand was born into a family of thieves. His father, Pinsch (Pinscher), was a cat burglar who never seemed entirely enamored of the life; his uncles, Mal (Malamute) and Grey (Greyhound), So let's get this out of the way: nearly every member of the main family in this book, The Rands, are named for dog breeds. It's a somewhat bizarre affectation that sometimes proves a little distracting, but don't let that stop you from reading this fantastic, brooding book from Tom Piccirilli.

Terry (Terrier) Rand was born into a family of thieves. His father, Pinsch (Pinscher), was a cat burglar who never seemed entirely enamored of the life; his uncles, Mal (Malamute) and Grey (Greyhound), always larger-than-life presences as he grew up, have expertise as card sharks; even his grandfather, Shep (Shepherd), in the throes of Alzheimer's, used to be a force to be reckoned with, and his fingers can still pick a pocket fairly well from time to time. Terry had no choice but to fall into the life, running scams (mostly successfully), running with—and sometimes against—the local crime family.

Terry fled his family's Long Island home five years ago, after his older brother, Collie, went on a murderous rage that left eight people dead. Collie and Terry were more like combative rivals than brothers; Collie wanted—and took—everything that Terry had, and left him holding the bag on more than one occasion. Terry left without warning and never contacted his family, even leaving his fiancée, Kimmy, behind. But now Collie is only days from his execution, and he has had Terry summoned home.

Collie lets Terry know that while he is guilty of seven murders, he did not kill a young woman whose death he is also accused of. Although he never disputed it during his trial, he has learned that other young women who looked similar to his victim have met a similar end. While he isn't interested in a new trial or a stay of execution, he wants Terry to investigate and find out the truth.

But the truth—of this crime, and his difficult relationship with Collie and his family—is something Terry isn't quite ready to delve into again. He finds himself falling back into familiar patterns, as he runs afoul of the local crime family who are now onto his uncles; tries to fight the tide of crime that holds him in its thrall; worries about his teenage sister, who is on the verge of entering the same life as the rest of their family; and relives the pain and anguish he felt in leaving Kimmy behind. He knows he needs to break free of all of this, but can't, and while he can't understand what Collie's real motivation for calling him back to town was, he can't resist trying to find out the truth, no matter where it leads.

The Last Kind Words is a meditation on the power of family and how strong the ties that bind us are, no matter how hard we struggle to fight or how far we run to flee them. Terry is smart enough to know where he will go wrong but finds himself powerless to stop heading in that direction.

I've been a big fan of Piccirilli's books for a while now, and this is a truly fantastic one, full of crackling violence, suspense, and brooding introspection that really works. There is always an undercurrent of violence simmering just underneath the surface of the story, and Piccirilli's writing style leaves you wondering just how things will unfold. How far will Terry find himself twisted in the knots of his family and his past?

This is a smart, tremendously well-written crime novel that is more introspective than most, but it still has enough tension and violence to satisfy. So put the whole dog names thing out of your mind, and settle in for a fantastic read. ...more

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Apr 21, 2013 Skip rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller, e-books

Part of a family of small-time thieves and grifters, Terrier (Terry) Rand flees west after his older brother, Collie, goes on a killing spree, abandoning the love of his life Kimmy, who has just miscarried. Days before his brother's scheduled execution, Collie asks Terry to return home to help stop a serial killer, who actually murdered one of his victims. Collie's claim is partially substantiated by the kisses on all but one of the victims. Terry comes back to town and starts investigating, ...more

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Jun 16, 2012 Nick Cato rated it it was amazing

One of the most rewarding things as a reader is to see a writer you admire continue to get better. With his latest crime noir novel, THE LAST KIND WORDS, Tom Piccirilli proves he has not only mastered the genre, but also made it his own.

After leaving his family in Long Island five years ago to work out west as a ranch hand, Terry Rand is called back home two weeks before his brother, Collie, is scheduled to be executed after being convicted of a brutal killing spree. While Collie has admited to ...more

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About Tom Piccirilli

Tom Piccirilli

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Thomas Piccirilli (May 27, 1965 – July 11, 2015) was an American novelist and short story writer.

Piccirilli sold over 150 stories in the mystery, thriller, horror, erotica, and science fiction fields. He was a two-time winner of the International Thriller Writers Award for "Best Paperback Original" (2008, 2010). He was a four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award. He was also a finalist for the ...more