Walter Withers, “The Great Scandinavian Pimp and Deadly Recruiter” persuades people to spy for the CIA and then hands them off to other officers. When too many of his recruits are being exposed Walter leaves Stockholm and returns to New York City and civilian life as a private investigator. His jazz singer girlfriend Anne returns from Europe with him.

Through his job Walter becomes enmeshed with a smarmy senator who is being blackmailed and it turns out that there is a connection between Walter’s old job and his new one as betrayals and bodies multiply. Anne is also involved to the extent that Walter has to protect what he loves. He has to do a lot of thinking and moving and using his connections to stay ahead of the FBI and other competing groups.

The plot is complicated but generally moves along. A problem is the book is loaded with description and information that bogs things down for pages at a time. The year is 1958 and Don Winslow takes great pains to display his research of the time. ( )

Das Lesen des Buches bereitete mir keine große Freude, die Story kommt träge rüber und hat in meinen Augen keine besonderen Höhepunkte. ( )

Ce roman de Don Winslow est un roman policier mêlé d'espionnage, situé à la fin des années 1950. Écrit de façon assez classique, il présente néanmoins l'intérêt d'être une véritable ode à la ville de New York ainsi qu'au jazz. Ce n'est ni le meilleur roman de l'auteur, ni le plus original. Mais les personnages sont intéressants et on est pris par les différentes péripéties dans lesquelles il se trouvent mêlés. Dernier verre à Manhattan est donc un exercice de style réussi de Don Winslow, mais qui n'apporte aucune originalité au genre. ( )