Overview

2024 Spur Award Winner!2024 Will Rogers Medallion Award Winner!Grand Prize Winner for the 2023 Chanticleer Laramie Award for Americana Fiction!""A novel as compelling as the incredible true story it's based on."" James Wade, two-time Spur Award-winning author of Hollow Out the Dark. 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 crime, The Last Man is a gritty Prohibition-era Western novel filled with flawed characters and second chances. ""Do not miss this fabulous Texas tale!"" Kathleen Y'Barbo, Publishers Weekly bestselling author of The Black Midnight and the Bayou Nouvelle series.

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Reviews

""Deftly crafted fiction replete with flawed characters, second chances, and non-stop, action-embedded plot twists and turns. A riveting read."" The Midwest Book Review ""This novel brings these four convicts to life in a way that, despite their flaws and frailties or perhaps because of them, we care about what happens to them."" (Historical Novel Society) The Last Man seizes the reader on page one and doesn't let go. Goodman has deftly brought his characters to life.... Smooth, engrossing, entertaining reading, from start to finish."" (Lone Star Literary Life) ""Through gripping action scenes and slow-burn character studies, Goodman delivers an authentic Texas story that will keep readers turning the pages. At its core, though, The Last Man is more than the tale of a botched heist. It is a haunting exploration of man's inherent brokenness and the longing for redemption and liberation."" (Eileen Flynn, Austin American-Statesman staff writer and editor 2007-2020, and University of Texas adjunct journalism professor 2007-2019) ""Goodman writes crisp, confident prose, giving us a novel as compelling as the incredible true story it's based on. The Last Man blends thrilling, cinematic set pieces with convincing character work that explores the nature of crime and rehabilitation. Fans of historical fiction should list Goodman among their 'must-buy' authors."" (James Wade, two-time Spur Award-winning author of Beasts of the Earth) ""Goodman mixes fact and fiction in an irresistible blend of storytelling and action that will have you turning pages until the very end. Do not miss this fabulous Texas tale!"" (Kathleen Y'Barbo, Publishers Weekly bestselling author of The Black Midnight and the Bayou Nouvelle series) ""The characters emerge off the page through distinct dialog and authentic descriptions of people and places in the story.... I highly recommend this book for readers who like inspirational, crime, and historical stories."" (Joni M. Fisher, author of The Compass Crimes series). ""You're carried back in time to witness the justice and mores of a long-ago Texas. Buckle up! (Jim Keffer, Texas House of Representatives,1997-2017) ""Goodman's research and meticulous attention to detail place the reader at the scene of the robbery, the aftermath, and the saving transformation of 'the last man'-a success story that all correctional professionals like me hope for, strive for, pray for, and love to see."" (David Stacks - Director of the Texas Prison Museum and Retired Warden of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice) ""If you're interested in a really wacky bank robbery and the aftermath thereof - or just a weird moment in Texas history - you'll zip through this book. And then you'll want to give it to someone else of a like mind."" (Glenn Dromgoole, former editor of the Abilene Reporter-News, co-owner of the Texas Star Trading Company)

"""Goodman writes crisp, confident prose, giving us a novel as compelling as the incredible true story it's based on. The Last Man blends thrilling, cinematic set pieces with convincing character work that explores the nature of crime and rehabilitation. Fans of historical fiction should list Goodman among their 'must-buy' authors."" (James Wade, two-time Spur Award-winning author of Beasts of the Earth) ""The Last Man seizes the reader on page one and doesn't let go. Goodman has deftly brought his characters to life.... Smooth, engrossing, entertaining reading, from start to finish."" (Lone Star Literary Life) ""Goodman's debut novel is a remarkable accomplishment. Through gripping action scenes and slow-burn character studies, Goodman delivers an authentic Texas story that will keep readers turning the pages. At its core, though, The Last Man is more than the tale of a botched heist. It is a haunting exploration of man's inherent brokenness and the longing for redemption and liberation."" (Eileen Flynn, Austin American-Statesman staff writer and editor 2007-2020, and University of Texas adjunct journalism professor 2007-2019) ""If you're from Texas and a history buff, you may have heard about the Santa Claus Bank Robbery, but I guarantee you haven't heard the story told like this. Goodman mixes fact and fiction in an irresistible blend of storytelling and action that will have you turning pages until the very end. Do not miss this fabulous Texas tale!"" (Kathleen Y'Barbo, Publishers Weekly bestselling author of The Black Midnight and the Bayou Nouvelle series) ""Goodman's research and meticulous attention to detail places the reader at the scene of the robbery and the aftermath, including the court proceedings, jail, and prison life. Most important, though, is the saving transformation of 'the last man'-a success story that all correctional professionals like me hope for, strive for, pray for, and love to see."" (David Stacks - Director of the Texas Prison Museum and Retired Warden of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice)"

Author Information

Thomas Goodman first ran across the story of the Santa Claus Bank Robbery when he lived in the small Texas county where it all took place. He currently lives in Austin, where he has been able to conduct extensive research on the true crime at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. The Last Man is his first novel.

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