The Last Long Drop Book Review @Duffythewriter

The Last Long Drop by Australian journalist Mike Safe

A rollicking novel of surf and celebrity, The Last Long Drop is a wild ride through the volatile world of killer waves and tabloid sensations, where any mess-up may be your last.

When Johno Harcourt is shown the door at his high-profile newspaper job, he finds himself on the wrong side of fifty, pondering what to do with the rest of his life.

While his go-getting wife and over-achieving children are otherwise occupied, he whiles away summer days surfing and playing funky music with his odd-bod gang of mates – that is, until he lands the prize job of ghostwriting the autobiography of Australia’s veteran movie megastar, Mike Vargas.

Charismatic, confident and still a mad keen surfer, Vargas wins over Harcourt as they spend hours catching waves and drinking together while the screen legend tells of his ever-eventful life.

But as Harcourt digs deeper, secrets from Vargas’s distant past suddenly emerge, forcing him to realise there’s a darker side to the star he thought he knew, but doesn’t.

So, Did Duffy Like The Last Long Drop?

Mike Safe writes well, which is a given with a successful 40+year career as a writer. The characters are very relatable and I could picture Harcourt heading down to Bondi with his trusty board and enjoying some banter with mates over a drink. I also liked his mates Carpark (i’m sorry but that nickname didn’t gel with me throughout the whole book) and Brown. Vargas as well had depth, and the plot was intricate enough to keep me interested.

It did take over 100 pages to get to the juicy Vargas part though, and I felt that there was just a little too much surfing description for me before we got to the big story. I am not the demographic here though and feel that Australian males over 40, who love the surf and still have a twinkle of adventure in their eye will love the read.

2.5 out of 5 from me

Given to me by Impact Press in exchange for an honest review.

If you liked The Last Long Drop, you might like Barbarian Days