Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding!! Is there anyone better than Philip Shelby??
Review:
Writers of conspiracy-type thrillers are a dime a dozen these days. The field is ripe for a realistic portrayal of this genre due to the political movements in this and other countries within the last decade. With all of the pages being printed, how does one distinguish him or herself above the rest of the crowd?
Ultimately, this comes down a believable plot, an interesting protagonist, and good supporting characters. It is in all of these three areas that Philip Shelby1s new novel, Last Rights, shines brightly. Like its predecessor Days of Drums, the setting of this novel is Washington, DC Two events in different parts of the DC area -- the killing of a suspect who is stealing arms from an Army depot and the declaration from a committee that General North, an African-American who is probably going to become the next vice-president of the United states, was killed in a tragic accident due to pilot error -- provide the catalyst for Warrant Officer Rachel Collins to investigate further. When her mentor is killed while working on the case, Rachel realize that the killer is one step ahead of her and she must act quickly and decisively to discover his or her identity.
While the plot of this novel, like many others, is fast-paced and riveting, the true strength of this book is the well-drawn protagonist Rachel Collins as well as a wealth of supporting characters who come vividly to life on the page. If one is interested in getting an introduction to this genre of fiction, Last Rights has staked a strong claim to being placed at the head of the class.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!! Is there anyone better than Philip Shelby??
Review: Writers of conspiracy-type thrillers are a dime a dozen these days. The field is ripe for a realistic portrayal of this genre due to the political movements in this and other countries within the last decade. With all of the pages being printed, how does one distinguish him or herself above the rest of the crowd? Ultimately, this comes down a believable plot, an interesting protagonist, and good supporting characters. It is in all of these three areas that Philip Shelby1s new novel, Last Rights, shines brightly. Like its predecessor Days of Drums, the setting of this novel is Washington, DC Two events in different parts of the DC area -- the killing of a suspect who is stealing arms from an Army depot and the declaration from a committee that General North, an African-American who is probably going to become the next vice-president of the United states, was killed in a tragic accident due to pilot error -- provide the catalyst for Warrant Officer Rachel Collins to investigate further. When her mentor is killed while working on the case, Rachel realize that the killer is one step ahead of her and she must act quickly and decisively to discover his or her identity. While the plot of this novel, like many others, is fast-paced and riveting, the true strength of this book is the well-drawn protagonist Rachel Collins as well as a wealth of supporting characters who come vividly to life on the page. If one is interested in getting an introduction to this genre of fiction, Last Rights has staked a strong claim to being placed at the head of the class.
Rating: 
Summary: Just Fair
Review: After reading Shelby's very good first thriller, Days Of Drums, I was somewhat disappointed in Last Rights. I found the story started out with a lot of excitement but soon dragged -- and continued to do so for much too long a stretch. The last quarter generated excitement once again but by that point I had pretty much stopped caring about the outcome. The greatest thrill for me was coming to the final page so I could move on to my next book. Shelby's writing style holds your interest, but this "thriller", while fairly fast-paced, turned out to be much too predictable and, thus, not very thrilling. I was especially looking forward to reading this book after reading some of the earlier reader reviews. However, as you can see, my reading experience with Last Rights differed from theirs. Now, if you're in the mood for a good thriller in the same vein, try David Hackworth's The Price Of Honor.
Rating:
Summary: Read This Book
Review: Good, fast-paced read. Attractive, courageous heroine using intelligence, analysis, foils a daunting panorama of bad villains - intelligently and carefully conceived. The good folks are committed to justice regardless of cost, and the bad folks love mayhem and destruction for its own sake. WDC base.
Rating: 
Summary: Bad Guys and Good Folks.
Review: Good, fast-paced read. Attractive, courageous heroine using intelligence, analysis, foils a daunting panorama of bad villains - intelligently and carefully conceived. The good folks are committed to justice regardless of cost, and the bad folks love mayhem and destruction for its own sake. WDC base.
Rating:
Summary: Read This Book
Review: My aunt gave me this book as a must read because I'm African-American and I'm an ex Army Officer. Having spent 30 years in the civilian side of federal law enforcement I read this with a critical eye. Shelby writes good stuff. I don't think anyone else could've sold me on the actions of the CID, they're more paper pushers than people who go on SWAT actions, but Shelby had his stuff together. I read the book in two days, which is extremely fast for me. Had to laugh at a couple of parts though. (1) You don't look down on the washington monuments on your way into Dulles Airport and there is no Radio Shack at the Independence Mall. As a matter of fact, there is no Independence Mall in Washington, DC. I think he may have been referring to an area called The Mall, which runs in between Constitution and Indendepdence. That's where all of the museums are located. Told you I read it with a critical eye. If you like thrillers and you don't get at this one, you need a check up from the neck up.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding! Believable! Energetic
Review: Philip Shelby has once again delivered a blockbuster! Once I started reading, I couldn't put the book down. At first, the threads of the story are delivered very quickly - the "accidental" death of a prominent Afro-American general with political potential, the female Army officer who suspects murder, the tip to the Baltimore police about an Army sergeant suspected of illegal arms dealing- these & more threads seem to be disjointed. But Shelby brings them all together in a series of events that seem plausible & very natural. Even with the White House involvement, the book never, in my opinion, borders on fantasy. You find yourself in the middle of the book "cheering" for the good gal & guys. Shelby's main character, Rachel Collins, comes across as being a "normal" person. The author even leaves room for the possibility that Rachel will be around for another novel. Perhaps with a love interest?!!!? GREAT BOOK
Rating:
Summary: I liked it
Review: Plain and simple, I liked this book. Another, at least for me, page turner. I haven't read anything else written by P. Shelby, but I just might, because he impressed me. As simple as that.
Rating:
Summary: Philip Shelby is the king of action packed thrillers
Review: Retired General Griffin North is considered a strong possibility of being the first African-American President. However, all that changes when the General dies in a plane crash that transportation crash investigators believe is an accident. Major Mollie Smith of the Army's Criminal Investigation Division has doubts about the finding. She believes that the General was the victim of an assassination to insure that the White House remains white. As Mollie investigates the case, she becomes the next victim........ Her protege Warrant Officer Rachel Collins starts to look into the two deaths, especially that of her best friend. However, as she weeds through a series of red herrings and gets closer to solving the case, she finds herself as the next target of the killers, who do not care who they murder in order to insure their secrets stay hidden........ LAST RIGHTS is an appealing book to fans of conspiracy tales. Rachel is an interesting character whose activities as a CID agent comes across most believable. However, Philip Shelby has to many spices blended into his stew, thereby leaving most readers struggling with to many sub-plots to adequately appreciate the fast-paced, colorful story line.. .......Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Knuckle-Twisting Suspense
Review: Robert Ludlum's mantel has rightfully fallen to Philip Shelby, but unlike Ludlum his protagonist, Rachel, is a credible physically-fit smart woman--not larger than life as Ludlum was prone to make his heroic characters, who could be half dead but they could still run across roof tops for five pages afterwards without a murmur of pain. He keeps a taut pace, and the story races forward without the constant circling back to redundant information that plagues many authors' works. An explosive page turner with a fascinating psychopathic villian, the Engineer. A must read worth five-stars.
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