Lloyd McNeil's Last Ride - by Will Leitch (Paperback)

About the Book

"From the award-winning author of How Lucky and The Time Has Come, this heartfelt and humorous novel follows an Atlanta police officer who learns he has months to live and determines to get killed in the line of duty to provide for his son . . . but keeps failing in unexpected ways. Lloyd McNeil has served as an officer with the Atlanta Police Department for 20 years while being a devoted father to his teenage son. But then he learns the worst possible news: He has learned he has an inoperable brain tumor, and he has only months left to live. Lloyd begins throwing himself into a series of increasingly dangerous situations, but things don't go according to plan. Instead of dying, he becomes a civic hero. Meanwhile, a malevolent force from his past shadows Lloyd as he tries to get his affairs in order, teach his son the lessons he needs to be a good person, and to say goodbye. Told in Lloyd's wistful but wonderfully comedic voice, Untitled is a masterful blend of suspense, humor, and compassion. It is a novel about what we leave behind and what we learn along the way, a bighearted story that brings into focus the depths of a father's love for his son"--

Book Synopsis

SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE

"Lloyd McNeil's Last Ride broke my heart. And then it somehow mended that shattered heart, made it beat more buoyantly than before. We need books like this and writers like Will Leitch now more than ever."--Richard Russo, author of Empire Falls and the North Bath Trilogy of "Fool" novels

From the Alex Award-winning and Edgar-nominated author of How Lucky, this twisty, funny, and ultimately uplifting novel follows a father in a race against time to provide for his child.

Lloyd McNeil has just learned he has months to live. He also learns that his twenty years as a beat cop in Atlanta haven't earned him enough money to take care of his teenage son, Bishop, after he's gone. But when Lloyd discovers his police benefits will increase exponentially if he dies in the line of duty, he comes up with a plan.

Lloyd begins to throw himself into one life-threatening situation after another to try to get himself killed and to provide for his son . . . but he keeps failing--and surviving. To his shock, his accidental heroics make him an inspirational icon in the community. But time is still running out for Lloyd to get his affairs in order, to teach Bishop the lessons he needs to be a good person, and to say goodbye.

Lloyd McNeil's Last Ride is a surprising, unforgettable blend of suspense, humor, and compassion. It is a novel about what we leave behind and what we learn along the way, a bighearted and stirring story about the depths of a father's love for his son.

Review Quotes

"Manages to be charming, grim, absurd, and profound--often within the same paragraph . . . . This is a novel about showing up. About being flawed but trying. About laughing when you feel like crying. And about discovering, in your final chapter, that the best thing you can leave behind is not a legend--but love . . . . Will Leitch delivers a compelling narrative full of wit, vulnerability, and heart. In a literary world often obsessed with dramatic flourish, Lloyd McNeil's Last Ride is a rare, gentle gem that earns its tears honestly--and its laughter even more so." - BookClb.com

"Will Leitch . . . returns with his most tonally ambitious and emotionally resonant work to date . . . . Lloyd McNeil's Last Ride is a novel that will leave readers reflecting on their own lives--on what it means to be remembered, what it means to do right, and what it means to say goodbye. It is not a book of grand gestures, but of small, stubborn kindnesses. Of trying your best when time is almost gone.

- The Bookish Elf

"With its disarmingly simple blend of comedy, thrill, wisdom and sentimentality, Lloyd McNeil's Last Ride unfolds as a complex storytelling achievement."

- Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"Lloyd McNeil's Last Ride broke my heart. And then it somehow mended that shattered heart, made it beat more buoyantly than before. We need books like this and writers like Will Leitch now more than ever." - Richard Russo, author of Empire Falls and the North Bath Trilogy of "Fool" novels

"A touchingly imagined portrait of friendship and community." - Sam Sacks, The Wall Street Journal on How Lucky

"Amusing and affecting. . . . Sweet and thrilling in equal measure." - Publishers Weekly

"Not many writers can shift gears from hilarious to heartrending to harrowing, all on the same page. Will Leitch does it again and again." - Carl Hiaasen

"I trust him to guide me through any danger, any story, and know I'll come out of it with something special." - Kevin Wilson

"Lloyd McNeil's Last Ride will make you laugh through tears as you're reading . . . . Will Leitch takes a deadly serious subject, wraps it in a moderately normal backstory (with better than normal humor), and gives it an excellent run-up to the best ending possible." - Bookreporter.com

"With kindness, empathy, and the generosity of spirit that is the hallmark of his work, Will Leitch takes seven very different characters and brings them vividly to life, skillfully weaving their fates in a story that is taut, surprising, and ultimately speaks to the character of America itself." - Jenny Jackson, author of Pineapple Street, on The Time Has Come

"Will Leitch has written another compelling and propulsive novel that I could not put down. What makes him such an amazing writer is his keen eye for what makes us human, all the seemingly invisible threads that connect us and those shocking moments when we're pulled together and forced to reckon with the world. Leitch is as empathetic a writer as they come, and I trust him to guide me through any danger, any story, and know I'll come out of it with something special." - Kevin Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of Now Is Not the Time to Panic, on The Time Has Come

"I'm reading a fantastic novel by Will Leitch called How Lucky. Publishes in May, I think. It's suspenseful and often wildly funny. You are going to like this a lot, and I think a lot of you are going to like it. It has that Where the Crawdads Sing vibe." - Stephen King on How Lucky