Heirs of Cain

by Tom Wallace (contributor)

Among the former prized military elite of the Vietnam War is a psychopathic killer, Seneca. A highly trained warrior with the finely honed tactics of a commando and a genuine thirst for blood, he's been hired to eliminate the president of the United States and three top Middle Eastern leaders. Only the mysterious Cain, a brilliant and lethal former assassin, can track down his one-time comrade and stop him. Against a ticking clock, Cain must hunt this deranged slayer and destroy him before he ruthlessly murders again.

400 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Tom Wallace is the author of two previous detective novels, What Matters Blood and The Devil’s Racket, both set in Lexington, Kentucky, where he currently lives. The Heirs of Cain will be his first novel published by Medallion Press. It is the story of a legendary assassin who must track down a former comrade hired to kill the U.S. president and three top Middle East leaders.

Tom spent many years as a successful, award-winning sportswriter/editor in his native Kentucky. He authored five sports-related books, including the highly popular Kentucky Basketball Encyclopedia, an in-depth history of the University of Kentucky’s legendary hoops program. He has contributed articles and columns to numerous national sports magazines, and has also done writing/editing on two national bestsellers by basketball coach Rick Pitino—Success Is A Choice And Lead To Succeed.

Tom is a Vietnam vet, an avid reader, and an admittedly snobbish movie guy. He is also an active member of Mystery Writers of America and the Author’s Guild. Tom’s two artistic icons are Marlon Brando and Leonard Cohen.

Reviews

[Giovanni Gelati · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this novel up on a whim, mostly because I feel like a moth drawn to a bright light on occasion. As many of you know from reading past posts, I enjoy the Goodreads website that my wife was nice enough to direct me to. The reason I mention both these things is that I would have not known of this novel without either. Goodreads had a nice ad right there on my home page telling me to get this novel; don’t miss it. I am glad that I satisfied the urge. I enjoyed Wallace’s style so much I am going to try and find his two other novels ( they are detective novels), What Matters Blood, & Devil’s Racket.
Wallace has created a nice character in Cain, well I guess as nice as a trained killer can be. He provides him with a strong moral code of conduct and an amazing intelligence. He is not your garden variety trained assassin. The story line is that Cain had trained 6 other men to be in his elite unit in Vietnam to carry out some pretty intense missions. Years have passed, we are present day, and one of them has turned against his “brothers” and begins to eliminate them one by one as the killer is poised to carry off a big assignation attempt. Cain is brought back into the fold to uncover the plot and stop the killing.
Heirs of Cain is an exciting read. Wallace’s main character, Cain, is a good character on which to lay the foundation of a franchise. The character himself is one the he has created to leave some questions of himself and history in the shadows of mystery. Bits and pieces of his past come out as the novel progresses, but Wallace in his genius leaves everything open so he can either do the next offering like same, or he could go with Cain in different directions. Would we enjoy a prequel, a novel of his Vietnam adventures, a novel of the training process he had with his men? The sky is the limit for Wallace and Cain. I myself would enjoy all the scenarios. Heirs of Cain of is an excellent read , the story line is tight and well crafted. The action is excellent and relentless, and the suspense carries us all the way to the last page.
Upcoming events and news that involves Tom Wallace are as follows: book signings-August he will be @ the Killer Nashville Event, and in November he will be @ the Kentucky Book Fair. His next novel “Gnosis” will drop in early 2011. Don’t wait for a flashy advertisement to guide you to this novel. Put it in your –to read- list at Goodreads and enjoy it. What other websites have an impact on what you read and how you pick novels?
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[Rex Eaton · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first read with Tom Wallace and I found the book to be an exceptional read for those of you who love Thriller/Mystery's. Mickey Collins, code name "Cain", is an ex-Viet Nam vet who created an elite group of assasins tasked to traverse the jungles of Viet Nam and seek out key NVC leaders and eliminate them. The book however is set in a modern day setting that calls Cain back into action after having left the jungles of Viet Nam many years prior. Cain's mission...Find Seneca, one of the elite assasin's Cain has trained. Is Cain up to the challenge of finding and eliminating Seneca before Seneca is able to destroy 5 key world leaders, one of which is the President?

I felt like a literary junkie who couldn't wait for his next "fix" as the story unfolds.

[Jim]

a little over the top thriller