Tired and sick of a life of violence, hitman Isaac Rhett is ready to retire after one last assignment. But the assignment turns out to be a trap and pits him against the deadliest assassin in the world, Gustav Fabrice.
A MADMAN WITH NO PURPOSE BUT TO DESTROY...
Gustav is cunning, ferocious, and insane. Without the inhibitions a person would feel against extreme violence, Gustav is on a rampage with the death of Isaac Rhett as his only goal. A single police officer from Interpol is the only witness to the monster that's been let loose on society and attempts to track him down before Gustav carries out his mission.
A DESPERATE FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL...
Rhett's mark turns out to be a congresswoman with no known enemies. Rhett flees with her with Gustav on their heels. But Rhett knows you cannot escape a man like Gustav. At some point, they will have to fight. But there is only one way that Rhett knows to stop Gustav... you must let him kill you first.
An action-packed thriller that spans the globe, the new novel from Kindle Top 100 bestselling author Victor Methos is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat.
Victor Methos is the Edgar Award nominated bestselling author of over forty novels. He has been a criminal and civil rights lawyer in the Mountain West, conducting over 100 trials, and produces two books a year with his dog Fraiser by his side.
Firstly, thank you to the publishers, author and Net galley for a review copy.
Two, let me say this first, I don't give many books five stars, but I loved this book !
Overview
A PROFESSIONAL THAT'S LOST THE DESIRE TO KILL... Tired and sick of a life of violence, hitman Isaac Rhett is ready to retire after one last assignment. But the assignment turns out to be a trap and pits him against the deadliest assassin in the world, Gustav Fabrice.
A MADMAN WITH NO PURPOSE BUT TO DESTROY...
Gustav is cunning, ferocious, and insane. Without the inhibitions a person would feel against extreme violence, Gustav is on a rampage with the death of Isaac Rhett as his only goal. A single police officer from Interpol is the only witness to the monster that's been let loose on society and attempts to track him down before Gustav carries out his mission.
A DESPERATE FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL... and who will survive !
Rhett's mark turns out to be a congresswoman with no known enemies. Rhett flees with her with Gustav on their heels. But Rhett knows you cannot escape a man like Gustav. At some point, they will have to fight. But there is only one way that Rhett knows to stop Gustav... you must let him kill you first.
My first book by this author, not my last, unbelievable tension, gripping and full of action, shocks and twists and I just could not stop reading. In fact this book never went the way I expected it to, and that takes some great writing to continue to shock you the reader.
An action packed thriller, that will keep you up all night and on the edge of your seat and also your bed! I very much also like the writing style of the author, and also of course like these genre of thrillers, this author joins, Tom Wood, Lee Childs, David Baldacci and Simon Kernick as a favourite.
Next Book another assassin book, In Cold Blood by Mark Dawson, also loving this book
Fast-paced (I read it in one sitting) with a big WHOA moment halfway through...this book starts off as an interesting peek into the life and mindset of a hired assassin, then turns into something even more bleak and depressing. The plot is pretty straightforward (except for the WHOA which I definitely didn't see coming) and the writing moves along at a brisk clip.
My main beef with this book is how unbelievably unrealistic it is...no, not the part about a secret agency full of hitmen/women operating in the shadow of the Capitol...you don't have to try to sell me on THAT. No, I find it completely impossible to believe that Gustav was able to trip merrily around the country murdering innocent people left and right and neither the police nor the news media seem to give a rat's ass? Remember the Beltway sniper attacks? How HUGE that story was? You can't convince me for a second that there shouldn't have been task forces and entire departments of law enforcement after Gustav, let alone a frenzy of media coverage. Instead, Henri has to keep finding and calling in law enforcement for help. Including a disinterested dispatcher who assures him that the SINGLE POLICE UNIT investigating the SHOOTING DEATH OF A COP at a supermarket will head next door and talk to Vanessa as soon as they're done "checking out" said shooting death. WHAT?!?!?!? Despite Starlight's desire for secrecy, these events did not happen in a vacuum!
Additionally, Gustav's character was like Hannibal-Lecter-meets-every-horror-movie-villain...he can find you no matter where you hide, he can shoot you in the heart without looking, and can run on a broken leg (with the bone protruding, no less). Is this guy human?
I haven't read any other work by this author, and I doubt I will...having to suspend my disbelief past the point of all believability is one of my biggest literary biggest pet peeves.
I picked up this books for free during a Kindle giveaway. The plot line intrigued me and it looked for some time that Victor Methos was trying to fit the shoes of Tom Wood and Issac Rhett could be another variation of Victor, but....
Diary of an Assassin starts intriguingly chronicling pages from the personal diary of assassin Issac Rhett. It starts off well enough to engage a reader by providing a peek into the private thoughts and thinking of a professional assassin. What does he think? Does he feel any regrets? Is he unfeeling?
Things are setup quite nicely when Rhett's conscience awakens long enough to make him not kill his next target Congresswoman Stephanie Michelle Johnson, who interestingly reminds Issac of his long dead wife. Predictably the organization that hires Issac does not take well to his betrayal and gets another assassin to bump off both Congresswoman and Issac, except for one tiny problem, the guy hired is a psychopath.
Here is where the book goes off the rails in my opinion. What starts off as a cat and mouse game between the two assassins soon gets tangled into a mess. The hired psychopath kills both Issac and the Congresswoman... (What's up with that?) and the plot moves to a game between the psychopath and Interpol investigator Henri who knows the assassin as they were buddies in army.
The book stops being the diary of Issac Rhett and turns into something else. It started off well but the story and plot got all convoluted and went way off track. But still I will rate it 3 stars as it was better than some of the other books that I have read before.
I have read almost all of Methos books but this one just seemed confusing to me. The plot just seemed confused and didn't make much sense. I didn't feel the excitement I had with other books always wanting to read the next page.
This book feels mediocre at best. I’ve read 8 books by this author, and they all blew me away except this one. I’m glad this wasn’t the first book I picked up, as I would have missed the brilliance in the rest of his writing. Needs a good edit and proofread.
***
NOTE ON RATINGS: I consider a 3-star rating a positive review. Picky about which books I give 5 stars to, I reserve this highest rating for the stories I find stunning and which moved me.
5 STARS: IT WAS AMAZING! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! — Highly Recommended. 4 STARS: I WOULD PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER — Go read this book. 3 STARS: IT WAS GOOD! — An okay read. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it. 2 STARS: I MAY HAVE LIKED A FEW THINGS —Lacking in some areas: writing, characterisation, and/or problematic plot lines. 1 STAR: NOT MY CUP OF TEA —Lots of issues with
This review is for the audio version of this book. I listened to this book on audio. It’s the first book I’ve listened to that used AI narration. And until it becomes unavoidable, it will be my Last! Awful. To be fair, for the most part the voice tracks like an actual human narrator-except for where it doesn’t. As on the words that someone failed to program in the pronunciation for. When they get it wrong it’s spectacularly wrong. There are far too many places where the voice inflection is wrong for the story. And they failed to let the AI narration know that the few French words should be pronounced as French. The narration so overrode the story in terms of being distracting , that it ruined the read for me.
Hitman Isaac Rhett is retiring from his killing career. This next assignment will be his last. But the job turns out to be a trap and he's forced to face the deadliest assassin in the world, Gustav Fabrice. This results in Isaac's desperate fight for survival. This is a hard-to-put-down novel with many twists and turns. There is nonstop action on every page to keep you enthralled. Methos definitely has an awesome imagination and skills. Highly recommend.
So cliche. Bad character name, Isaac Rhett, was a clue this wouldn’t be great. Written in 2013 and the word “scrunchy” was used. Fight scenes were detailed as if they were choreographed notes. And would an assassin’s handler use multiple question marks in texts when giving orders for a hit? Did not finish the book.
I was very pleased with the storyline Methos developed about a covert agency that does the dirty work to keep our world safe. Then to get inside the heads of assassins, victims, and leaders of the agency...lots of twists and turns. Definitely worth reading.
I did not like this as much as his other novels. The switch backs in the story is hard for me to follow as I get older. It reminds me of the Orphan series. I do intend to continue working my way through Mr. Methos novels. I would recommend almost all of his works.
This author continues to deliver some of the most exciting thrillers with twists and turns and difficult plots which keep you enthralled enthralled throughout all of his books
It’s hard to put into words the depth of this book. It is so expertly crafted. Every word and action matters, even if not immediately understood. Yet another thoroughly thrilling ride from a modern day master.
You people should just read this book yourselves and write your own review on this novel yourself and I really enjoyed reading this book very much so. Shelley MA
Kept me not wanting to put it down. Fast paced and thrilling. Who knew the things that go on that we never know about. A must read for any spy thriller, action/adventure fan!!
I enjoyed this book. However, I like to get attached to the main character and become a fan and try to feel what they feel. I found it hard to do that because the main character at the beginning, Rhett, was not that person. Then I had to start over in developing a relationship with the next person. I still am not sure if the book was the "diary" or if the "diary" was the last two pages at the end. I enjoyed the story though it was not a happy one. I am always glad when the worst guy gets taken out in the end. I was not disappointed.
How do you comment on a book when the author changes the rules? The comment I have to make at the outset is that Victor Methos is ruthless; with us, his readers. This must be a stand-alone. A follow up is unlikely. Enough said. In some respects the story follows a fairly well expected theme; secret government operative wants out, he's persuaded he must do this last job, person is to be assassinated, he's there to prevent it, etc. It's what happens to various characters that makes this book different. Read it for a little shock to your beliefs.
The writing is spare with no wasted words. The content does not suffer from egregious grammatical or punctuation errors or whiny, puerile characters. A bit more than halfway through the book, the hero dies. No, he doesn't come back to life, isn't turned into a vampire or zombie: this isn't a story of the paranormal. That twisted my knickers and put me on the figurative edge of my seat as I read to find out what twists this story would take. Bravo!
While the plot is extreme, it is gripping. The story is predictable in some ways, while the execution is both interesting and fast paced. Some knowledge of French helps a lot to avoid stopping to translate the occasional phrase. This was the first book I have read by this author. I am interested in reading others.
Overall I would recommend this book as long as you can except a medium paced storyline. I almost threw this book in my trash can a couple of times because for me it just never grabbed my attention the way I prefer, that being said; it was a good slow paced novel that will open your eyes to the culvert activities going on in our government.
I feel like I just ran a marathon. This author grabs by the throat on page 1 and never lets go. Very authentic action, strong characters and believable storyline. Victor Method never disappoints.