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The Death Wish Hit
Heather Holmann has been diagnosed with late-stage pancreatic cancer, and theres no hope. The disease will kill her, but she is determined to control the remainder of her life. Not wanting her sons to see her wither away, she decides to hire a hit man. Riley McCoy is a DEA agent working deep undercover. Heather overhears him talking about his job and concludes that hes the man for the job.
Worried that Heather will blow his cover, Riley agrees to meet with her. When he learns of her situation, he agrees to the job; he watched his own mother die from cancer, after all, and he knows the pain that Heather is facing. Even so, the more he gets to know her, the more he realizes he loves her.
Meanwhile, Jasmine Satoa crooked FBI agent desperately in love with Rileythreatens to reveal his identity to the mafia unless he gives into her desires. To prove her point, Jasmine blows the covers of several agents, in her obsessive quest for Rileys heart.
Worried that Heather will blow his cover, Riley agrees to meet with her. When he learns of her situation, he agrees to the job; he watched his own mother die from cancer, after all, and he knows the pain that Heather is facing. Even so, the more he gets to know her, the more he realizes he loves her.
Meanwhile, Jasmine Satoa crooked FBI agent desperately in love with Rileythreatens to reveal his identity to the mafia unless he gives into her desires. To prove her point, Jasmine blows the covers of several agents, in her obsessive quest for Rileys heart.
214 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 22, 2013
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October 17, 2013
The Plot
Heather finds out she has pancreatic cancer, throwing her world into confusion. Wanting to avoid a slow and agonising end, and to spare her two sons from having to watch her deteriorate and waste away slowly, she takes the decision to take a hit out on her own life. Enter Riley – a DEA agent , deep under cover in a mafia family who Heather hires to carry out the hit on her. I won’t say anymore than this to avoid spoilers, suffice to say that the plot is gripping and keeps moving along at a fast pace. The second half of the novel is particularly fast paced, carrying you along on the journey as the story reaches its climax. I found the book touching at points as the main character comes to terms with her terminal illness. It’s also interesting to see Riley going through the moral dilemma of having to kill someone to save them more pain – essentially the euthanasia debate. The relationship between Heather and Riley is interesting and develops in a believable fashion given the situation they both find themselves in.
The Characters
The two main characters in the story are Heather and Riley, both likeable and as a reader I had empathy with them and their situation. Heather stands out from the other women in the story who seem to serve little more purpose than being a gangsters moll / arm candy to set the scene. Heather is the diametric opposite of these other women, natural and wholesome compared to the plastic and impure girls that Riley comes into contact with in his undercover life (especially compared to Jasmine). Riley is an interesting character, on the surface just a big brawny jock type. However as the story goes on we learn more about him and I think he is developed very well by the writer. The story of course hinges on Riley have the right motivations to help Heather and I think Howe explores these motivations very well. She gets into the minds of her two main characters, giving us a real sense of empathy with them. There are some supporting characters, goodies and baddies, I found the characters of Marcos and Jasmine particularly fascinating and would have liked to learn more about them – their back-stories and motivations, but I suspect this would be hard to fit into this story as is. Overall I felt the characters were well drawn and realistic.
Summary and Rating
I have given this book a four star rating. I will caution that there are some editing issues that need to be ironed out, but the author is aware and will be revising them in due course. For me this has the main ingredients of what makes a good book – good plot, interesting characters and the style of writing is easy to read and clear. Howe has done her research on pancreatic cancer and was able to write on the subject with sensitivity and authority. I was also impressed with her knowledge of some of the finer points of undercover work. Overall a great book that is let down slightly by the editing at the moment. I also understand that there is a sequel in the works, so I look forward to reading that when it’s out.
Heather finds out she has pancreatic cancer, throwing her world into confusion. Wanting to avoid a slow and agonising end, and to spare her two sons from having to watch her deteriorate and waste away slowly, she takes the decision to take a hit out on her own life. Enter Riley – a DEA agent , deep under cover in a mafia family who Heather hires to carry out the hit on her. I won’t say anymore than this to avoid spoilers, suffice to say that the plot is gripping and keeps moving along at a fast pace. The second half of the novel is particularly fast paced, carrying you along on the journey as the story reaches its climax. I found the book touching at points as the main character comes to terms with her terminal illness. It’s also interesting to see Riley going through the moral dilemma of having to kill someone to save them more pain – essentially the euthanasia debate. The relationship between Heather and Riley is interesting and develops in a believable fashion given the situation they both find themselves in.
The Characters
The two main characters in the story are Heather and Riley, both likeable and as a reader I had empathy with them and their situation. Heather stands out from the other women in the story who seem to serve little more purpose than being a gangsters moll / arm candy to set the scene. Heather is the diametric opposite of these other women, natural and wholesome compared to the plastic and impure girls that Riley comes into contact with in his undercover life (especially compared to Jasmine). Riley is an interesting character, on the surface just a big brawny jock type. However as the story goes on we learn more about him and I think he is developed very well by the writer. The story of course hinges on Riley have the right motivations to help Heather and I think Howe explores these motivations very well. She gets into the minds of her two main characters, giving us a real sense of empathy with them. There are some supporting characters, goodies and baddies, I found the characters of Marcos and Jasmine particularly fascinating and would have liked to learn more about them – their back-stories and motivations, but I suspect this would be hard to fit into this story as is. Overall I felt the characters were well drawn and realistic.
Summary and Rating
I have given this book a four star rating. I will caution that there are some editing issues that need to be ironed out, but the author is aware and will be revising them in due course. For me this has the main ingredients of what makes a good book – good plot, interesting characters and the style of writing is easy to read and clear. Howe has done her research on pancreatic cancer and was able to write on the subject with sensitivity and authority. I was also impressed with her knowledge of some of the finer points of undercover work. Overall a great book that is let down slightly by the editing at the moment. I also understand that there is a sequel in the works, so I look forward to reading that when it’s out.
Displaying 1 of 1 review