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André Warner, Manhunter #1
End As An Assassin
THIS TIME IT’S NOT FOR MONEY.
THIS TIME IT’S FOR BLOOD, PURE AND SIMPLE.
André Warner is a professional killer, ex-British Secret Service. Thirty-nine contracts have made him a wealthy man, and his fortieth is to be his last.
The hit goes smoothly enough, and the victim – a degenerate drug baron – is dispatched with minimal fuss and no traces left to incriminate Warner. He drives off into the sunrise to hang up his gun and retire to his home in Geneva.
Then into his life comes Gina, a hauntingly beautiful divorcee, fugitive from a bad marriage. The timing is perfect, coinciding as it does with Warner’s new beginning. They soon become lovers, and all seems set fair for a life together.
Their idyll is shattered when a former associate turns against Warner, and he faces exposure and arrest. Accompanied by Gina, he flees his Geneva home, only to run from the clutches of the Swiss police into the far deadlier embrace of a Marseilles crime syndicate whose boss has a score to settle on behalf of Warner’s last victim. Suddenly Gina is at risk through her association with him, and in trying to protect her he only makes matters worse.
His retirement plans in shreds, his life on the line, Warner is forced to stage a comeback. Only this time it’s not for money. It’s for blood, pure and simple.
THIS TIME IT’S FOR BLOOD, PURE AND SIMPLE.
André Warner is a professional killer, ex-British Secret Service. Thirty-nine contracts have made him a wealthy man, and his fortieth is to be his last.
The hit goes smoothly enough, and the victim – a degenerate drug baron – is dispatched with minimal fuss and no traces left to incriminate Warner. He drives off into the sunrise to hang up his gun and retire to his home in Geneva.
Then into his life comes Gina, a hauntingly beautiful divorcee, fugitive from a bad marriage. The timing is perfect, coinciding as it does with Warner’s new beginning. They soon become lovers, and all seems set fair for a life together.
Their idyll is shattered when a former associate turns against Warner, and he faces exposure and arrest. Accompanied by Gina, he flees his Geneva home, only to run from the clutches of the Swiss police into the far deadlier embrace of a Marseilles crime syndicate whose boss has a score to settle on behalf of Warner’s last victim. Suddenly Gina is at risk through her association with him, and in trying to protect her he only makes matters worse.
His retirement plans in shreds, his life on the line, Warner is forced to stage a comeback. Only this time it’s not for money. It’s for blood, pure and simple.
- GenresFiction
352 pages, Paperback
Published May 1, 2016
28 people are currently reading
450 people want to read
About the author
Lex Lander
15 books24 followersBorn in Britain, raised in France, attended Auckland University in New Zealand where I obtained a degree in French and Italian, I now live and work in Montreal. Despite heavy business commitments – I am a partner in a Property Realtor business – I am currently finding time to produce two novels per annum until I achieve success. Failure is not an option.
My first, ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER JACKAL, was published in 2014 as a ‘trial run’ and is available as an eBook and a B-format paperback on Amazon. My two current thrillers, Vols I and II in the André Warner, Manhunter series are also available as eBooks on Amazon, and as B-format paperbacks though the UK’s largest bookselling chain, WHSmiths.
Further titles in the Warner series are on their way, as well as a crime thriller set in the south of France, to launch a new series. My publisher is keeping my nose to the grindstone!
I hope I will eventually soon become a force to be reckoned with in the crime-writing world, and secure my future as a novelist of repute. Then maybe I’ll give up selling properties!
My first, ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER JACKAL, was published in 2014 as a ‘trial run’ and is available as an eBook and a B-format paperback on Amazon. My two current thrillers, Vols I and II in the André Warner, Manhunter series are also available as eBooks on Amazon, and as B-format paperbacks though the UK’s largest bookselling chain, WHSmiths.
Further titles in the Warner series are on their way, as well as a crime thriller set in the south of France, to launch a new series. My publisher is keeping my nose to the grindstone!
I hope I will eventually soon become a force to be reckoned with in the crime-writing world, and secure my future as a novelist of repute. Then maybe I’ll give up selling properties!
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 17, 2017
My son won this book "End As An Assassin" written by Lex Lander in the Goodreads Giveaways and I'm pleased he did as it's a cracking international thriller that I would happily have paid money for.
Typical bond style thriller, there is non stop action, violence, death and intrigue, with plenty of twists and turns that kept me turning the pages, totally gripped to the end.
I really liked the main protagonist Andre Warner, ex British Secret Service and now paid assassin hoping to leave his professional life for retirement at the age of 38 - but things do not go to plan following his last contract job.
Told in the first person you read first hand Andre's feelings and emotions throughout the book, even though he's a bad guy really you can't help but think of him almost as an anti - hero and good guy.
I like the authors style of writing. It's clear, precise and easy to follow and I would happily recommend this book, and hope one day to read the rest in the Andre Warner series!
Typical bond style thriller, there is non stop action, violence, death and intrigue, with plenty of twists and turns that kept me turning the pages, totally gripped to the end.
I really liked the main protagonist Andre Warner, ex British Secret Service and now paid assassin hoping to leave his professional life for retirement at the age of 38 - but things do not go to plan following his last contract job.
Told in the first person you read first hand Andre's feelings and emotions throughout the book, even though he's a bad guy really you can't help but think of him almost as an anti - hero and good guy.
I like the authors style of writing. It's clear, precise and easy to follow and I would happily recommend this book, and hope one day to read the rest in the Andre Warner series!
May 18, 2016
This is a gripping thrill of a read with unexpected twists and shed loads of action. If you like your thrillers with a James Bond-esque lead character then you will love End As An Assassin. André Warner is smooth, debonair and deadly. There were times I liked him and times I didn’t. He’s a killer with a conscience and a code of practice.
I loved the international feel of this book. The flitting from one country to another was fascinating and kept my interest. There were times when I was sat on the edge of my seat, wondering how André was going to get out of a predicament in one living, walking, talking piece.
When we first meet Gina she is frosty, feisty and self assured and I preferred her this way, liking her less as she fell for André. Their relationship was very full on and a little on the intense side for my liking but I can see exactly why the author wrote the couple that way.
A very enjoyable read for those that enjoy hard and fast thrillers. Nice to have an anti-hero as the lead rather than a ‘For Queen and Country’ spy. I look forward to the next book in the Manhunter series.
Four out of five stars.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I loved the international feel of this book. The flitting from one country to another was fascinating and kept my interest. There were times when I was sat on the edge of my seat, wondering how André was going to get out of a predicament in one living, walking, talking piece.
When we first meet Gina she is frosty, feisty and self assured and I preferred her this way, liking her less as she fell for André. Their relationship was very full on and a little on the intense side for my liking but I can see exactly why the author wrote the couple that way.
A very enjoyable read for those that enjoy hard and fast thrillers. Nice to have an anti-hero as the lead rather than a ‘For Queen and Country’ spy. I look forward to the next book in the Manhunter series.
Four out of five stars.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
August 23, 2020
Lots of action, with many twists
My first book by this author. Looks like it is going to be a series, but hard to figure where it will go if it is. Warner, an ex-spy, became a hired assassin after he left the service. After 39 kills, he is hired for another when he meets and falls in love with the wife of the man he just murdered (unbeknownst to him). Twists and turns, dearth and sorrow follow. A good read. ENJOY!
My first book by this author. Looks like it is going to be a series, but hard to figure where it will go if it is. Warner, an ex-spy, became a hired assassin after he left the service. After 39 kills, he is hired for another when he meets and falls in love with the wife of the man he just murdered (unbeknownst to him). Twists and turns, dearth and sorrow follow. A good read. ENJOY!
January 20, 2020
It moves; it twists and turns; it'll keep you up until you reach the end!
First time I've come across Lex and his creation Andre or whichever name he's hiding behind .. a fast moving tale with lots of action, hot sexual encounters and a surprise final scene. An excellent read.
First time I've come across Lex and his creation Andre or whichever name he's hiding behind .. a fast moving tale with lots of action, hot sexual encounters and a surprise final scene. An excellent read.
July 22, 2025
Surely someone checked this book for mistakes before it was published. Absolutely littered with errors and flaws and not just minor ones like double spacing, there’s huge mistakes like duplicated paragraphs where it’s been rewritten and the original not removed. Ruined the whole book.
February 3, 2019
I really enjoyed this book about the hired assassin Andre Warner. A real page turner of terror and excitement with plenty of twists to keep the reader on their toes. I have already ordered the next book in the series, 'I Kill'
February 24, 2024
a good read though I did think an experienced assassin would have done a couple of things differently
June 19, 2016
With the killing of a sleazy drug baron, hit man André Warner completes his final contract and heads for Geneva where he hopes to begin a comfortable retirement. Then on route to Monaco, he meets young and beautiful divorcee Gina, and finds himself contemplating a different future from the one he'd planned. But awkward questions from a nosy neighbour, and an encounter with a mysterious biker, prompt Warner to wonder if there's something he's missed. After a visit from the police and the threat of exposure, he's left with difficult decisions to make, so with Gina at his side, he sets out to fulfil one last contract.
From the first page, I was pulled straight into the world of the assassin - a world of guns, exotic locations and fast cars, and whether I wanted to or not, I was already rooting for the one-man killing machine, and booing/hissing at the bad guys. Lex Lander writes about killing people like he really knows what he's talking about. Whether this is the voice of experience or just the product of a damn good imagination, I can't say, but his attention to detail reminded me of Frederick Forsyth, along with a chunk of that great man's storytelling genius, too.
If you like your villains mean and your heroes handsome you'll be right at home with this first instalment of André Warner's adventures, but for the squeamish and scaredy-cat types out there, be warned - there's a lot of killing, and innocent victims don't always live to tell the tale.
This is a great start to the series and I'll be adding Mr Lander's other books to my to-read list very soon.
From the first page, I was pulled straight into the world of the assassin - a world of guns, exotic locations and fast cars, and whether I wanted to or not, I was already rooting for the one-man killing machine, and booing/hissing at the bad guys. Lex Lander writes about killing people like he really knows what he's talking about. Whether this is the voice of experience or just the product of a damn good imagination, I can't say, but his attention to detail reminded me of Frederick Forsyth, along with a chunk of that great man's storytelling genius, too.
If you like your villains mean and your heroes handsome you'll be right at home with this first instalment of André Warner's adventures, but for the squeamish and scaredy-cat types out there, be warned - there's a lot of killing, and innocent victims don't always live to tell the tale.
This is a great start to the series and I'll be adding Mr Lander's other books to my to-read list very soon.
December 11, 2017
Inexplicably inane and unbelievably amateurish, this is not an action-thriller. Rather, it's a cringe-worthy sappy romance and a south of France travelogue with few and far between action sequences sprinkled in. The said action sequences were juvenile and caused no thrills.
The plot holes were large enough to drive a semi through. The behavior, dialogues and decisions of the characters were nonsensical and unnatural.
The only reason I didn't give a single star was because of the author's robust vocabulary. He can definitely write, the only problem is that he doesn't know the first thing about writing a thriller.
He needs a very, very good editor and he needs to read a lot of Lee Child.
The plot holes were large enough to drive a semi through. The behavior, dialogues and decisions of the characters were nonsensical and unnatural.
The only reason I didn't give a single star was because of the author's robust vocabulary. He can definitely write, the only problem is that he doesn't know the first thing about writing a thriller.
He needs a very, very good editor and he needs to read a lot of Lee Child.
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October 20, 2018Won in the Goodreads Giveaways.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews