Mr. Kerr’s latest is a creepy and baffling standalone, a kind of mishmash of horror and mystery. Reading this fright-filled meditation on faith was similar to watching a supernatural scare show. The central theme is religion and faith. It is of no surprise some reviewers highly praised this thriller and others simply found the premise to be unbelievable, rather uncomfortable and genuinely disturbing.
The backdrop is the metropolis of Houston and in the town Galveston shortly after Hurricane Ike. To make things spooky Galveston is a ghost town and the action take place in a mansion owned by a priest (Amityville). The melodrama begins beautifully with an exciting police procedural and gradually morphs into a modern Gothic horror show with boogie, devils and all the works. The sharp turn towards the supernatural takes place towards the end of the novel and gives us a genuinely scary atmosphere. We have excellent scenes where the Angels of Death shows up and some scary chases. In whole, I found the plot to be slow moving and offered a medley of events that seemed to go nowhere. This is one of those novels with big ideas about religion and showcases it evil. This is quite a moody and though provoking addition to Mr. Kerr’s library. The narrator is the main character, FBI agent Gil Martins, an atheist who struggles not only with his faith but also with his marriage. The characterization and dialogue are standard versions, nothing spectacular.
In a nut shell:
When Gil’s friend, the worldly Bishop Eamon Coogan, asks him to look into the curious deaths of some prominent atheists, Gil suspects that they are being murdered by members of a fundamentalist mega-church and he is soon drawn into a mystery that defies both faith and logic….
My last words:
I was captivated by this psychological thriller for most of the book but dreadfully disappointed in the denouement.
This is Jay Deb second thriller “Contrived” being the first. I received this book some time ago and luckily I had put it aside to read some others I had in backlog. This was a good move. Apparently, the first edition was riddled with errors and needless to say annoyed more than one reader. A later revision was issued to correct what reviewers had noticed and this is the version I read and I hardly noticed any of the slipping mistakes, if any at all.
With this cleared up. “The Assassin” is a real page turner and I am impressed how this author has grown since his first attempt. The style is still a bit chaotic and the dialogue too sophomoric and needs to mature subsequently. Not knowing anything about the CIA’s world I was easily drawn into the fast paced and gripping suspense and there is a lot of it. The characterization is varied and we have a very riveting lead man. The plot is good but is the run of the mill storyline with many gaps for us to fill and few flowery details to trip over.
Overall this novel is entertaining and is a thrill for anyone who enjoys fictionalized stories around of CIA and its operatives those hunting terrorists planning attacks in order to kill as many US citizens as possible.
Book 2, in the Edyl series
This futuristic tale leads us on into a very spooky maze were we find a scientific discovery to be in the hands of totalitarian mind-reading government. Every year WOCO (the world government) nominates people to compete in the Edyl Olympiad, the prize is immortality and the right to live in the world’s most beautiful place…..
Freaky and entirely original I admit to this, but did I like it, my verdict is: not really, not to say this is not a good read, for some it will be for me this whole drama was way too far- fetched and I never managed to get hooked enough to enjoy this concoction. R77K is a though reader who delves into the minds of a rock singer, an athlete and a mechanic and reports his findings to his handler. The whole story is a sort of mind tug of war between the players and is the meat of this sci-fi. To appraise the selected candidates, determined their fate is all about control…. What is anticipated on Edyl is of course not found (very predictable outcome)…...and is the start of many problems and mysterious happenings…
Some more of my likes and dislikes all mixed:
As in his previous novels, Mr. Capell style is smooth and flows beautifully to the end. We also have a diverse and a fun set of characters facing powerful forces. This story is entertaining in many ways but IMO it missed the appeal a good psychological suspense/sci-fi brings. There are no twists that I care to remember but sci-fi is what it is…..highly imaginative totally ridicule and freaky to no end. What else can I say?
This one was definitely not my cup of tea…..but it may be yours…..
