The Perfect Assassin
Ward Larsen
Oceanview Publishing
ISBN 1-933515-01-5

While sailing solo from the United Kingdom to the U.S., Christine Palmer discovers a man bobbing on a cooler in the Atlantic Ocean. Christine's medical training kicks into high gear after pulling the man aboard. She nurses him back to health, only to have him repay her by taking control of her boat and demanding that she change course to return to England. No explanation given. The only facts she learns about her captor is that his first name is David, the ship he was on sunk, and that he suffers from bad nightmares.

Once they arrive at the ragged coast line of England, Christine thinks that she is rid of David once and for all, but she couldn't be more wrong. Their paths cross again, soon. After a deadly confrontation with two men claiming to be investigators, David abducts Christine and they find themselves on the run from authorities and an unnamed enemy. After explaining why her life is in danger, David shifts roles from kidnapper to protector. But he is not sure who can be trusted because the lines between friend and foe are rapidly shifting. He has many unanswered questions and the closer he gets to unraveling the truth, the more his life is threatened. To make matters more complicated, David is forced into fighting not only the handgun toting enemy, but the demons of his past - the ones that coerced him into serving Israel as a Kidon or professional assassin.

I was completely engrossed by The Perfect Assassin. This superbly written espionage thriller gives away nothing with its finely tuned plot, complete with twists and turns that kept me guessing until the very end. While the story is told from many points-of-view, Larsen smoothly transitions from each perspective, fully developing the main characters along the way. The
descriptions of setting conjured up interesting mental images and set the tone for upcoming scenes. Larsen's pacing was perfectly orchestrated, keeping me at the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next. If I could give more than five stars, I would. I highly recommend The Perfect Assassin, especially for action and espionage aficionados.

Reviewed by:
Brooke Spicher

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