Product Description

Abu Qasim, the ruthless and cunning Al Qaeda leader who nearly succeeded in blowing up a meeting of the G-8 in Paris, has escaped from the grasp of the Americans and is plotting his next move. A small band of powerful men, highly placed leaders of industry and politics in the West, have decided they need to target and destroy the terrorist and his inner circle before he can strike again. When a prominent Russian dissident is poisoned in London, however, its clear that theres a very dangerous leak within the ranks of the Westerners, and that Abu Qasim has turned the tables on his rivals---it is now he who is pursuing, and his aim is to kill. Admiral Jake Grafton dispatches special agent Tommy Carmellini to infiltrate the plot. He tracks the gorgeous and seductive Marisa Petrou, a Frenchwoman who may be Qasims daughter and who has her own reasons for wanting him alive---or wishing him dead. Qasim, meanwhile, has a trick up his sleeve---one that hes been planning for years. Who is behind the methodical assassinations of the wealthy and powerful Western vigilante team? Will Abu Qasim slip the noose once again? In this pulse-pounding thriller, Tommy Carmellini must put a stop to a master of terror before he unleashes even more death.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #88681 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Review
"Another excellent Coonts thriller." --PETERBOROUGH EVENING TELEGRAPH

Review
"a deft thriller, with all the twists and turns that fans of the genre will enjoy" (SOUTH WALES ARGUS )

"A thrilling read which hooks until the last page" (TELEGRAPH & ARGUS )

About the Author
Stephen Coonts is a veteran naval aviator who flew combat missions during the Vietnam War. His previous novels have been worldwide bestsellers. A former attorney, he resides with his wife and son in Maryland.

Customer Reviews

simply aweful
Possibly the worst written book I have ever read. The Tom Clancy quote on the front cover is 'Stephen Coonts just keeps getting better'- which is just as well because he really couldn't get any worse. I am total bewildered that this man is a 'bestselling author'. How did he do it?

Where to start? The plot thinks it is clever by weaving in contemporaneous events. But they are so tritely exploited, a scrapbook of newspaper cuttings would have been more exciting. The characters are cardboard. The principal character tries far far too hard to be a good 'ol boy everyman. The cultural misogyny is breathtaking.

Worst of all is the writing itself. Does the author have an editor or does he just drawl into a dictating machine? Leaving grammar aside, the style is so bad I have struggled through half the book in the sheer marvel that he can get away with it. I think I'll have to stop now.

Convoluted But Well Executed
The Assassin is a direct follow up to Stephen Coonts last Grafton & Carmellini adventure, Traitor. It brings to a conclusion the pursuit of master terrorist Abu Quasim that began during Traitor, so if you haven't yet read that novel I would recommend doing so before starting The Assassin. Traitor is somewhat implausible, but still an above avergae thriller.

The Assassin is a great improvement on the book that precedes it. Whereas Traitor relied on an implausible central plot device that never rang true, events in this lastest Coonts thriller feel far more believable.

Once again Grafton and Carmellini make a fine double act, with Carmellini doing the physical action man stuff with aplomb whilst Grafton is the inscrutable brains of the operation. The rest of the cast of characters are reasonably well drawn, although none make it much beyond being one or two dimensional plot devices.

The plot itself is pretty convoluted and takes a long time to reach what end up being two separate finales, if that isn't an oxymoron, one immediately after the other. Its holds your attention whilst it gets there, but you don't want to think too hard about it or you'll be spotting more plot holes than the story could be expected to survive. Some of the story elements also feel a little dated, drawing as they do on real life events from a number of years ago, but not to the extent of ruining the book.

Surprisingly The Assassin is also pretty brutal in places. I never had Coonts down as that sort of writer, but the body count here is pretty high, with the good guys coming off almost as badly as their enemies and often in pretty bloody, painful ways. If you're at all squeamish about such things this side to the book might put you off.

Overall however, The Assassin shows that Stephen Coonts can still produce solid, entertaining thrillers that easily compete with the best in the genre. That's not bad for an author who has been around for so long and to my mind remains underrated. The Assassin isn't going to go down as a classic, but its still a damn sight better than some of the later, lazier and tired efforts put out by other authors who have been labouring in the thriller genre for similar lengths of time.

Great Coonts
Another classic book from Coonts. I only found him a few years ago while on holiday. I saw this book titled Cuba thought the preface sounded interesting and have been an avid reader ever since and now have all his titles.
If you are interested in twisting plots then Coonts is your man.
Would recommend to all.