Review by Manali_DC -- The Last Assassination

[Manali_DC]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Last Assassination" by James E Doucette.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The Last Assassination by James E. Doucette is a political action thriller. A U.S. military drone blows up a hospital in Aleppo, Syria, attracting bad press all over the world. Rival nations are quick to condemn the event and use it for their own leverage. Lt. Jesse Plotnick and Lt. Bill Johnson, the pilots in charge during the event are convinced that there was no error on their part - which prompts the military top brass to explore the possibility of sabotage.

In seemingly unrelated events, a mysterious assassin, Janbiya, is hired to kill a terrorist related to the drone attack and murder an Iranian nuclear scientist. Janbiya, already toying with the idea of retirement, takes up the mission as a last job - but in the process loses many of his own family members. Grief and rage cause him to swear vengeance and he is determined to track down the people responsible for this.

Mark Plotnick, a former Mossad agent now working for the U.S, starts investigating the drone attack. He is also Lt. Jesse Plotnick's father and is personally invested in getting the answers and clearing his son's name. He teams up with Saul Shalach, a former colleague and friend from Mossad, and Shorty Coryell who owns the company that supplies the drones to the military. Lending them some serious diplomatic muscle and backing is Secretary of Defence, Amanda Courtright.Their investigations lead them on a trail of clues across USA, China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia. It also brings them in contact with the elusive Janbiya and they quickly realize that they are all tracking a common enemy.

With never a dull moment in the story, the plot moves forward at a rapid, action-filled pace. The pace only lets up in the portions that deal with the personal lives and background stories of the main characters. This does not take away from the story - in fact, it helps the reader understand the plot better. The actual geopolitical scenario of the modern-day world forms the backdrop against which this fictional event is staged. It takes a hard look at how acts of terrorism are often carried out for financial gains and political leverage, with the loss of life and property being counted as collateral damage!

A well-written and well-edited book, the story reels the reader in from chapter one! However, the author saves the best for the last with a surprising and shocking twist in the end - at least I never saw that one coming! The hunter becoming the hunted is a common theme in the book. An intriguing aspect of the story is also the inability to classify the characters as the "good-guys" or the "bad-guys". For example, the assassin who carries out two murders in the opening chapters does not take center-stage as the villain as the story progresses. The story also highlights the fragile and hugely complicated international relationships across the globe today.

A gripping and entertaining story, I give The Last Assassination 4 out of 4 stars. There is nothing I disliked about the book and I would recommend it to all readers who like action-packed thrillers.

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The Last Assassination
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[Honest-reviewer]

Action and thrillers are always fascinating for me. I surely want to read this one. Thanks for your wonderful review.

[Manali_DC]

Action and thrillers are always fascinating for me. I surely want to read this one. Thanks for your wonderful review.

Thank you for reading and leaving a comment!

[Vic Chimezie]

War and its collateral damage! I am sure this book will be a good read. Thanks for the detailed review and recommendation.

[Manali_DC]

War and its collateral damage! I am sure this book will be a good read. Thanks for the detailed review and recommendation.

Thank you!

[Kanda_theGreat]

The story-line seems very interesting and well-developed. Thank you for your descriptive review.

[Jeff Kanda]

An action book! In think it will do well as a movie. Nice review!

[Manali_DC]

The story-line seems very interesting and well-developed. Thank you for your descriptive review.

Thank you for reading and leaving a comment!

[Manali_DC]

An action book! In think it will do well as a movie. Nice review!

Thanks for reading and leaving a comment.

[derialist]

Maybe Janbiya shouldn't have taken the job after all, but instead retired. He's my character of interest, and I'll definitely be reading it now. Great review!

[Manali_DC]

Maybe Janbiya shouldn't have taken the job after all, but instead retired. He's my character of interest, and I'll definitely be reading it now. Great review!

Yes indeed! Janbiya taking up the assignment puts into motion the subsequent chain of events and the tragedies that occur afterwards. Thank you for reading and leaving a comment!

[kalgaonkarsnehal]

Thank you for your review! I too absolutely LOVED this book and have written a review about it, which I enjoyed just as much as reading the book. I liked Mr. James.E.Ducette's style of writing. He has explained complicated Middle Eastern politics in such a simple way, without distracting the reader from the main plot. I also liked that he has not written graphic violent scenes, which he could have easily included considering the plot. He just left it for the reader to imagine. I would highly recommend this book.

[Manali_DC]

Thank you for your review! I too absolutely LOVED this book and have written a review about it, which I enjoyed just as much as reading the book. I liked Mr. James.E.Ducette's style of writing. He has explained complicated Middle Eastern politics in such a simple way, without distracting the reader from the main plot. I also liked that he has not written graphic violent scenes, which he could have easily included considering the plot. He just left it for the reader to imagine. I would highly recommend this book.

Thanks for reading and leaving a comment. I especially liked the little twist at the end of the book!