Image via WikipediaThe Assassin by Stephen Coonts is a finely crafted tale of wit-matching between Adm. Jake Grafton (ret.) and his team, including the narrator Tom Carmellini, former thief, now CIA "spy", against the Al Qaeda lead by Abu Qasim. Abu Qasim had nearly destroyed the G8 meeting last time. When a group of the wealthiest industrialists in the world pooled their resources to help curb terrorism, they became targets of Abu Qasim. Carmellini was sent to infiltrate the plot and his focus was on Marisa Petrou, daughter-in-law to one of the industrialists in danger... but she just may be Abu Qasim's daughter... Whos is on which side? And what is Abu Qasim's ultimate target?Stephen Coonts is an amazing writer. His first book: Flight of the Intruder, was one of the best books on Vietnam War and Naval Aviators available ever written. He had followed up with several books, with Grafton turned into a spy master matching wits with terrorists and such. The characters are detailed, and the motivations make sense. The whole novel reads like a mystery, as you peel back one layer, then another, then another, while you consider false leads (red herrings) and misdirections, and so on. Carmellini is an interesting narrator (this wasn't his first appearance) as he's a former "bad guy" turned to the side of light. He is not a nice nice person, but he will do the right thing when given a choice.
The only problem I have with this book is it is sometimes very "slow" as you are confused as to which way the plot is going, but that is a part of the tension and unease, and part of the charm.
Rating: read it at least once
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