By: Ted Bell Publisher: Pocket Star Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Pocket Star Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 608 Publication Date: May 20, 2008
Alex Hawke is back. In this explosive,jaw-tightening follow-up to Ted Bell's ""rich, spellbinding, and absorbing"" (Clive Cussler) debut national bestseller, Hawke, fearless intelligence operative Lord Alexander Hawke matches wits with a cunning and bloodthirsty psychopath in a desperate race to avert an American Armageddon.
In an elegant palazzo on the Grand Canal, an American ambassador's tryst turns deadly. In the seamy underbelly of London, a pub-crawling killer is on the loose. And in a storybook chapel nestled in the Cotswolds, a marriage made in heaven turns to hell on earth. Isolated incidents? Or links in a chain of events hurtling towards catastrophe? So begins Assassin, the tour de force thriller that heralds the return of every terrorist's worst nightmare, Alex Hawke.
A shadowy figure known as the Dog is believed to be the ruthless terrorist who is systematically and savagely assassinating American diplomats and their families around the globe. As the deadly toll mounts inexorably, Hawke, along with former NYPD cop and Navy SEAL Stokely Jones, is called upon by the U.S. government to launch a search for the assassin behind the murders.
Hawke, who ""makes James Bond look like a ""slovenly, dull-witted clockpuncher"" (Kirkus Reviews), is soon following a trail that leads back to London in the go-go nineties, when Arab oil money fueled lavish, and sometimes fiendish, lifestyles. Other murky clues point to the Florida Keys, where a vicious killer hides behind the gates of a fabled museum. And to a remote Indonesian island where a madman tinkers with strains of a deadly virus and slyly bides his time.
Hawke must call upon resources deep within himself. He must enter a race against time to stop a cataclysmic attack on America's most populous cities and avengethe inexplicable and horrific crime that has left him devastated.
Brimming with relentless action and stylish detail, and featuring a hero that readers wil"
This is the "Hawke" series title that really got me HOOKED As the second in the "Hawke" series, this novel fleshes out the lead character's history and back stories, as well as giving us more insight into the engaging cast of supporting characters. It's what really pulled me into the concept of these characters in an ongoing series, and hopefully, a feature film or two.
Bell takes the reader to exotic locations worldwide and paints a detailed picture masterfully. He has an ability to maintain a proper build of suspense while switching back and forth between sub-plots that reminds me of my favorite Stephen King novel, The Stand.
This is one of the best series in the international spy thriller genre ever written, and I can hardly wait to receive my copy of the upcoming release of the series' latest title - Tsar.
Verbose Mr. Bell certainly likes to see himself write. He could have cut out a hundred pages and still have too many. It was very difficult getting through the overuse of adjectives. I will not be reading any other Bell tomes.
fast-paced and frightening. Ted Bell can really write. This series is exciting and somewhat scary. He's created a great heroic figure in Alex Hawke. The storyline is, hopefully, not out of tomorrow's headlines. We'd better start paying much more attention to the Islamic radical jihad against our Western way of life. Good book, but very scary in its implications and possibilities.
Great book -- comic book character or not! This was the third Alexander Hawke book I've read (previously Spy and Pirate: A Thriller (Hawke)) and this was my favorite so far.
I see the critics talk about how Hawke's larger than life persona has reached comic book status. I say pour on some more Mr. Bell!
Bell brings a very plausible plot (terror, nukes, pox, etc.) togtether in an interesting international adventure story.
I can hardly wait for the new book!
Wish I could get a copy of "Hawke" the original book.
Great book I really enjoyed this follow up to Hawke. The adventure was great, and it wasn't trying too hard to be "bond-like" Highly recommended
Anything Goes Trivia
Last Kiss
Megaton Man
Trevor
