An Honorable Assassin is a sophisticated assassin-centric thriller packing suave action and glamorous set pieces in exotic locations not explored much in thrillers today.
Nick Mason is a man of lethal talents and a conscience. After leaving prison, his new-found freedom from the law and a Chicago crime boss seems to be cut short as he’s spirited by a shadowy organization to Jakarta as part of a team to assassinate an international fugitive, Hashim Baya—otherwise known as the Crocodile. What Mason doesn’t know is that there’s an Interpol agent also hot on the trail of Baya, seeking to settle a personal score against the criminal. When the two worlds collide, it’s one riveting chapter after another.
Steve Hamilton evokes such vivid strokes of imaginations when he describes the beautiful and exuberant settings in South East Asia, Singapore in particular where a breathtaking sequence in casino feels straight out of a Bond novel, followed by break-neck action on land and sea that’s both tactically and technically fulfilling for thriller fans who admire weaponry in proper form and execution. It’s a genuine action thriller that packs both brawn and heart.
Speaking of heart, what helps An Honorable Assassin live up to its name is its star, Nick Mason. Even when wrapped up in a dangerous mission in a foreign land, Mason finds himself in a precarious position to save a young girl he doesn’t even know properly from a life of abuse and servitude. His noble quest that continues in between the violent and gruesome hunt for his target goes a long way in establishing Mason as a hitman you’d love to have on your side.
The story is grand, immersive, with characters dressed to the nines and adrenaline pumping action. Even though I hadn’t read the previous Nick Mason thrillers beforehand, I was easily hooked onto Hamilton’s prose that makes all that happens in this narrative palpable with energy and enthusiasm. You’re going to zoom to the ending even as you try to slow down, but the action and twists keep beckoning you to read just one more page and then you’re down the rabbit hole. The ending certainly opens the floor for great follow-up stories with Mason and a new ally trying to uncover who is behind the scenes pulling the strings on a horrifyingly global level.
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