Assassin’s Edge strikes a superb balance between detail-oriented storytelling and character-driven action. Ward Larsen changes up the David Slaton formula in an interesting manner that felt fresh and captivating.
The story introduces a brand-new threat for David Slaton to face on a global scale. When a US reconnaissance aircraft is brought down without any telltale signs of a conventional weapon and a Mossad agent’s abduction from the field links to the crash, Slaton is called back to investigate these events and unveil the enigmatic conspirators before World War 3 breaks out. With personal stakes for Slaton, he must venture to ice-cold Arctic amongst other exotic locations to catch up to a nebulous organization known as The Trident.
Ward Larsen has done more than just the due diligence with technical aspects of modern-day combat. His stellar and advanced descriptions of naval vessels and weaponry compel you to visualize the outstanding settings with all the glorious details. That is not to say the urban combat sequences are any less superb. David Slaton battles enemies in the unforgiving expanse of Arctic ice-lands just as swiftly as he takes down underworld gangsters in Albania, all the way to battling a homegrown threat in Israel while utilizing every weapon he can get his hands on.
In contrast to the previous David Slaton thrillers, Assassin’s Edge is a more cerebral and darker thriller as we get to witness more of Slaton’s mental acumen in sifting through hidden clues and realistically gut-wrenching deceptions in a more espionage-than-action narrative. The intimate details of conducting espionage operations with the surreptitious tradecraft add a gripping layer of authenticity to the events that make you forget this is a work of fiction. Ultimately, this was an excellent choice as the finale opens up a multitude of potentially long-lasting follow-up stories to explore the dire consequences of what follows in Assassin’s Edge.
2022 is lining up with great hits for the thriller genre and Ward Larsen has cemented a top spot already with this riveting and spectacular spy thriller. It truly deserves to be read in one-sitting.
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