SHARPE'S ASSASSIN - Book review

Sharpe’s Assassin is Bernard Cornwell’s twenty-second Sharpe novel (number 21 in his timeline/chronological sequence), his first Sharpe book in fourteen years. This tale follows immediately after Sharpe’s Waterloo (1990). Needless to say, we know Sharpe survives, since he appears in Sharpe's Devil (1992) which takes place some five years after Waterloo.

At Waterloo Sharpe lost a number of his chosen men and the story begins with our two heroes, Patrick Harper and Sharpe burying Daniel Hagman. He is summoned by the Duke of Wellington.

The Duke gives him the task of freeing some prisoners from the citadel at a nearby town called Ham. One prisoner in particular is important, an Englishman called Alan Fox. It’s considered a fool’s errand. But it is necessary. As the Duke says, ‘For this job we need a ruthless bastard.’ And that’s Sharpe.

While he’ll be away Sharpe’s battalion is handed over to a newly arrived Major Morris. This is not good news. Years ago Morris was responsible for Sharpe getting flogged for something he didn’t do. Now, however, Sharpe outranks Morris.

All Sharpe wants to do is retire to Normandy with Lucille, his common-law wife. After this last task, perhaps?

Yet the assault on the Ham citadel leads to the revelation that a cabal of Frenchmen have organised to wreak havoc on the occupying forces, with the intention of assassinating British high-ranking officers, in particular Wellington. Sharpe and Harper enter occupied Paris in search of this evil fraternity.

As with the earlier Sharpe books, the fiction is laced with historical events, lending added authenticity.

Throughout, the voices of the TV series’ actors resonates in the dialogue. There’s blood and gore aplenty, clever tactics to confound the enemy, lashings of humour at the expense of the French, honour and betrayal, and bold and foolhardy bravery.

Welcome back, Richard Sharpe! You’ve been away far too long.

Book review - REACTION OF THE TIGER

It may be two years since I read the last André Warner thriller, The Man Who Hunted Himself, but it doesn’t matter, I quickly re-entered his first-person world. The writing as ever is consistent where the character is the usual mix of a flawed and deadly assassin. Warner holds little back: he’s over-confident, a red-blooded male doubtless unwelcome in modern MeToo society, who is nevertheless gallant, bold and brave with an ambivalent conscience.

This time he takes on a killing task for a friend, a friend who saved his life. It involves tracking a British double-agent in Finland and eliminating him. As we’ve come to expect, it isn’t as simple as all that. There are complications, presented by Warner’s current love interest Maura, the machinations of a local gangland boss, and the ever-insidious influence of The Syndicate.

If you want fast-paced action, a strong main character, detail that puts you in the action and  paints a realistic image of various countries covered, then look no further than this thriller, which has all that and plenty of more, with twists and surprises to please many an aficionado.

I’m looking forward to the follow-up tome, She Kills.

Book review - The Man Who Hunted Himself

Lex Lander’s third outing for his hired assassin André Warner, The Man Who Hunted Himself, is his best to date.  You don’t have read the first two, End As an Assassin (#1) and I Kill (#2), though I’d recommend doing so as you will appreciate the nuanced development of Warner.

It will be obvious from the title that Warner has been hired to kill himself – that is, the unknown assassin of Jeff Heider, an American villain.

Warner has a code of conduct; he will only kill villains, those who deserve to be wiped off the face of the earth. He has no option but to accept the task, otherwise someone else will be hired and he would eventually be tracked down as the target. His best option is to set up a fall guy as the ostensible murderer. Perhaps someone from an opposing gang. If only it were that simple.

Lander fills his 365 densely written pages with detail upon detail in his first person narrative, and in so doing creates a convincing characterisation of Warner who is flawed, obviously, with a sense of humour and not averse to self-deprecation. Warner is knowledgeable about cars, guns and women, and yet beneath the surface arrogance is a haunted man seeking the solace of love and family.  Perhaps, this time around, that is within his grasp. Perhaps then he can end as an assassin. If only it were that simple.

Whether Lander’s writing about Las Vegas, Nice, Paris or Andorra, you feel you are there. A very visual and page-turning thriller; and there are more adventures in the pipeline.

Any fan of Lee Child or John D. MacDonald would enjoy this series.