The official Blurb
When the top ten hitmen face off in a last-man standing contest being bet on by some of the world's richest men, the only rule is to stay alive.
Assassins are ruthless and clever killers who get paid a lot of money to make problems go away. And pretty soon one of them is going to be a hundred million dollars richer if they can eliminate all the competition, before the competition eliminates them. But for retired hitman Johnny Dane, considered at one point to be the best hired killer in the world, getting out of the life doesn't necessarily mean getting out of the game.
Welcome to the world of high-priced hitmen and the game they've been thrust into. The last man (or woman) standing not only gets the prize but will be the only top notch assassin left available for hire. One of the top ten best killers has been notoriously absent from the contest, Johnny Dane. Having left the life, he's disappeared to an oceanfront hideaway and has vowed never to return, but when the game finds him and threatens the only woman he's ever loved, Dane realizes the only way out, is to get back in.
My Review
I really enjoyed this story from the outset. The reader and the text of the story seem to have been written to appeal to me! The author has written the book in a very cinematic style even uses phrases like "fade to a beach in the sun" or "cut to inside, Dane draws his gun". The cinematic style is not limited to these cute ways of moving from scene to scene but also in the action packed content scenes themselves. Heros and bad guys make ... well, heroic moves as they battle to the death. Fights are quick and bloody, and corners are always taken with squealing rubber in a breakneck paced story.
As I was listening I was constantly reminded of the books by Matthew Reilly ( look up "Scarecrow" on Amazon. The books by Matt Reilly are known as being literally non-stop. That's how this audio novel was.
The characters are well done, and just a little over the top as they need to be when you hero is the best hit man in the world. The bad guys are like wise very villain like. Interestingly the main bad guy despite being about as evil as can be, has his motivations explained. You don't exactly sympathise with him, he's not very nice, but you do understand him, and that's a mark of good writing.
Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 3/3
Total Score 8/9
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