When readers meet back up with ex-Mossad operative David Slaton (following last year’s Assassin’s Silence), the former assassin is now living near Palawan, in the Philippines, with his wife and their young son aboard Windsom II, a custom-fit catamaran fitted with “heavy duty electric winches, an extensive navigation suite, and solar panels,” rigged to sail the world.
Putting Slaton’s former profession in the rearview mirror, the couple had agreed to be careful, which meant taking no dangerous jobs or side missions. But when David is asked by his wife one evening over a fish and rice dinner to momentarily step outside of their comfy retirement to help a friend of hers, Slaton quickly finds himself sucked back into the world he’s tried so hard to distance himself from.
On a memory stick that he inadvertently comes in contact with, Slaton discovers a secret message from Zavier Baland, the man who’s thought to be next in line for the top position with the DGSI, France’s elite counterterrorism unit. Slaton, however, realizes that Baland represents the very threat that the DGSI must guard themselves against.
Parading around as someone he’s not, Slaton recognizes Baland to be Ali Samir, a terrorist that he came in contact with fifteen years ago. The only problem is, Slaton is pretty sure he killed Samir the last time he saw him.
Meanwhile, the Islamic State is hellbent on carrying out a large-scale attack. For the savage terror group, who has suffered one setback after another, the only way to regain their footing and strong-arm the West into entering the war they have tried so hard to ignite is to deal France a devastating blow.
Leaving his family behind, Slaton heads off to make sense of things and find out the truth about Samir. His first stop is to visit his former employer in Israel, and then he heads to Paris. Along the way, he finds plenty of trouble as he attempts to put the puzzle pieces together.
Larsen keeps his foot on the gas pedal, delivering another explosive, high-energy thriller. Slaton, a cross between Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon and Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne, is one of the genre’s most underrated protagonists. Larsen has developed his flawed but lethal character very well over the course of four novels, all of which are highly entertaining.
Ward Larsen mixes thrilling action sequences with a smart plot, making Assassin’s Code a perfect pick for fans of political and espionage thrillers.
Book Details
Author: Ward Larsen
Series: David Slaton #4
Pages: 368 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 0765385805
Publisher: Forge Books
Release Date: August 22, 2017
Book Spy Rating: 6.5/10
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