I was looking through my bookcase for something to read recently and discovered Daniel Silva’s second book, The Mark of the Assassin. This contemporary spy thriller features Michael Osbourne, a former field agent, who now rides a desk in the Langley, VA headquarters of the CIA. His mission is to uncover and neutralize an assassin whose modus operandi is three bullets in the face of his victims.
What sets Michael off on this adventure is the crash of Transatlantic Airlines Flight 002 off the coast of Long Island. Found floating in a Boston Whaler near where the plane crashed is the body of a terrorist with three bullets in his face and an empty Stinger missile tube. Several years earlier, Michael’s fiance had been shot the same way right in front of Michael.
Michael’s wife Elizabeth is a lawyer in a Washington, DC law firm and one of the partners in the firm is about to be named Secretary of State. A friend of Elizabeth is a reporter for the Washington Post and she is working on a story that will negatively impact President James Beckwith’s second term as POTUS. The highest levels of the U.S. government may be infected with traitors. During Michael’s investigation, characters from Silva’s first book, The Unlikely Spy, make cameo appearances. The reader finds out who the assassin is before Michael does but that doesn’t lessen the suspense.
If you are a fan of great spy thrillers or a fan of really good storytelling, then this book is for you. GO! BUY! READ!
—Jim Harris, retired book sales rep
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