Assassin is the third novel of the Samuel Carver series by English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 thriller writer, Tom Cain

Tom Cain (author)

David Thomas , better known by the pen name Tom Cain, is an English journalist and author of a series of thriller novels based around the fictional character Samuel Carver.-Biography:...

, released on 2nd July 2009 through Bantam Press

Bantam Press

Bantam Press is an imprint of Transworld Publishers which is a British publishing division of Random House.It is based on Uxbridge Road in Ealing near Ealing Broadway station, the same address as Transworld....

.

Plot

This novel takes place twelve years after the previous Samuel Carver novel, with Carver having spent the years a security consultant. The plot of the novel centres round a copycat killer attempting to implicate Carver in the assassination of America's first black president, and Carvers efforts to stop him.

Reception

The book was well received, with critics praising it's fast-paced action and complex plot.

Sarah Broadhurst of Lovereading stated that she thinks Cain "comes mighty close" to reaching the standard of thriller writing attained by Lee Child

Lee Child

Jim Grant , better known by his pen name Lee Child, is a British thriller writer. His wife Jane is a New Yorker, and they currently live in New York state. His first novel, Killing Floor, won the Anthony Award for Best First Novel....

 in his Jack Reacher

Jack Reacher

Jack Reacher is a fictional character created by British author Jim Grant who writes under the pen name of Lee Child.-Biographical information:...

 series; a large influence on Cain; and states that the novel is "Terrific stuff. Highly recommended.". This praised was echoed by Roddy Brooks, writing for the Coventry Telegraph, who found the finale to be "nerve-jangling"; the novel as a whole to be a "fast-moving thriller"; and stated that "Cain is a master of the genre.".

The Daily Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...

s Jeremy Jehu was a little more critical. Referring to the twelve-year jump in the characters story, Jehu stated that "[Cain's] solution in this third Carver romp is an act of either outrageous chutzpah

Chutzpah

Chutzpah is the quality of audacity, for good or for bad, but it is generally used negatively. The Yiddish word derives from the Hebrew word , meaning "insolence", "audacity". The modern English usage of the word has taken on a broader meaning, having been popularized through vernacular use in...

or unmitigated cheek."; however also states that "Cain still rattles out a punchy yarn, but fans might well feel taken for a ride – albeit an exciting one.".