Many thought that former Mossad agent David Slaton was dead, which is just the way he wanted it. But when a hit team shows up to take him out, he realizes that his secret is out, and it’s time for him to respond.
David Slaton has traded in his life as an assassin for the Mossad, Israeli’s premier foreign intelligence service, and is currently living under the radar in Malta. Everyone he knows and loves, including his wife and former colleagues, believe him to be dead. That helps him stay off of the radar of enemies he made over the years.
Or at least it did.
After going to great lengths to fake his death and disappear, someone found out he was still breathing and sent a team of killers to change that. Slaton barely escapes, skillfully evading the assassins. With nowhere to go and no clue who sent a team to kill him, Slaton goes on the run.
His quest to find out who wants him dead will take him across several continents, where a young and motivated CIA officer notices a trail of dead bodies and beings to investigate what’s going on.
At the same time that Slaton is on the run, a plane crashes off the coast of brazil under mysterious circumstances. With help from an investigator, the CIA begins to see a connection between the plane crash and the dead bodies turning up in Slade’s wake. Readers will struggle to put the puzzle pieces together, much like the fictional CIA agents, which is part of the plot-driving fun.
Ward Larson is a very underrated writer and has quietly developed a fantastic new character just three books into his latest series. Slade has much in common with Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon, except that he’s younger and bigger. While the plot jumps around a bit here, after a slow start (minus the assassination attempt on Slade’s life), things do eventually come together. Once that happens, and Larson finds his sweet spot, the story comes to life and takes off in a big way.
The conspiracy angle provides suspense and will readers guessing. But the action is the bread and butter here, and Larson brings enough to fill even the hungriest of action-starved readers.
My thoughts
I like David Slade, but I’m not ready to mention him amongst the genre’s heavyweights quite yet. Wade Larson is growing as an author, and his books do keep getting better. It’ll be interesting to see what he comes up with next.
Assassin’s Silence is a pretty solid spy thriller, but it’s not great. Larson is trending upward, and he’s certainly someone to keep an eye on.
Book Details
Author: Ward Larson
Pages: 400 (Hardcover)
Publisher: Forge Books
Release Date: May 3, 2016 (Order Now!)