The Assassin

The Assassin is the fourth book in the Isabella Rose series by Mark Dawson, a prolific author of whom I’ve only recently become aware. While doing cliffhanger endings on the first three books which force the reader to the next novel if one wants to reach a conclusion, this one comes to an ending, sort of. At least it gets to a pause in what has been nonstop action through the first four books. Isabella is still only 16 or 17 years old at the conclusion of this one, but she is an intriguing character that kept me engaged in the series. Finally in this book, she becomes a central figure in the action as the bad guys are more clearly defined and then killed off one after the other. The writing and character development is good but not classic. The plot is somewhat believable, but there is something compelling, something I’ve not identified that is appealing about these stories. The novels are not stand-alone books like some writers of this genre. One must start at the beginning and work your way through them. I’m enamored enough with Dawson that I’ll probably go back to an earlier series, probably his Beatrix Rose series, Isabella’s mother, an assassin who taught Isabella her tradecraft.