Hour of the Assassin

A Novel

By: Matthew Quirk

Narrated by: Will Damron

Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

"Quirk has earned his spot in the front ranks of thriller writers. Opens with a bang and keeps exploding for three hundred pages." (David Baldacci, New York Times best-selling author of A Minute to Midnight)

Framed and on the run for his life, a former Secret Service agent discovers how far some men will go to grasp the highest office in the land in this electrifying tale from the author of The Night Agent - a propulsive political thriller reminiscent of the best early Baldacci and Grisham novels.

As a Secret Service agent, Nick Averose spent a decade protecting the most powerful men and women in America and developed a unique gift: the ability to think like an assassin. Now, he uses that skill in a little-known but crucial job. As a "red teamer", he poses as a threat, testing the security around our highest officials to find vulnerabilities - before our enemies can. He is a mock killer, capable of slipping past even the best defenses.

His latest assignment is to assess the security surrounding the former CIA director at his DC area home. But soon after he breaches the man's study, the home's inner sanctum, Nick finds himself entangled in a vicious crime that will shake Washington to its foundations - as all the evidence points to Nick.

Nick knows he's the perfect scapegoat. But who is framing him, and why? To clear his name, he must find the truth - a search that leads to a dark conspiracy whose roots stretch back decades. The prize is the most powerful position in the world: the Oval Office.

To save himself and the people he loves, Nick must stop the men who rule Washington before they bury him along with their secrets.

"This one is a gritty, intense political thriller, filled with nuance and dire exploits. Totally entertaining. A treat from start to finish." (Steve Berry, author of The Malta Exchange)

©2020 Matthew Quirk (P)2020 HarperAudio

Wrapped up at the very end

Great thriller and kept you guessing the entire time. I wish the author didn’t wait till the very end to answer all the questions.

Good but a bit draggy

Good story but dragged a bit. I love most of this authors work though, will definitely read the next.

Too much preaching

This would have been a very exciting, satisfying story if the author had cut out half of the preaching. After the reader grasped his views on crooked politics he just kept on and on - reiterating his views ad nauseam.

Disappointing

I expected much more out of the main character who was introduced as someone that was very capable but really disappointed. The story did not progress well and the ending was very disappointing.

From start to finish!

Heart-rate elevating start leading to relief, then BAM! all the trouble begins! So many corrupt people! Friendships betrayed.

The story lost a star for 2 simplistic or unreal parts: he found the key lady way too easily, and the whole interaction with his wife was weird. He loves her madly, but she did not show well in this story, and he did not treat her as he should have if he trusted and loved her so much. The interaction between the politicos was wonderful but sad.

Narration was great.

Fast paced!

Fast paced read. Decent overall. Performance was good. Found it to be a tad short for a thriller but finished on a good note.

First Time Listener of this Author

This is a great book. Not "on the edge of your seat" but very engaging all the way through.

Great paced story

I love a story that I can’t wait to get back to listen to! The narrator did a great job differentiating between characters.

Ok Story

I thought the story was ok but it didn't consistently keep my interest. the main character was a little wooden. The intrigue was not sustainable. The performance of the narrator was what kept me listening hoping for a better ending.

Surprisingly good :)

Most of the books I have tried this past year with only a couple hundred or less reviews have been very disappointing, regardless of how high those ratings were. So I had no great expectation for Matthew Quirk's 'Hour of the Assassin', but I was very happy with this purchase! From the start it was interesting and flowed well. Character development was minimal but adequate for an action/thriller. There were some things that happened with no explanation of how they were done or possible that strained credulity, but it was not overly problematic for me. While not to the same level as a Grey Man, Mitch Rap, Jack Reacher, or Orphan X series, this book was enjoyable - much more so than many other lesser known authors in this space.