• Assassin

  • Alex Hawke, Book 2
  • By: Ted Bell
  • Narrated by: John Shea
  • Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (1,718 ratings)

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Assassin  By  cover art

Assassin

By: Ted Bell
Narrated by: John Shea
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Publisher's summary

In an elegant palazzo on the Grand Canal, an American ambassador's tryst turns deadly. In the seamy underbelly of London, a pub-crawling killer is on the loose. And in a storybook chapel nestled in the Cotswolds, a marriage made in heaven turns to hell on earth.

Isolated incidents? Or links in a chain of events hurtling towards catastrophe? So begins Assassin, the tour de force thriller that heralds the return of every terrorist's worst nightmare: Alex Hawke.

A shadowy figure known as the Dog is believed to be the ruthless terrorist who is systematically and savagely assassinating American diplomats and their families around the globe. As the deadly toll mounts inexorably, Hawke, along with former NYPD cop and Navy SEAL Stokely Jones, is called upon by the U.S. government to launch a search for the assassin behind the murders.

Hawke, who "makes James Bond look like a 'slovenly, dull-witted clockpuncher'" (Kirkus Reviews), is soon following a trail that leads back to London in the go-go 90s, when Arab oil money fueled lavish, and sometimes fiendish, lifestyles. Other murky clues point to the Florida Keys, where a vicious killer hides behind the gates of a fabled museum, and to a remote Indonesian island where a madman tinkers with strains of a deadly virus and slyly bides his time.

Hawke must call upon resources deep within himself. He must enter a race against time to stop a cataclysmic attack on America's most populous cities and avenge the inexplicable and horrific crime that has left him devastated.

Take another thrill ride with Alex Hawke.
©2004 Theodore A. Bell (P)2005 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Assassin is the most highly imaginative thriller to come along in a long while. Ted Bell can really, really write." (James Patterson)

"Whether the novel is taken as a grown-up boy's book or a modern thriller, readers will be caught in the whirlwind of action and find themselves having a grand old time." (Publishers Weekly)

"Like Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, this series is a mix of over-the-top thrills and grounded characterizations. The mix is well served by Shea's efforts." (AudioFile)

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What listeners say about Assassin

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Good Yarn

I couldn't acquire the first title in the Hawke series, so I began Assassin hoping for something as gripping as other genre serials such as Vince Flynn's, Alex Berensen's, Andrew Peterson's or John Gilstrap's. If Assassin is accurate harbinger of what to expect with the remaining novels, I can expect to be modestly entertained, but not gripped. Also some my enjoyment arises from the authors constant development of the ridiculous like a Batman story, but unfortunately with the obvious intention of being straight-laced thriller. Except for the tights, Hawke is very much like Batman. He's extremely rich: apparently one of the richest men in England and has ample resources tools and sophisticated toys to fight evil; his parents were murdered by villains when he was a child; and the family's butler undertook raising him as a major role. But Batman wouldn't want to encounter his Lordship Hawke, since Hawke's hand-to-hand combat skills are unrivaled, he can out wrestle a killer 450 lb Sumo wrestler even while enduring the pain of broken ribs.

Thank God the U.S. President is his buddy, because even though he has the world's largest spy agency, strongest, largest and most mobile military in the world, and countless operatives, agents and spys, the U.S. is dependent on Hawke and his butler to save the world from terrorist villains. If you can put up with that- Ican- then like me, I think you'll find this book, and hopefully-series- entertaining enough. I do hope that author tightens up his writing a bit, there is far too much unnecessary descriptive narrative-not unlike a literary student trying to stretch a short story into full novel. Also a little disappointing is the thesis behind the villain's motivations. Most writers in this genre leverage social/political truths and history and expound in a unique direction. The Geopolitical accuracy rivals 4th grader's understanding. Another example of ridiculousness is Assassin's sole mad scientist. He's apparently a world class nuclear scientist and engineer cable of single-handedly developing a mini-nuclear devices that exceed or rival those of the U.S. while also developing other weapon's systems beyond the technical prowess of the West's combined private and political resources. On top of that ,It turns out that he's also a cutting edge bio-engineer as well.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not the Greatest

Three stars is probably a little generous for this book. It should probably be about 2 and a half. I kept asking myself, "Why are you listening to this?" There must be at least two good reasons. 1. It came alphabetically right after a book I had just finished listening to, and I was too lazy to change it, and 2. I was a little bit curious to see if it was any better than the first book I read by Ted Bell. I just kept letting it play, and I was happy to find that this book was written much better than "Hawke" had been. Maybe a large part of that was because of the narrator, John Shea. He is a good narrator and a fabulous story teller. He brought this book to life, which was no easy task.

See, I bought five Ted Bell books, two from audible, and three hard copies. After the first one, which I read, I was sick to my stomach about the other four because I figured they would be as big a waste of time as it had been. That must be the 3rd reason I kept listening to this book. I so wanted it to be worth listening to, so that I could justify buying FIVE BOOKS without knowing if I would even like them.

The story line was all adventure and intrigue, but not much in the way of symbolism, deep meaning, or much of anything beyond the surface story. There was somewhat less swearing in this book, although still way too much for my taste. The actual writing was much better, but it was still full of cliches and stock plot twists. I still can't say that I just really enjoyed the book. I zoned out of chunks of it, but I didn't seem to miss anything crucial. Still, there are some people who would love this book. I totally get that. I say to them, "Wanna buy a couple more???"

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Predictable and boring.

I'll give another vote to the narrator.

The characters are cliche and one dimensional. If Bell were a student he would be accused of plaguarising Ian Fleming's bond. The story was unbelievable and predictable and at times just made no sense. He gave entirely too much back story to the villain. As an 8 hour book it would have been simply unoriginal. The extra several hours only serves to bring it down from there.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

racist anyone?

The stereotypes of 'Muslim terrorists' get old, fast. The author doesn't know jack about Islamic history aside from what he researched about the hashishun. The narrator is awesome, which is the only reason I will finish this book. Other than that, I'm not impressed and was, at times insulted.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Entertaining

There are a lot of great ingredients that make this book a recommended listen: storyline, characters, multiple bad-guys .. and a great reader.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

All of Ted Bell's books are the best.

A great writer,whose entertaining books are a joy.The plot is wonderful,the characters funny and believable.coupled with John Shea amazing reader, ,it just does not get better than this.I have listened to all of Ted Bells books and wish there were more.

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  • Overall
    out of 5 stars

Boring!

Disappointing!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A pleasant surprise

I thoroughly enjoyed this gripping story.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Totally engaging!

Exciting read. Alex Hawke and his compadres wowed me once again. My only critique is that secondary storyline involving his fiancée could have been fleshed out more.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great series!

Found a new author and narrator! Great stories that keep you interested and wanting more!

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