The Killer

Victor the Assassin Series, Book 1

By: Tom Wood

Narrated by: Rob Shapiro

Forget James Bond. Forget Jason Bourne. Forget Jack Bauer.

Meet Victor. He's an assassin - a man with no past and no surname. He lives alone. He operates alone. He's given a job; he takes out the target; he gets paid. He's The Killer.

Victor arrives in Paris to perform a standard kill and collect for an anonymous client. He completes it with trademark efficiency - only to find himself in the middle of an ambush and fighting for his life. Pursued by determined enemies, a woman too beautiful to be safe, and intelligence agencies from both sides of the Atlantic, Victor will soon discover there is nowhere left for him to hide...and no one he can trust. But he is every bit as ruthless as those hunting him. And Victor will find out who wants him dead and why - one corpse at a time.

©2010 Tom Hinshelwood (P)2013 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A superlative fiction debut.... Nonstop action that veers and twists from one ferocious gun battle, double cross, and betrayal to the next.... Thriller fans will be eager to see more from this bright new talent." ( Publishers Weekly)

THIS IS A THREE FOR...

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

It is hard to find good books and I have listen to all three in this series and would recommend it to anyone wanting to be entertained for hours.... When I do a review I like to name some of my favorite authors to explain the type of books I enjoy , Vince Flynn, Lee Childs, Barry Eisler, Jack Campbell, and John Ringo to name a few....

What did you like best about this story?

It pulls you in from the start and doesn't let you go....

What does Rob Shapiro bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Rob Shapiro brings Victor and the other characters to life. I will now use his name to search and see what else might be interesting...

Just missed being really good

Just missed being great so it was just good. Reader performed well at times and seemed bored at times, seems he thought some fight scenes and the car chase lasted too long. The one thing that really got me was the interaction of Victor and Rebecca but he missed on that too.

He's no hero but you like him away

I enjoyed this book. I gave this story four stars because although the story was engrossing and the characters believable some of their actions were a little difficult to comprehend. The first character introduced in the book was described as a mild-mannered man with a loving wife at home. We were led to believe he was an analyst type but by the end of the book we were asked to believe he was capable of things that really did not flow with his initial character. It would not have been so disturbing if it had not been a pivotal part of the story.

Victor is no hero but I was constantly seeing him as such. I rallied around him and wanted him to succeed although it left a guilty feeling in the pit of my stomach that I was cheering on a 'killer, someone who does nothing else with his life but kill people. Victor is portrayed with very little humanity but the author makes it work and the story is very entertaining.

The narrator is very accomplished and I thoroughly enjoyed his performance. I will look for him in other works as he brought this book to life.

At First.....

When I started this book I almost went on to another book mainly because of the narrator I felt he was to boring but as I listened I started to appreciate what he was doing with this character and all the others characters. I love the author I love the series I love the narrator.

Great book?!

It was fast paced and we'll written, just got a little uggish for a few middle chapters. Looking forward to book 2.

suspense!

this is great read! a real page turner! Rebecca being killed was a surprise. I should have known-she asked too many questions.

Must be the choreography

Why this predictably plotted story of a one-dimensional antihero working against a world of really flat bad guys keeps anyone's interest is the real mystery here. On the other hand, the not too gory fight and flight scenes are cinematic and there are plenty of them. The performer is top notch. Maybe if you aren't expecting great literature, you will find it as entertaining as I did.

Great Series "Starter"

I am always looking for new series worth my listening. This one fits the bill. It is hard to understand how I can find a paid assassin to be the "good guy", but Victor is just that. It is not that he has particularly high morals - after all he kills strictly for money - but he does follow a code. I am eager to get into the entire series. The only negative is that an action-packed portion of the book, that would be very exciting in a movie, loses something in a book. There is too much detail in these events and the detail adds nothing to the story line and is sometimes difficult to follow. When listening, I find it better to "bottom line" some portions of a book in order to advance the story line. I did enjoy the various characters as well as the "dig" at the CIA.

Great Read!

First book I’ve read by Tom Woods, had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. Rob said Parrow also done excellent job narrating.

Fast paced. No breaks in action

This book held my interest from the first to the last page. No downtime here. Can’t wait for book 2