Assassin 13: A Time Travel Thriller Set in a Dystopian Future and 1927 Prohibition Hollywood

By: Tom Reppert

Narrated by: Patricia Santomasso

Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's Summary

In the dystopian 22nd century, Lauren Ramirez is an Assassin 13, the best at her profession. Betrayed by her employer, the president of the United States, on an off-planet op, she escapes when her spacecraft hurtles through time and crash-lands in 1927 Prohibition Hollywood, with its silent film stars and bootlegging gangsters. She finds herself an alien in an alien land. 

Becoming friends with Pauline Windsor, one of Hollywood's top actresses and girlfriend of mafia chieftain Benny Sorrentino, thrusts Lauren into the middle of a gangland war. Even as she clings to her burning need for vengeance in the 22nd century, her relationship with the people she meets, stunt pilot boyfriend Remy Garnett, Pauline, and Pauline's young children, Rolly and Emmy, all begin to change the hard surface of her heart. Now she must decide whether to use her 22nd century talents and technology in their defense or abandon them to the vicious thugs and slip back into her own time to wreak vengeance on her enemies. 

“A striking tale...” (Kirkus Reviews)

©2018 Tom Reppert (P)2018 Tom Reppert

High Tech Assassin in Prohibition America

Lauren Ramirez is a high tech assassin accidentally sent back in time to the 1920's, when a job she is hired for goes wrong. The wormhole to take her home slowly closing, so Ramirez must repair her spaceship and get through it as quick as possible. But in the mean time she is befriending a local, a silent movie actress and her family, who are accidentally caught up with the local mobsters. She will have to choose between her new friends lives and her chance to go home.

The book opens with a tease set in the 1920's with Ramirez’s badly injured body being found, barely alive. It then jumps back (or forward) to the events in her life leading to that point – her childhood surviving in a dystopia, her becoming an assassin, and her fateful mission. The tease works well to set up some of the 1920’s characters and the time period most of the book will be set in before introducing the lead. In this way the jump into the 1920’s later in the book is eased, with some context for the characters already givens. It’s a literary device that serves the book really well.

Overall the story is well told, the characters are interesting, the future dystopia is interesting enough (although a little generic, but I guess that’s because not a huge amount of time in the book is spent there). The history of silent movies and prohibition is weaved into the story well. It has made me want to pick up a book about the silent movies and the transition to talkies.

Narration by Patricia Santomasso is well done. She provides a variety of voices for the characters, bringing the characters to life. She is clear, well paced and keeps the listener engaged. Overally very enjoyable work.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this review voluntarily.

Great time travel story

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This was an interesting time travel story. I really enjoyed the contrast between the distopian "present" and the 1920's. The characters are interesting and well developed. The premise was original and well executed. The narrator did a great job, as well. All in all, this was a great listen. I will definitely look for more from this author.

Too bad this is not a series!

I can't even begin to tell you what a wonderful journey this listen is. We start far into the future and the earth has changed. A lot. Enter Lauren. Her family changes overnight and she becomes one of the strongest females in the universe. Oh, and she is also obsessed with finding the bad guys. She ends up in the roaring 20's and her femme fatale badassness gets to shine. The male species was not prepared.

The narration was exceptional!! There were plenty of vocal challenges, one of the "characters" was an AI, and Santomasso handled all that with ease.

I don't think this is book one in a series. That's too bad because this incredibly well-written story needs to continue.

One of my recent favorites

I liked everything about this book! The story was interesting and the narration was great. I truly did not want this book to end while, at the same time, I couldn't put it down (thus hastening the end of the book).
I was fortunate to be able to receive this for free from the author with the understanding that I would provide my honest opinion .

I am a sucker for a good time-travel book. This one had a time travel aspect, but the story is truly carried along by believable, compelling characters and their stories. The protagonist in this book is an assassin and yet, in spite of that, you can identify with her and become invested in the story. I like a book that has lots of "shades of grey.". This one surely does.
The narration is great. Patricia Santomasso does a great job of bringing the character to life. Both female and male characters are identifiable and compelling. This was a great read.

A truely fasinating story

This is the story of a young girl who has been so scarred by the trauma of her youth that she becomes the worlds most dangerous assassin. She ends up being the personal assassin of the president of America and is sent to kill the vice president.

Upon making her escape from an attempt to remove her she and an AI are sent back into the past where she has to attempt to save some people she has grown close to.

The action of the story is fantastic with the story line holding your attention through the entire book. The narration is really great with a wide range of voices and emotion throughout.

This book was provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

A creative Time Travel Story

This story is too violent for my taste but it has a interesting story with a great variety of characters which makes it a worthwhile Audio Book.


The Narrator does a good job with the material and helps make the story come alive.




This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Brilliant a good listen/read

Assassin 13: A Time Travel Thriller.. A truly great read, gripping from first page to last, superb story line.
Loved it.
I was given a free copy of this audiobook at my own request, and voluntarily leave this review.

Now that's a GOOD story

This is the first book I have listened to by Tom Reppert...and I'm definitely a fan. Tom write a well thought out story with a lot of action. I enjoyed how he blended the past and the future and making it believable (for the most part). I would have liked to have had more humor from the A.I. but it still was very entertaining. Patricia Santomasso does an excellent job in narrating the story.

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

five star

compelling and interesting read. Looking forward to more from Tom. This book was provided to me in return for a review.

So Good that you don't want it to end.

Excellent audio! Intense on your seat action from the start. Great strong female lead that doesn't get stupid, or wishy washy. Love her star struck AI and the mention of past personalities, especially Wyatt. Hope to see a continuation of the book.
This book was given to me free, and I voluntarily gave this review.

Never give up. Trust your instincts.

In the dystopian future of 2116, a young teenage girl barely escapes the massacre of her father and friends, The Misfits, a travelling circus of 50 plus e!ephant. She vows revenge on the attackers and on the men who, three months before, had raped and killed her mother. Fifteen years later, she had become an assassin, one of the most feared in the world, but a betrayal by her employer forces her to attempt an escape which finally results in her arrival in 1927s Hollywood, and the home of silent movie star, Pauline, a time of glamour, prohibition and gangsters.

The book is a clever way of taking the reader to the glitter of the home of the Silent Screen with its excesses and overlarge personalities. The basic story is simple but exciting and a touch of humour is injected by Matt, a shuttle's A.I., who had managed to lodge in Lauren's head when she first arrived. There is also flirtatious romance, all very innocent. All was easy and enjoyable apart from the sometimes overlong 'name dropping' lists of Hollywood stars of the time.

Patricia Santomasso was the narrator of the book and she read with panache. Her pleasant to hear voice was well intoned and articulated, her character voicings distinctively different and appropriate. It was easy to identify all from her presentation of them. And the text, well paced, was read with understanding. A good performance.

My thanks to the rights holder of Assassin 13, who, at my request, freely gifted me a complimentary copy, via Audiobook Boom. It was enjoyably different although it did feel rushed towards the end. However, it was a fun experience, I loved the A.I. and wished he'd had a larger role. There are obviously opportunities for further stories based around the main protagonist, Lauren, should the author determine to write them. If he does, I will certainly be interested in reading them, especially if narrated again by Ms.Santomasso. A good read.