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The Assassin
Max Doerr lives in New York with his wife, working as an editor for a newspaper. He has a son from his previous marriage. But He has a secret in his past life that he never told his wife. Then suddenly his son is killed brutally. Grief stricken, he tries to find his son's killer but to no avail. The pain is too much and he sees his wife suffering too. Doerr tells his wife to go and spend some time with her mother. His CIA past comes back to him and he gets involved in a vortex of murder and international crime, and finds out that his son’s death was the beginning of a much bigger conspiracy.
421 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 5, 2013
88 people are currently reading
306 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
February 12, 2014
Dnf at 41% when I read this:
A bullet came out of Al Hashemi's Beretta and it hit Doerr's hip, shattering the bone. Doerr dropped to the ground, his vision blurring with the pain.....
Okay so far, but then I read THIS in the next paragraph:
Doerr dragged himself onto unsteady feet.
WTF??? EVER seen anyone with a shattered hip?? Standing is the last thing you can do. I can suspend disbelief for a lot of things, but not this.
(This incredible Alphamale then goes on to tuck his gun into his belt, turns round, - ON ONE LEG??? - takes out his phone and makes a phone call in which he says 'I've been hit'- rolling eyes here with the sheer stupidity of it )
At this point I gave up.
A bullet came out of Al Hashemi's Beretta and it hit Doerr's hip, shattering the bone. Doerr dropped to the ground, his vision blurring with the pain.....
Okay so far, but then I read THIS in the next paragraph:
Doerr dragged himself onto unsteady feet.
WTF??? EVER seen anyone with a shattered hip?? Standing is the last thing you can do. I can suspend disbelief for a lot of things, but not this.
(This incredible Alphamale then goes on to tuck his gun into his belt, turns round, - ON ONE LEG??? - takes out his phone and makes a phone call in which he says 'I've been hit'- rolling eyes here with the sheer stupidity of it )
At this point I gave up.
February 11, 2014
Not finishing. Got the book free at Amazon. The author did all the trouble of writing a book. He got it published. Good for him! As for me- the writing is sloppy and badly edited too. Huge time lapses jump ahead in a single sentence. I got to the point where I no longer care about the characters. I am just going to smile snd wave in passing!..
March 2, 2014
The story was entertaining, but the grammar and spelling were horrible. How did this book ever get approved for printing?
April 24, 2014
As other reviews have said, the plot was good but this book was poorly written and poorly edited. The characters were just names and the author made no attempt to develop their personalities for the reader. Don't waste your time reading this book.
February 3, 2018
Good read
Complex plot mixed with believable characters create an "I can't put it down" story. I'm not quite sure Max really knows what he wants. But I feel sure his handlers will keep him focused where they want him to be.
Complex plot mixed with believable characters create an "I can't put it down" story. I'm not quite sure Max really knows what he wants. But I feel sure his handlers will keep him focused where they want him to be.
Read
October 15, 2013As with his debut novel, Jay Deb spins a complex narrative with intriguing characters in this high octane action thriller.
Terrorism, trechery and a tortured father, trying to avenge the murder of his teenage son, make this novel quite a fast paced read. A number of threads are woven together to make a rope of story that ties itself off with a knot of realization for the protagonist, Max Doerr at the end. I liked the way the ending was left open, and I'd be hopeful to see more about this character in the future.
Terrorism, trechery and a tortured father, trying to avenge the murder of his teenage son, make this novel quite a fast paced read. A number of threads are woven together to make a rope of story that ties itself off with a knot of realization for the protagonist, Max Doerr at the end. I liked the way the ending was left open, and I'd be hopeful to see more about this character in the future.
January 6, 2014
“Assassins” by Jay Deb is a very past paced and gripping thriller with some excellent characters. Doerr is a former CIA agent whose life changes when his son is killed. Out to seek revenge he joins forces with the law enforcement to hunt the killer down. The adventurous hunt takes him to exotic locations and he comes across a cast of international spy and crime players.
This is an action packed thriller with a great narrative and intelligent plotting. If spy and conspiracy thrillers are for you then look no further. This book has a lot going for it.
This is an action packed thriller with a great narrative and intelligent plotting. If spy and conspiracy thrillers are for you then look no further. This book has a lot going for it.
February 17, 2014
This book is ok. Sadly, I figured out "who did it very early on the book. I think the main character needed more development so you would like him. a couple side characters were well developed, but we're only in the book for just a bit.
February 7, 2014
Mixed feelings about this book,good story and moves with a fast pace with lots of twist and turns,the edit of this book was not good and the grammar leaves a lot to be desired,if you can get passed this then don't pass it over,give the book a try.
February 23, 2014
Great spy book. Nicely written.
Great spy book. Nicely written.
Great Spy novel. The story revolves around the Al-Qaeda and the damage they are planning to ensure on Washington. The CIA gets involved on a International
Great spy book. Nicely written.
Great Spy novel. The story revolves around the Al-Qaeda and the damage they are planning to ensure on Washington. The CIA gets involved on a International
February 17, 2014
The book is okay, but it seems to have at least 4 stories going without much cohesiveness. Parts of it are very good, some not so much.
March 27, 2014
Full of cliche and predictability. The sheer number of grammar and spelling errors was enough to turn me off. Seemed very amateur. Characters were very one dimensional.
July 24, 2014
the story is compelling...but the writing and editing are sloppy at best....downright unreadable in most spots. unfortunate because there was a lot of potential
January 28, 2015
A free book from Bookbub and a very enjoyable spy thriller.
April 10, 2021
READING “THE ASSASSIN” SHOWS WHY GOOD RESEARCH & A GREAT STORY EDITOR ARE IMPORTANT IF YOU WANT TO WRITE
Jay Deb had an excellent premise when he started out with the concept for “The Assassin“. Unfortunately, the end result is less than I would have expected from a ‘Professional’ Writer.
The story was written with too many grammatical, syntax, punctuation and other basic writing mistakes. I find these make a story very difficult to read, especially when the errors are glaring. Additionally, the timeline has inconsistencies that affect the flow of the story.
As for the actual story itself, I found the plausibility that the Protagonist, who has gone back to working for the C.I.A. divulges classified information to his wife, talks about the cases he’s working/has worked on numerous times on unsecured cellphones, and appears to have a whiny/self-indulgent character. It certainly shows poor research on the part of the author.
Finally, I found the dialogue and story-arc to be too naively simple. The Author writes about issue that are just too simple, coincidental, and contrived action/reactions that impact on character credibility.
Since getting my first Kindle Reader in 2007, I have read hundreds of crime/thriller/action novels. Since 2014, I have used Apple iPads. During this time, I received hundreds of free books from BookBub. I have discovered countless authors, both male & female, whose stories resulted in me purchasing all the books/series they wrote. Included in this list of authors are Dan Ames, Mark Dawson, Phil Ward, M. A. Comley, David Archer, Blake Banner, Russell Blake, Lee Child to name but a few.
The reason for their success is the did their homework before starting to write. They spoke to Federal/State/Local Law Enforcement to understand Police Procedures. They spoke to Lawyers/Doctors/Scientist for their expertise in their field of endeavor. And they spoke to Family/Friends/Relatives to read what they had written & to make Corrections/Edits/Notes that made the books better.
I have never given a rating this low before, nor have I written such a long, detailed review, but Mr. Deb - like I said in the beginning of this review- had an excellent premise.
Jay Deb had an excellent premise when he started out with the concept for “The Assassin“. Unfortunately, the end result is less than I would have expected from a ‘Professional’ Writer.
The story was written with too many grammatical, syntax, punctuation and other basic writing mistakes. I find these make a story very difficult to read, especially when the errors are glaring. Additionally, the timeline has inconsistencies that affect the flow of the story.
As for the actual story itself, I found the plausibility that the Protagonist, who has gone back to working for the C.I.A. divulges classified information to his wife, talks about the cases he’s working/has worked on numerous times on unsecured cellphones, and appears to have a whiny/self-indulgent character. It certainly shows poor research on the part of the author.
Finally, I found the dialogue and story-arc to be too naively simple. The Author writes about issue that are just too simple, coincidental, and contrived action/reactions that impact on character credibility.
Since getting my first Kindle Reader in 2007, I have read hundreds of crime/thriller/action novels. Since 2014, I have used Apple iPads. During this time, I received hundreds of free books from BookBub. I have discovered countless authors, both male & female, whose stories resulted in me purchasing all the books/series they wrote. Included in this list of authors are Dan Ames, Mark Dawson, Phil Ward, M. A. Comley, David Archer, Blake Banner, Russell Blake, Lee Child to name but a few.
The reason for their success is the did their homework before starting to write. They spoke to Federal/State/Local Law Enforcement to understand Police Procedures. They spoke to Lawyers/Doctors/Scientist for their expertise in their field of endeavor. And they spoke to Family/Friends/Relatives to read what they had written & to make Corrections/Edits/Notes that made the books better.
I have never given a rating this low before, nor have I written such a long, detailed review, but Mr. Deb - like I said in the beginning of this review- had an excellent premise.
March 8, 2019
Decent read
This book is a decent read. I am used to reading books that have more “meat” than this one. I do not know what it is like to be an author so I will not bash the work that has been done to write or publish this book. It has the foundation to become an outstanding and throttling series if more attention to detail and bigger twist in the plot are provided by the author.
This book is a decent read. I am used to reading books that have more “meat” than this one. I do not know what it is like to be an author so I will not bash the work that has been done to write or publish this book. It has the foundation to become an outstanding and throttling series if more attention to detail and bigger twist in the plot are provided by the author.
September 16, 2018
Review
Great read hard to put it down would like to read his next book if you had six stars I would give them to him
Great read hard to put it down would like to read his next book if you had six stars I would give them to him
April 21, 2025
A great read.
This is a great read and keeps you guessing at times. I would highly recommend it if you like excitement.
This is a great read and keeps you guessing at times. I would highly recommend it if you like excitement.
Read
August 2, 2025Yikes! Just, yikes (and not in a good way).
August 21, 2014
This is Jay Deb second thriller “Contrived” being the first. I received this book some time ago and luckily I had put it aside to read some others I had in backlog. This was a good move. Apparently, the first edition was riddled with errors and needless to say annoyed more than one reader. A later revision was issued to correct what reviewers had noticed and this is the version I read and I hardly noticed any of the slipping mistakes, if any at all.
With this cleared up. “The Assassin” is a real page turner and I am impressed how this author has grown since his first attempt. The style is still a bit chaotic and the dialogue too sophomoric and needs to mature subsequently. Not knowing anything about the CIA’s world I was easily drawn into the fast paced and gripping suspense and there is a lot of it. The characterization is varied and we have a very riveting lead man. The plot is good but is the run of the mill storyline with many gaps for us to fill and few flowery details to trip over.
Overall this novel is entertaining and is a thrill for anyone who enjoys fictionalized stories around of CIA and its operatives those hunting terrorists planning attacks in order to kill as many US citizens as possible.
With this cleared up. “The Assassin” is a real page turner and I am impressed how this author has grown since his first attempt. The style is still a bit chaotic and the dialogue too sophomoric and needs to mature subsequently. Not knowing anything about the CIA’s world I was easily drawn into the fast paced and gripping suspense and there is a lot of it. The characterization is varied and we have a very riveting lead man. The plot is good but is the run of the mill storyline with many gaps for us to fill and few flowery details to trip over.
Overall this novel is entertaining and is a thrill for anyone who enjoys fictionalized stories around of CIA and its operatives those hunting terrorists planning attacks in order to kill as many US citizens as possible.
June 21, 2015
Felt cheated
Reading is an elective exercise. Generally, it is leisure time. However, leisure time wasted is still wasted time. Mr. Deb wasted my time with an empty tale with a poorly developed plot, unsympathetic and poorly developed characters. I read hundreds of "thrillers". This will not be counted among them. I don't remember what I paid for this book.....but I feel cheated.
Reading is an elective exercise. Generally, it is leisure time. However, leisure time wasted is still wasted time. Mr. Deb wasted my time with an empty tale with a poorly developed plot, unsympathetic and poorly developed characters. I read hundreds of "thrillers". This will not be counted among them. I don't remember what I paid for this book.....but I feel cheated.
March 14, 2016
This book was ok at best. The story was fine but the characters were not developed very well and I struggled to finish the book. Also, the end of the book kind of threw too many things in at once without expounding on them enough. As other people have said it was probably the worst edited book I have read in my life. There was not a page in this book I don't believe that did not have either a mis-spelling, a grammatical error, or words missing. Very irritating.
June 2, 2016
Another tale of corruption in the CIA and terrorists plotting to kill us Infidels. The retired Assassin is coerced to comeback to the agency to go after Abu Halim but first is told to kill a man that he learns later was a DEA administrator gone bad. Some of the facts were not very realistic and the book tended to drag on with too much background and not enough action.
Read
February 6, 2014Interesting, thought provoking
The plot itself was good. The story started out strong but got a bit drawn out as it went along. The editing was horrible. There were words omitted or not removed, making reading, at times, distracting.
The plot itself was good. The story started out strong but got a bit drawn out as it went along. The editing was horrible. There were words omitted or not removed, making reading, at times, distracting.
February 14, 2014
Had a number of typos and the ending was a bit abrupt and felt unfinished. Other than that it wasn't a bad read.
November 27, 2015
Book was an OK read. Really wasn't very fluid. Started one way and ended in a totally different direction.
May 8, 2014
Ok but not great. Author not in the league with Vince Flynn or Tom Clancy IMHO
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews