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Scimitar
While the NYPD attempts to solve the murders of two British nationals found with green swords tattooed on their chests, the Feds track down a Middle East death squad in the U.S. Reprint.
400 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
3 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
John Abbott
1 book5 followersBorn and raised as Salvatore Lombino in New York City.
Legally changed name to his pseudonym Evan Hunter.
Best known by his pseudonym Ed McBain.
Legally changed name to his pseudonym Evan Hunter.
Best known by his pseudonym Ed McBain.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 4, 2025
Credited as being authored by "John Abbott" this book was actually written by author Evan Hunter, whose born name was Salvatore Albert Lombino, and whose more common pen name was "Ed McBain" author of the series of 87th Precinct crime procedural novels. "Scimitar" is an action novel about a lethal and probably sociopathic Libyan terrorist on an assassination mission. Scimitar is the fictional name of the terrorist group the villain "Sonny" Krishnan Hemkar belongs to. He is a doctor, and has lived in the United States for many years, despising the country in his soul, and perpetrating several acts of murder over the years here. He also however, has a near pathological desire (and ability) to bed women whenever he sees one he wants. Sonny's success rate at this is pretty uncanny under author Abbott's depiction, affording him many opportunities for sex scenes between Sonny and women who find him almost irresistibly handsome.
This book could have been so much better, but was still fairly entertaining as it stood. Maybe that sounds like an obvious statement, as after all, couldn't every book be potentially much better, but I would argue, that no, many books are so good they couldn't be much better. But with "Scimitar", although it has many things going well for it, does indeed have a lot of room for improvement.
So what was good about it? For one thing, the book has a very good ear for dialogue. I would say even better than the average book. The characters spoke in very believable ways it seemed to me, and also with some wit at appropriate times from certain characters. There was a very believable feel in how characters engaged with each other through dialogue.
Another good thing about the book was that it presented some plots points in a pleasingly surprising twist. While the get-going was maybe a little slower than it could have been in the first 30 or so page, it very quicker hitches up the pace at about 50 pages in. And the reading does flow well from that point on.
Sometimes it does feel as though Abbott has thrown a few too many characters into the pot, particularly from a law enforcement standpoint. The number of detectives, FBI investigators, CIA agents, not to mention the number of British consulate officials, piles up so much that sometimes you're not quite sure who was who. "Wait who is this guy again? A detective?, a Secret Service guy? I'll just keep reading..."
Sonny's assignment we learn is a big one. A huge one. And part of the interest becomes reading about his planning to achieve the goal. His collecting the things he needs to pull off the job is interesting, how he puts these physical props together, along with how exactly he will proceed with the plan once he has all his gear put together. All that kind of stuff is fun reading. And also fun is seeing how all the investigators are tiptoeing around all the clues and you wait for someone to put things together and figure out what is going on. There are three murders that if they could just realize are linked, would've helped them. And there is a tattoo of a scimitar that one young woman knows about but has no suspicion of how that tattoo is related to anything other than the added mysterious attraction on a lover it has for her. So there's that suspense you experience in scenes where the tattoo is almost mentioned in a conversation and you await anxiously for that moment when someone says, "What?! Did you say a scimitar? A TATTOO of a scimitar!!!???"
Here's the biggest downer in the plot though, at least for me. There is one HUMONGOUS coincidence involving the close relationship between two characters that our villain encounters and doesn't suspect are linked. When you realize the link between the two you think, "Oh jeez, I hope there's a clever and surprising explanation for why this has happened and that it's not just a coincidence." But no. It is just that. A nearly impossible coincidence. Lazy writing. Ugh.
Speaking of coincidences, here's one. I finished reading this book on the very date that the climax of the book occurs. But heck what are the odds of that? Only 365 to 1? The key coincidence in "Scimitar" is about 300 million to 1? 400 million to 1? Something like that.
This book could have been so much better, but was still fairly entertaining as it stood. Maybe that sounds like an obvious statement, as after all, couldn't every book be potentially much better, but I would argue, that no, many books are so good they couldn't be much better. But with "Scimitar", although it has many things going well for it, does indeed have a lot of room for improvement.
So what was good about it? For one thing, the book has a very good ear for dialogue. I would say even better than the average book. The characters spoke in very believable ways it seemed to me, and also with some wit at appropriate times from certain characters. There was a very believable feel in how characters engaged with each other through dialogue.
Another good thing about the book was that it presented some plots points in a pleasingly surprising twist. While the get-going was maybe a little slower than it could have been in the first 30 or so page, it very quicker hitches up the pace at about 50 pages in. And the reading does flow well from that point on.
Sometimes it does feel as though Abbott has thrown a few too many characters into the pot, particularly from a law enforcement standpoint. The number of detectives, FBI investigators, CIA agents, not to mention the number of British consulate officials, piles up so much that sometimes you're not quite sure who was who. "Wait who is this guy again? A detective?, a Secret Service guy? I'll just keep reading..."
Sonny's assignment we learn is a big one. A huge one. And part of the interest becomes reading about his planning to achieve the goal. His collecting the things he needs to pull off the job is interesting, how he puts these physical props together, along with how exactly he will proceed with the plan once he has all his gear put together. All that kind of stuff is fun reading. And also fun is seeing how all the investigators are tiptoeing around all the clues and you wait for someone to put things together and figure out what is going on. There are three murders that if they could just realize are linked, would've helped them. And there is a tattoo of a scimitar that one young woman knows about but has no suspicion of how that tattoo is related to anything other than the added mysterious attraction on a lover it has for her. So there's that suspense you experience in scenes where the tattoo is almost mentioned in a conversation and you await anxiously for that moment when someone says, "What?! Did you say a scimitar? A TATTOO of a scimitar!!!???"
Here's the biggest downer in the plot though, at least for me. There is one HUMONGOUS coincidence involving the close relationship between two characters that our villain encounters and doesn't suspect are linked. When you realize the link between the two you think, "Oh jeez, I hope there's a clever and surprising explanation for why this has happened and that it's not just a coincidence." But no. It is just that. A nearly impossible coincidence. Lazy writing. Ugh.
Speaking of coincidences, here's one. I finished reading this book on the very date that the climax of the book occurs. But heck what are the odds of that? Only 365 to 1? The key coincidence in "Scimitar" is about 300 million to 1? 400 million to 1? Something like that.
November 29, 2020
I was gonna give this book one star, because of the scattered writing style and racist quips throughout, not to mention how the author wrote every woman in this book as annoying, dumb, or ugly. The only redeeming point was that there wasn’t much unnecessary filler, so the book was fairly fast-paced and I finished it quickly.
Ultimately, this book was trash and I’ll be happy if I never lay my eyes on it again.
Ultimately, this book was trash and I’ll be happy if I never lay my eyes on it again.
March 29, 2022
I first read this a long time ago. I love how the author built up and pieced together the interconnecting scenes.
The villain was very likeable in a way that must have been original back when the book came out. Predictable ending but still fun to read.
The villain was very likeable in a way that must have been original back when the book came out. Predictable ending but still fun to read.
April 5, 2018
I really liked the ending.
July 4, 2018
What a huge disappointment! This novel was exciting and suspenseful with plot twists UNTIL the final 20 pages when it stumbled and collapsed into an utterly boring anti-climax.
Read
September 11, 2019Terrible, poorly written, stupid plot
February 6, 2020
One of the best thrillers!
April 5, 2020
An okay book for a quick read without getting bogged down in details and deep thoughts. A little superficial.
December 7, 2025
Tremendous!
**** 4 Stars.
**** 4 Stars.
November 13, 2007
Easy reading thriller about Arab terrorists before they turned out to be far more dangerous in real life. Excellent book.
March 30, 2010
An above-average assassination thriller. It held my interest.
November 30, 2010
An entertaining assassin thriller. Very amusing although a touch dated. Recommend for people who like a good terrorist thriller. =)
February 27, 2011
Very good terrorist book.
December 13, 2013
NOT good
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews