*trigger warnings*
Wow, I loved-hated this book. For every heart wrenching death or torture scene that has to happen in a book of assassins, the reader finds themselves further entrenched in the characters need for survival. I don’t typically read this type of book, but I really appreciated book 1, and I wanted to continue the series.
While book one of this series focused on one character, The Assassin’s Sin focuses on several. This diversity of perspectives helped the book avoid the dreaded second book slump typical in a series. Two of those perspectives are very strong, female characters who are different enough on the page that you don’t get confused on whose head you are in. What I love about these characters is how flawed they are, and yet I want to root for them. The tragedy that ensues baffled me over and over again. The author is spectacular at putting characters in their worst case scenarios and twisting the knife. Sometimes literally.
One thing the author does really well is write absolutely disturbing bad guys that are easy to hate. This book is no exception. Rufus gave me the ultimate Bernie jeebies with good reason.
I would be remiss if I did not mention that the characters curse a lot, and it will bother some people. Thankfully, sex scenes are fade to black.