Assassination Games

Critics called Zach Franz's first spy thriller, Racing Orion, "one long, relentless, hair-raising chase" (Kirkus Reviews). Now he enters the realm of Clive Cussler and Robert Ludlum with Assassination Games, a breakneck, worldwide adventure featuring embattled CIA agent Jeremy Kent. How can one bullet kill ten million men? The seeds of such a riddle sprout from a New Orleans cemetery, where, in the wake of a hostage standoff, a grave slab is found with a list etched into its timeworn stone. Not only does each entry correspond to a successful assassination-every word was added before the first death took place. And the killers aren't finished. Enter Kent, who must follow a centuries-old trail of clues to discover the assassins' identity before the next date on the list threatens to spark World War III. From the western edge of Europe, to Canada, to southeast Asia and around again, Kent is in a globetrotting race against time-with pockets of deadly resistance waiting in ambush at every stop. Meanwhile, his girlfriend Allison Shaw is on a cruise that Kent couldn't make, with friends that don't know his secrets like she does. Between placating her shipmates and fending off the charms of a shady admirer, she has to decide if being with Kent is worth the pain of separation-or worse. In his own way, Kent must do the same. Because, in the end, life is more precarious than either of them can possibly imagine.

Ideal for readers interested in general fiction.