The Perfect Assassin
by K.A. Doore
Chronicles of Ghadid #1
Published: March 19, 2019
Tor Books
*I was provided a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
Divine justice is written in blood.
Or so Amastan has been taught. As a new assassin in the Basbowen family, he’s already having second thoughts about taking a life. A scarcity of contracts ends up being just what he needs.
Until, unexpectedly, Amastan finds the body of a very important drum chief. Until, impossibly, Basbowen’s finest start showing up dead, with their murderous jaan running wild in the dusty streets of Ghadid. Until, inevitably, Amastan is ordered to solve these murders, before the family gets blamed.
Every life has its price, but when the tables are turned, Amastan must find this perfect assassin or be their next target.
I had high hopes for this book, it’s about a family of assassins after all. I love me some assassin. Stealth kills. Yes, please.
This story, kicking off the first in a series, doesn’t really have much killing. It’s more mystery than fantasy. There is magic, and spirits where the dead if not gotten to in time, their spirits, or jaan, become enraged looking for the life they had and cause havoc and damage, even kill.
It was a bit slow going at the start, and didn’t get good until almost halfway in. There is a bit of male with male romance, but it’s very subtle as our main character, Amastan, is still trying to understand what he feels. I was a little sad to see how this romance works out for Amastan, but that would give away the ending and I’m not about to do that.
In the beginning, Amastan is learning to be an assassin only to find the leaders have outlawed assassinations. He is somewhat relieved at this as he didn’t know if he would be able to take a life if it actually came down to it. But then he finds a body, which turns out to be one of the family. Trying to keep things quiet, he is left with the responsibility of finding who did it and turning them over. This is where things are slow as plot and characters are developed for the reader. If you stick with it, I do think you are rewarded.
Overall, I gave this 4 stars on Goodreads, and do recommend this. I think I would recommend it more for the mystery lover though as I said earlier, the fantasy elements are a bit light.
