Soul of the Assassin

This is the fourth book in the series and I am sorry to say that I feel that this is the weakest one thus far. I enjoyed the plot and it was nice that the Team was split up so that we could focus on some of the more peripheral characters for a while. Similarly, the suspense in the last section really picked up. Lastly, the intrigue of revolving around T-Rex's identity was refreshing. However, it seemed that this book moved considerably slower than its predecessors. There seemed to me to be several unnecessary scenes that didn't move the plot forward. Likewise, the First Team's almost immediate empathy for one of the bad guys seemed quite out of place. Lastly, the book seemed to me to end rather quickly - no-one seemed surprised or upset at the true identity of T-Rex... I do not mean for this to be a seriously negative review, however this novel just didn't seem to meet the standards of either of these two amazing writers. I think that the Bond/DeFelice team is wonderful and even their individual works are incredible. This is part of why I feel that this book was a letdown because of the high quality of work that these two men can put out. In conclusion, if you have been following the series this is a 3/5 continuation to the characters that you know and love. If you are new to this series however, please start at the beginning and work your way forward. It's only then that you can appreciate the writing and the action that preceded this work.

Larry Bond's First Team: Soul of the Assassin is an exciting book, with the First Team looking for a long-time assassin and stumbling into a terrorism plot the team managed to foil. Team leader Ferg is a great character as he silently battles cancer while doing a dangerous job. Much of the action takes place in Italy as the team goes after the assassin called T-Rex. The only flaw might be a little too much sympathy for the semi-bad guy who brings a biological weapon out of Russia.