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thecatsmother's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The Killing Kind is the first book in a series about Michael Hendricks, a former special ops assassin who only targets other hit men. I was halfway through book two (Red Right Hand) when the references to events from this one convinced me to download the audiobook, which we listened to in the car. It meant I was already spoiled for the outcome of this, which diluted the impact, but we both still enjoyed it. Unfortunately there is no sign of a third book so I guess this didn’t do well enough to persuade the author to keep writing.
Michael Hendricks lives in the shadows - after being declared dead following an explosion in Afghanistan, only his best friend Lester knows the truth. Together they provide a service where people can have a hit man eliminated - for ten times the bounty on their heads. When The Council, a nefarious criminal organisation, tire of having their hit men eliminated, they hire uber-sociopath Alexander Engelmann to track Hendricks down - and the hunter becomes the hunted…
While there’s nothing groundbreaking here, I liked the premise, the hero and the way it was written. The tension mounts towards some epic action sequences straight out of a Hollywood movie. We get both Hendricks’ and Engelmann’s perspectives - one killing to atone for his past, the other as his calling. There’s also Charlie, an FBI agent determined to catch her “ghost”. While there is violence including torture, and a fairly high body count, it’s not gratuitous.
Obviously I already knew how this would end, but not the details, but with this sort of book the outcome is never really in doubt. The audiobook narrator wasn’t my favourite, he reads competently but I didn’t particularly like his accent.
Recommended to fans of full-on action fiction - and here’s hoping the author does have some more adventures planned for Hendricks.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, and Torture
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