The Mark of the Assassin (U)

Daniel Silva, author of 1997's surprise New York Times bestseller The Unlikely Spy, returns with a bigger, bolder, razor-sharp suspense masterpiece. When Michael Osbourne of the CIA is called in to investigate the terrorist bombing of an airliner off the coast of Long Island, there is only one relevant clue that drives him a body found in the water near the crash site with three bullet holes in its face. That is the mark of a deadly assassin named October, whom Osbourne has faced before, a man whose existence has never been proven but who, Osbourne knows, is responsible for the murder of a woman Osbourne loved years ago. When Osbourne gets on the trail of the assassin, he finds himself getting closer and closer to solving the puzzle of the airline crash and to the frightening truth of the people who are the assassin's employers while putting himself and his loved ones in the sights of the most fearsome man on earth.Library JournalFor his second thriller, Silva turns from World War II (The Unlikely Spy) to a modern intelligence milieu with corrupt government officials and wealthy special interests. The title character, October, is a contract master assassin released by the KGB 30 years ago. CIA agent Michael Osbourne, a terrorism expert, saw October kill his girlfriend and badly wants to capture him. Then the investigation of a missile-downed airliner off the coast of Long Island reveals a body with three shots to the faceOctober's signature. Osbourne's need to attend to his marriage while trying to stop October's completion of a multiple-hit contract and to uncover those financing it lead to a violent denouement. With concise, vivid character sketches, Silva weaves a swiftly paced, internationally tangled plot. Fans of Ludlum and Forsyth will look for this Literary Guild selection.-- Louise Saylor, formerly with Eastern Washington Univ,. Libs., Cheney