Reviewed by: Keith Nixon
Genre: Thriller / Mystery
Approximate word count: 50-55,000 words
Availability
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Author:
Richard Godwin is a widely published author, with a
focus on horror and crime, and a playwright. He has written two full length
novels – Apostle Rising and Mr Glamour and has contributed
multiple short stories to anthologies.
Description:
Jack is a
Royal Marine commando, a trained marksman and explosives expert, good at
reconnaissance, sabotage and using information. Needing finance Jack takes on a
hit for Luca Martoni, telling himself it would be just the one.
But before
he knows it Jack is a full time assassin, his stock on the rise, his fee
increasing all the time. But he gets pulled into a government plot selling
enriched plutonium to a country that shouldn’t have it…
Appraisal:
Confessions of a Hit Man is as addictive to the reader as it
is to Jack. I devoured the story in a couple of sittings. The style is pacey,
the sentences chopped, the chapters brief and to the point. The novel itself is
short, around 50,000 words and if there’s one complaint it’s that I wanted
more, it was such a good read.
The
‘confession’ aspect in the title is an apt description, Jack is writing down
the individual hits as a salve to his conscience – he didn’t start out wanting
to kill people for a living, it sort of crept up on him. Something he
subsequently realizes.
As the narrative
progresses it moves from individual chapters to more of an interlinked story
line as he gets drawn into the government plot. We steadily learn about Jack
and his motivations, but is there still good within him?
Godwin
tends to write psychological thrillers and horror so this is a degree of
departure for him. However it is a welcome one and suits him. I hope to see Godwin
writing more within this genre and Jack too.
FYI:
Nothing of
note.
Format/Typo Issues:
No issues.
Rating: ***** Five Stars
3 comments:
It appears this isn't currently available to buy in Britain (I didn't check Amazon US). I hope this means that Richard Godwin has been picked up by a mainstream publisher?
I'm afraid it is more likely an issue with the logistics between his publisher and Amazon, Judi. I know they were having issues with availability at Amazon US, but it was fixed when I scheduled this review a few days ago.
Ah. Good news that he has a publisher, anyway! Let's hope the problem is soon fixed. I see now that it is only the Kindle edition which is unavailable. These days, for good or ill, I depend on Kindle samples for what I buy. I'll 'wishlist' it in the meantime
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