The President's Assassin

Great story and the characters were great too. Love the twists and turns throughout the book, mixed with some humor as well. I did not see the ending coming, so that was a welcomed surprise. Overall I really enjoyed this and look forward to reading more books by Haig.

Brian Haig has written some great books and this one is no exception. Our other favorite writers are Jonathan Kellerman, John Sanford, Stuart Woods... he's right up there with the best of them. I cannot wait until his next comes out. I'm insatiable!

A woman has waited 30 years to get her revenge. Now there are spin-offs. Prominant political figures are assassinated, along with assorted spear carriers and bystanders who are in the wrong place at the wrong time. Nobody except the killers knows who might be next. It is almost impossible to protect people from a dedicated assassin. Army Major Sean Drummond, a JAG recently enlisted into the CIA's Office of Special Projects, is assigned to the case. He has some relevant experience in his past. He finds himself teamed with a behavioral scientist from the FBI. They become intangled in the petty infighting among individuals who seem more interested in what they will personally get from the case, then in solving the murders. The action takes place over a couple days as they try to unravel the mystery of who is doing the hits. Things become highly dangerous when they discover that the black hats have sophisticated military weapons. Primary suspicion falls on an individual they can't find. The motives are initially obscure, but it seems to be about extortion for a very large sum of money. Things don't seem to ring right with Sean, but he can't seem to put his finger on what is out of place. The author has done some very good writing, and the novel will keep you up late. There is a surprise ending, so no peeking.

Are you a Brian Haig/Sean Drummond fan who is wondering if you should read this fifth entry in the series? If so, my answer is an unqualified yes. This book is extremely enjoyable; it includes all the elements which I will discuss later in this review which have hooked me on the series. In the event that you want additional details or a plot summary, read on, although your time might be better spent just ordering the book so that you can start reading it as soon as possible. On the other hand, if you have never read any of the earlier books, read further to discover why my personal experience leads me to suggest that you do not start with this one. I want to hasten to add, however, that THE PRESIDENT'S ASSASSIN certainly works very well as standalone story. I just believe that regardless of what your goals are, it makes sense to read at least some of the earlier books in the series first. The first book by Brian Haig which I read was THE KINGMAKER; I found it incredibly enjoyable and my only regret was that I had not read the books in the series in the order in which they were written. (My experience is one of the three reasons for my recommendation to first time readers) While it was a great story, the references to Major Drummond's previous experiences and relationships made me wish that I had more than the summary background woven into that narrative. While this is always the dilemma faced by a new reader of a longstanding series, in this case the fact that this is only the fifth book makes it a fairly easy task to start at the beginning. And while the drawback of starting with the first book, SECRET SANCTION, is that it is not as polished a story (a trait shared with many other first time novels), it is still a tight plot which takes advantage of the author's military background while introducing a wonderful character. I also feel that I would have actually enjoyed it more if I had gotten immersed in the series by reading it first. Second, reading the series out of order in at least one case destroys the surprise element (if not shock value) of developments later in the series. Last, if you only want to read one or two of Haig's works (at least initially), my ratings of both THE KINGMAKER (#3) and MORTAL ALLIES (#2) are a full five stars and thus slightly higher than the five minus which I gave to this story. However, I want to reemphasize that in my opinion you will either enjoy any of Haig's books or find all of them not to your liking. This plot is really simple and very compelling - six people including the White House Chief of Staff are found methodically murdered and a note has been left which indicates that more murders will be committed and then within two days the "President will be history". Army Major and JAG lawyer Sean Drummond (the James Bond of the legal profession- except with a better sense of humor and irony) is now working on assignment with a CIA cell called the Office of Special Projects. He is ordered to accompany sp

This was my first exposure to the writing of Brian Haig and his character, Army JAG Major Sean Drummond. It will not be my last. In partnership with Jennifer Margold, a special FBI Agent attached to the DC field office and Drummond on assignment to the CIA Office of Special Projects, are part of the team that is called to investigate the murder of the President's Chief of Staff, his wife and four of his protectors. It is clearly done by professionals and it is equally clear that they had inside information to accomplish the hit. A note is left behind which warns: "You can't stop us. There will be others and the President will be history in two days." True to their words, the killers execute other high profile Washington figures as the team struggles to find an answer as to who is behind all of this. Margold and Drummond seem to be on the track and a breakthrough interview with the mother of one of the Secret Service protectors who has gone missing focuses the investigation. There are numerous wheels within wheels on the team as the various agencys and people in them move to protect their turf, sometimes to the detriment of the search. However, as the net closes on the individual being sought and more killings occur, a ransom demand is received from the perpetrators. They want 50 million dollars in untracable money to call off the killing spree. The government agrees and then the story really starts to get interesting. Drummond is the courier who is selected to deliver the money and Margold is in the FBI Agent in charge of seeing that he survives the experience. Their relationship as the story develops has bordered on the romantic, although circumstances keep it from bearing any fruit, so to speak. To tell you more concerning the problems that are thrown in the way of the delivery of the money and it's aftermath would spoil the story and this is a story that delivers all the suspense and surprises that a reader can take. This is first class stuff written by an author that has a great ability to deliver dialogue so that you swear you can hear the voices involved. You will not want to put this one down, trust me.