Time of the Assassins

I started reading Hugh Holton's books this year. Just found it on the library shelf. I wanted to read them all. I have read all of his books and find "Time of the Assassins" to be the best one yet. I have ordered it, also his new book "The Thin Black Line" and "Red Lighting" which I could not get from the library. I am sorry that we will not be able to read more books by him. A sad lost to the readers and writers world. Gripping suspense and a surprise ending. What a writer he was. He writes about things we know, but are afraid to say. So today.

Another great one from Hugh Holton. The story begins when a young Larry Cole overhears a murder plot and the action just keeps going and going and going. Mr. Holton knows how to keep you at the edge of your seat. All I can say hang on and enjoy the ride as this novel has it all.

See my review of "Presumed Dead."

This time Hugh Holton gives us an excellent story that is both believable and entertaining. This is Holton going with his strengths -- solid characters, great police procedures and enveloping mystery. It doesn't get much better than this unless you're also a fan of Eleanor Taylor Bland's Marti McAllister Mysteries (which apparently Holton is since he mentions her in his acknowledgments). However, unlike the McAllister police character, Holton's Chief of Detectives Larry Cole is still one dimensional. He sacrificed his wife and son for his career and ends up becoming a stud puppy for two very deranged sisters whose plot (despite his super-cop instincts) Cole fails to recognize. Go figure. Nevertheless, Time of the Assassins is a far better effort structurally than Holton's Red Lightning, Left Hand of God or Presumed Dead. The high-quality work which brought Holton and his cop character, Larry Cole, to national prominence, Chicago Blues, is evident in Time of the Assassins. Bravo, Mr. Holton, Bravo!

The notorious Baron Alain Marcus Casimir Von Rianocek is one of the world's highest paid assassins even though he is heir to the throne of the Germany's Bavaria. Though he lives the privileged life of a European aristocrat in Argentina, Alain's success as a hired killer is based on his professional life remaining anonymous.In 1977, Chicago police officer Larry Cole ended Alain's string of twelve straight kills when he prevented the murder of a Mafia chieftain. Years later, the Baron still thinks of Cole as a personal albatross. After completing his current assignment in New York, Alain spots Cole in a restaurant and takes off like a guilty party would. His panicky race to escape costs him his anonymity. Over the years the two men cross paths again and again but eventually one will take the other down.Hugh Holton draws on his own experience as law enforcement official to create an excellent police procedural with international overtones. TIME OF THE ASSASSINS provides the audience with a glimpse into the mindset of a professional assassin, a rogue CIA operative and the inner workings of a shady law firm with ties to the illegal drug industry. The fascinating story line never slows down. Lovers of crime fiction will fully enjoy their time spent with this tale.Harriet Klausner