Murray McDonald

Scion by Murray McDonald.
4 stars
Amazon description

Scott's life is turned upside down when he is wrongly accused of a crime. A crime which alerts a very powerful group to his very existence. An existence they believed they had extinguished twenty five years earlier. It seems his very being is a threat to them and as such, must do whatever it takes to kill him. However, there appears to be one major flaw in their plan, Scott is not all he appears to be!

My review
Indeed Scott is not all he show more appears to be, having been brought up on a remote island following the death of his parents, he becomes one of the world’s deadliest assassins. There is, however, a massive secret behind his parents’ death, and indeed who they actually were. It is his pursuit of this knowledge that drives him on. His journey takes him literally around the world, trying to find those who would keep the truth from him. He is assisted by two of his friends who are very able killing machines themselves, a young lady who has incredible sniper skills amongst other attributes, and there is a love aspect that makes him very protective.
It is an action packed read that hurtles the reader round the globe. The plot is just about believable, but certainly believable enough to draw me in. My only criticism would be the over use of the word “scream”, not used to show pain, but whenever someone is angry, their words are screamed at whoever they are with – it became quite noticeable! show less

Summary (Amazon)

When top CIA operative Sam Baker rescues a kidnapped CNN reporter and her cameraman from the hands of Palestinian terrorists, he uncovers a plan to devastate Israel. Unable to stop the attack in time, Israel is rocked to the core as over 4,000 of its youngest and most vulnerable citizens are slaughtered.

Four years later, retired and enjoying a new life, his own family is slaughtered in a bungled attempt on his life. Dealing with his would-be killers, Sam sends a warning to show more his brother, Senator Charles Baker, a presidential front-runner, that he too is about to be assassinated. Sam's hunch is right and thanks to the quick actions of a Secret Service agent, the Senator is saved. Sam is left with no choice but to leave his new life and revisit a life he had left far behind.

After the devastating attack on its children, Israel's leaders unleash an old and top secret plan in retaliation - 'Project Ararat'. Rebecca Cohen, mother of one of the slaughtered six-year-olds and ex-Mossad assassin begs to be allowed to help in whatever way she can. With vengeance driving her on, Rebecca uncovers an even greater risk to her country and to America. The terrorists have managed to secure five nuclear weapons and plan to strike Israel and America.

Review.
This page-turner of a book revolves around two people, Sam Baker and Rebecca Cohen, who have both suffered appalling losses in their lives. Sam has taken himself away to lead a new life, whilst Rebecca has committed herself to avenging her son. Sam’s loss, much more recent, drives him to take action against those who would try to eliminate him.
The book is quite complex in the beginning, but once I had the many characters sorted out in my mind, it became compulsive reading. There is very little let up in the action of the book, nor in the connivance of different parties involved who are all playing for very high stakes. At times it is very difficult to tell who can be trusted or who means what they actually say. The greed for power shown by a number of US politicians is quite amazing, vying for the Vice Presidency and subsequently the Presidency is quite amazing. The most amazing part to me, however, is the development of the New Israel – the solution is stunning in its simplicity, but very complex in its achievement, and is so unlikely – but, it works in dealing with the situation, and the author is to be congratulated in coming up with it!
It is a high octane novel that means that I will be returning to this author in the future. show less

This is a "hard to put down" book. There are several murders taking place on a small island inhabited by 1000 year-round residents. The new deputy sheriff, the Maine State Police and finally the FBI, were all on the cases. There are many twists and turns as the story evolves. The end is a giant surprise! This book is well written, keeping the reader on the edge of their seat. I highly recommend it to any lover of mystery stories.

No. Just... no. I could not suspend disbelief for even a nanosecond while I read the book.

The plot was so implausible so out of touch with what's really going on in the Middle East that I tossed the book away in disgust.