Island of the Assassin

By: Joseph Roccasalvo

Narrated by: Jason Vande Brake

Island of the Assassin is about two kinds of silence in conflict. A covert killer, Kai Landrie, contracted by the CIA to target Islamic terrorists, develops moral scruples. He shares his doubts in confession with Peter Quince, a priest, who gets renditioned for receiving classified information. The result: two unconditional secrecies, sacred and profane, tragically collide.

©2016 Joseph Roccasalvo (P)2016 Joseph Roccasalvo

ASSASSIN brilliantly blends the sacred and profane

A first-rate “spiritual thriller,”ASSASSIN carves out the dicey tale of a targeting killer’s moral awakening. Your protagonist is Peter Quince, an urbane priest and novelist whose research brings him to an ancient villa on the Amalfi coast and its occasional guardian, a CIA assassin seeking absolution.

I’ve read the novel several times but this Audible version, featuring superb narration by Jason Vance Brake, brought the characters vividly to life. Even as it entertains and thrills, ASSASSIN offers a nuanced critique of the “war on terror” and its many casualties.

All in all, ASSASSIN brings a rare wit and moral complexity to the counterterrorism thriller genre. Netflix, take note—this one has blockbuster series potential!