To life: the taking and the giving.

Charles Fieldner is a fortunate man. He has a beautiful wife, whom he loves, two children, a girl and a boy, who love him, a nice home, and the income to maintain a comfortable lifestyle for them all. And as he approached 40 he'd started to think about retiring even though he's still good at his job - as a contract killer. Then the Agency contacted him with the information on his next target: himself. He has two weeks to find out who wants him dead before the contract passes to someone else.

This is an intriguing plot line and one which could go horribly wrong without the author's first gaining the reader's sympathy for his main protagonist. But Peter Thompson achieves this by writing in the first person, opening up the inner fears, hopes and memories of Charlie showing him to be just an average, ordinary man like most everybody else. He's a problem solver with his own code of ethics: everyone he removes is 'a bad man' who should not be allowed to live. But despite his being well written, for this reader it was the excellent narration by Gary Tiedman which made Charlie the hero, or rather, the victim we want to survive. Mr.Tiedman's very pleasantly hypnotic voice softly brings to us a real presence of the character, removes the threat and emphasizes his likeability. And his frailties. A very fine performance.

This is a book which involves the reader from the start and maintains tension throughout. Not perfect, however: their are some inconsistencies along the way which finally become irritating. But again the narration is able to eloquently gloss over these until the ending at last re!eases the reader from it's spell,
I am indebted to the rights holder of Hit Me, who, at my request, freely gifted a complimentary copy via Audiobook Boom. Thank you so much. I will definitely be looking out anothers by this author, curious to see if the style of writing here is his normal one. Despite some flaws or unanswered questions in the plot, I really enjoyed this book and can recommend it as a light, fun, imaginative mystery thriller.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!