48% ( )

3.5 very entertaining. ( )

Too violent to start. Enjoy Steve Hamilton but maybe not the right book at the moment. ( )

Second book in the series and even more action than the first book.

At the end of the previous book, Nick had decided to find a way out of his situation. He's been acting as an assassin to a criminal kingpin and wants out of that life. This book opens with more "assignments" for Nick while he plots his way free.

I won't give any spoilers but there are lots a twists and turns. The final twist is telegraphed early, but Nick doesn't see it coming - or doesn't want to see it coming.

The publishing date for the third book seems to have been pushed out, but I'm looking forward to where this goes next. ( )

Nick Mason is still trapped in the deal he made - get out of prison as a free man but spend the next 20 years as the killer for a Chicago drug boss. Nick is not an angel but he still has a conscience so even if he goes around and kills everyone who is pointed to him, he tries to just incapacitate anyone else who gets caught in the crossfire.

The first novel never revealed while exactly the drug boss, Darius Cole, needed Nick specifically - while he is good at what he does, one would imagine that there were a lot of other people who could do the job. Having Mason's daughter and ex-wife to keep him obedient did not really made it enough. This novel finally gets to what the long term plan was - killing minor rivals and annoyances was never the point.

Cole is in prison for life - unless he manages to overturn his sentence. And that's exactly what he had been working on - with legal (and extra-legal) means until he is granted and retrial - and then with Nick there to kill everyone who can keep him in jail.

And Nick does what he is asked to - even when he understands what that may mean, he cannot afford not to. The chase and murders are almost cinematographic, even the choppy structure of the chapters adds to that feeling. But somewhere in the middle of all that, Nick finally rebels - and start looking at the ways he can escape his bonds.

A lot of people die - some killed by Nick, some go down while trying to deal with an unwilling witness, some as just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Every time you can see the noose slipping from Nick's neck, something puts it back - tighter than ever. Being around Mason is a lethal business - and if you get too close, you need to run or you die. Especially if you are a woman.

And then the end pulls the rug from under everyone's feet. When I read the first book in this series, it was built as a standalone, allowing for a continuation. This second novel does not even pretend that it is not a series book - the story itself is closed but this ending is an opening for the next book and for a new direction for the series.

The third book in the series was scheduled for 2019 but never came out. I had not seen a new date for this book so it is unclear if it is still in the works or if Hamilton gave up on it. I hope it comes out one day. ( )