Book Review: Assassin's Victim

Assassin's Victim

By:  A.F. Grappin

Publish Date:  September 26, 2016

Format:  eBook

Genre:  Urban Fantasy

Series:  1st book in Deadly Studies series

First Impression:  Luc's descent into the world of Knights Templar and secret societies.

Synopsis:
In The Statford Chronicles, Luc Bertrand is known as the Head of the Assassin's Guild for the East Coast of the United States. But long before that, he was a young man in France.

Luc is offered an induction into the Knights Templar. Luc's father is one of them, so he has a place in their secret society. It will open a path to greatness. But something doesn't feel quite right. Their reaction to his rejection is far more extreme than he could ever have expected. Suddenly, Luc has a target on his back and death looming over him. How will he escape being an assassin's victim?

First Sentence:
Luc didn't know whether or not to believe Pierre's assertion that there was an Olympic scout in the crowd.

Purchase At:
Amazon 

My Thoughts and Summary:
*I received this book from the author or publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Luc loves playing lacrosse but wishes he was taller and bigger. Maybe he'll have a growing spurt. Luc is then offered a chance to study with great players if he joins the Knights Templar, a place that the recruiter claims Luc's father works. A wedge of distrust starts between Luc and his parents, and Luc finds himself doing things he's never done before. Will Luc see the truth of the Templar before he's drawn in?

This book is Luc forming into the person he becomes. He's young, 15 years old, and given an opportunity in something that could help him in what he loves - lacrosse. But he learns it's a lie, to get to him. When his family life is destroyed, he vows to find the people who did this.

This is a short, quick read. The story felt like a prequel to me in a way because it starts at the beginning, telling us what happens in Luc's life. With doing this it's a slower read at the start. We get to see Luc in his life with an offer to help make it more. After I finished the book, I read the notes from the author and found out that this is the back story for a character in another series. So, it is sort of a prequel view into the characters life. I'm thinking now that I'm past this introduction, the remaining novella stories will move faster.

This book is of a Young Adult nature, as Luc is 15 years old. There are things that kids face - bullying, desire to be better at something, and more. Yet, there is a big fight that's deadly. We don't get the gory details but we do know the bodies are dead. And sadly there is a terrible event in Luc's life that's hard for Luc to digest mentally. I can't blame the kid.

I noticed that most of the book is Luc's thoughts and view of things. We get some interaction but most isn't. This fits with the feel of Luc and where he is in his mind after what he lives through. Like he's on the outside looking in which moves time by quickly.

Luc has interactions with Templars. The interactions grow in intensity each time Luc meets them. They are a great deal different than they originally lead on.

By the end of the story, Luc is ready to move into the next stage of his life. This leads us into the next novella story of Luc.



****If you found my thoughts helpful, please click Yes at Amazon. Thank you!