Guest Review: The Darkest Day

Summary: World-class assassin Victor finds himself under fire in the new thriller from bestselling author Tom Wood

HIT THE TARGET…

While carrying out a hit on a terrorist financier, Victor finds himself the target of an assassin who proves to be just as deadly as he is. Never one to let such a thing go, Victor sets about hunting down his attacker and those who sent her. She is Raven—a freelance assassin with a dark past and hidden agenda. If Victor wants to stay alive he must find out who Raven really is and what she is truly after.

…OR BECOME THE TARGET.

Does she really want him dead, or does someone else want them to kill each other? With the stakes growing higher by the minute—as a city-wide blackout plunges Manhattan into darkness—Victor and Raven must decide who is friend and who is foe before a deadly terrorist plot threatens to consume the city and them along with it. -- Signet

When I received THE DARKEST DAY by Tom Wood, I admit that it wasn't a book that I was dying to read. I thought my dad might like it so I passed it along to him. Ends up -- he did. Here are his thoughts:

THE DARKEST DAY by Tom Wood is a thriller featuring an assassin-for-hire who goes by the name Victor. Victor has accepted a recent job to assassinate a Saudi prince who is a major funding source for terrorism. When he attempts to execute the prince in Prague he finds he’s been setup and someone is trying to kill him. Victor’s efforts now turn to finding out who is trying to kill him and who ordered the hit. He discovers the assassin is a woman with the code name Raven and follows her trail to New York City. When he meets Raven he learns that they are both targeted for murder by the same man. As Victor fights for survival, Manhattan falls into a blackout scripted by terrorists. He works to save the city from further attack while at the same time pursuing the man who wants him dead.

THE DARKEST DAY is a typical thriller with lots of fast action, plenty of killing, gun fights and car chases. If I have one criticism of the book, it is that the two extremely lengthy chase scenes took up about 45 pages of the 421 page novel. There are only so many ways to run down streets, wreck cars and squeal tires. Wood’s characters are interesting considering that they are all sinister, evil people. You find yourself liking Victor even though he’s a cold-blooded killer because he is the lesser of the evils. It is also the rare book that has minimal profanity and sex. Author Tom Wood keeps the novel current with mention of the military-industrial complex and terrorism, each which has an impact on the world today.

THE DARKEST DAY is a very fast paced easy to read thriller with a complex plot, plenty of twists and turns and an ending that is absolutely brilliant. This is the fifth Tom Wood book with Victor as the lead character and if the first four are as good as THE DARKEST DAY, they are worth reading as well.

Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy of this novel and to Booking Pap Pap for his review.