Review of “A Game For Assassins” by James Quinn

I don’t get to read a lot of spy thrillers these days, but this genre is always really exciting to me – certainly some of my favorite movies are from this genre.  The fact that this book also is set in the Cold War and fits into the historical fiction category makes it that much more interesting to me.

This book is gripping and intense from the beginning, and it keeps up the action and intrigue all the way through.  It’s a very long book – packed with detail, twists, characters, settings, and action – but I never consider that a bad thing.  The writer is a knowledgeable authority on the subject matter, and at several points the story feels like real-life tidbits are thrown in, giving the whole story such a genuine feel that it’s very hard to get bored.

I really liked that you get perspectives from both ends of the scope, so to speak (good guys and bad guys).  It adds to the tension and helps you to feel like you know at least as much as the intelligence officers trying to sort this all out.  I liked the variety of characters and settings, even if sometimes the backstories pulled you out of the current setting a little bit.

The writing itself is quite well done with only an occasional little goof that’s easily forgivable (or easy to overlook because you’re reading so fast).  The language fits the genre/style well, not too flowery but quite precise and sharp, tactical.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend this book for anyone who likes complex, detailed, reality-based spy novels.

See it on Amazon!