Assassin's Lullaby by Mark Rubinstein

on



Assassin's Lullaby
Mark Rubinstein
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Thunder Lake Press (June 21, 2022)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 344 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1941016316
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1941016312
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.5 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1 x 8.9 inches

Description

In every life, there lurks catastrophe. So believes Eli Dagan, a thirty-nine-year-old man whose traumatic past led to his service as an assassin for the Mossad. He now lives in New York City, where under various assumed names he’s a contract killer. Anton Gorlov, the head of the Brooklyn-based Odessa mafia, has a new and challenging assignment for Eli. Gorlov wants to leave the country permanently, so all loose ends must be eliminated. He’s willing to pay $1 million for a task divided into two parts. The job involves extreme measures along with unprecedented danger for Eli, who has lived a ghostly existence over the last ten years. Is accepting Gorlov’s offer a subliminal death wish? Or is it a way to reclaim part of his damaged soul? For the first time since his pregnant wife and parents were killed by a suicide bomber years earlier, Eli Dagan faces challenges that will reconnect him with his blighted past and may yet offer hope for a new and better life.

I received a copy of this book from FSB Associates



Review: Assassin's Lullaby by Mark Rubinstein

The cover of Assassin's Lullaby tells us this book is about organized crime and in reading the story we are reminded that people live patterned lives and you can never tell anyone's intentions.

Eli Dagan is an assassin and a hard target which opens this suspense-building fictional tale.  

In the opening of Chapter One, Eli makes me a little perturbed with his standing near track number 13.  Yes. Learned behaviors stink! My guard still goes up at the mere mention of the number 13. Thanks but no thanks to Edgar Allan Poe and  Victor Brooke Miller!

Cancer, toxins, and suicide bombers play into the storyline and I'm okay with these themed events as they entice readers to be empathetic and they give us a glimpse of the character's past history which help us to understand how the characters grow and develop into who they are now.  

 Eli recognizes it's reflective to notice everything and his one imperative is SURVIVAL.

I try to keep in mind that he is trained by Mossad. The fact that Eli knows that it is tough to tail a moving target and does his methodical walk-throughs make sense to me. After all, we know that the paths taken by killers often bear physical evidence. I do like that he is straightforward about his training and points out that certain routines he's learned are pretentious bullshit.

I've grown accustomed to common sense thrillers where the assassins pick up on things like the guy doesn't have an earpiece in one ear but might have one in the other ear that faces away. We do learn that Eli has in his pocket a Spytec Bug device that picks both analog as well as digital transmissions but I expect Eli will need more than Krav Manga moves for what he undertakes. So, it's not surprising in chapter 53 that he finds a canvas satchel with a .380 Glock ( round easier to handle and conceal.)

I mentioned a few months ago that I'd started this thriller and some of you were confused because my review did not appear soon after. In truth, I put this book down more than a few times. It's not because I didn't like the writing but because I find it difficult to read thrillers. I do not want to live in a loophole that feels okay about harming other people and witnessing anyone's distress makes me feel somewhat dehumanized. 

In closing, this book is padded with scenery details and you might end up sitting on the edge of your seat, reading this thriller, because the author appears keen on misdirection. 

All in all, I'm inclined to appreciate stories that transport us from Israel to Russia to Brooklyn. To believe Eli's character is remorseful may be a farfetched fantasy or a product of relative influence. Perhaps the author of Assassin's Lullaby is just pointing out that we all could use some nurturing and that anyone can benefit from 15 minutes of peaceful contemplation.



About the Author
You can learn more about Mark Rubinstein here.