It took me about 10 minutes to realise this was not the book I thought it was because I had misfiled it under Fantasy :facepalm:

True Crime mysteries is not really a genre I read. For fans of the genre, it might be a wee bit formulaic and cliched, but for me it was new and shiny. It was fast paced, enthralling and absolutely gripping. Sometimes the female of the species is more deadly than the male. Good beach or rainy day read.

Recommended for fans of James Patterson

Thank you to Netgalley, Nikki Stern and the publishers for the reading copy.

"Today is not a good day to die" Thus starts The Former Assassin. The story tells the tale of Susan Foster, also Suzanne, who is a former assassin, working for Viktor Kemp as a top executive in his company, while her other life is to get rid of people that Viktor wants gone. Susan wants out and after 20 plus years she tells him she is done.
Five years later she finds that he has not forgotten. He has someone try to kill her but it does not work out.

Viktor finds out where she and her husband and son are and tries to have them killed. They are still alive and in hiding and Susan has to live without them to protect them. While Viktor is on his yacht with his son and trusted employees, the yacht is blown up killing Viktor and his son. Or did it?

The Former Assassin is character driven, a story of revenge, loss, and redemption. This book grabbed me from the very first page and held my attention. A lot of suspense and characters that you love or hate. I enjoyed it!

Thanks to Net Galley, the publishers and the author for an ARC Copy of this explosive action packed page turner of a book.

Susan Foster wants to retire. Her boss wants her dead.

After decades as Victor Kemp’s off-the books killer, Suzanne finally quits. Not until five years later does Kemp discover how thoroughly she’s deceived him. Determined to punish her, he tracks her to Wales to watch her die. Instead, he walks into a trap.

Believing themselves safe at last, Suzanne and her family relocate to London, where she hopes to find the peace that has eluded her for so long. Her son is engaged to a nobleman’s daughter; her husband has a good job with British Intelligence. Yet she still struggles with restless dreams and the premonition that her nemesis has survived.

He has: Kemp, though severely injured, is rebuilding his empire and plotting revenge. He’s prepared to risk everything to end the former assassin. He may not be the only one.

Suzanne has no choice: to protect those she loves, she will be forced to kill again. Assassins, it seems, can never retire!!

This author has created a multi level gripping, very clever, fast paced thriller of a story, filled with an array of great strong characters, realistic scenarios, with a collection of twists that leave you with a action packed thriller of an ending.

The strength in this book is the strength in the characters in this story.

Congratulations Ms Nikki Stern

Five stars

This was a thoroughly enjoyable read. It was exciting, well written, maintained a good pace which kept me wanting to get back to it when I had other things to do. This is a perfect beach read!

Suzanne went to working for Victor Kemp. Victor is a controlling person. Suzanne (Susan Smith) works as a security person for her career but does long distance kills for Victor over the years. She falls in love, marries and has a son. They fake her family's death to protect them and she goes on working for Victor until one day she retires. She goes with her husband & son to Wales but eventually Victor finds them. Suzanne is always ready for him. They set it up to kill him before he can kill them. His son dies but he survives though badly hurt. He changes his name and she is feeling safe when his other son shows up and shoots her son. Now they have to end Victor and those who might do them harm. The story keeps you involved from start to finish.

Book was well written, good characters and will be a very good beach read.

Maybe a bit sceptical about how Susan became an assassin, and also how she got out of it, but the rest of the story flowed, wasn't overly complicated.

A good read

If you buy the author's premise - that a smart woman who kills her roommate's drug dealer would choose being blackmailed into becoming a powerful man's assassin rather than have her clearly justifiable homicide revealed to the authorities - then this story of how and why she works for him for nearly two decades is a lively and diverting thriller. If you don't, you won't care about how she falls in love, has a child, and doesn't kill her boss when he tells her he's had them murdered in what appears to be an accident. If you do, you'll stay with this interesting mystery until the denouement.

Suzanne is an assassin who wants out, but her employer refuses, and even plans the murder of her husband and newborn. Once she does escape the story slows down to a snail’s pace: all of a sudden it’s a story about relationships - good and bad. The assassin in Suzanne seems to have disappeared and so does the reader’s interest.

Suzanne Foster worked for over two decades for Victor Kemp, ostensibly as his chief of security in a legitimate company but more importantly as one of the contract killers for his illegitimate enterprises. She didn't expect to fall in love and has every reason to expect Victor would take her choice of a life partner poorly. He does. She continues to work for him despite some personal bumps. The story focuses on her attempt at retirement and to live a "normal" life. "The Former Assassin" twists continuously and while every clue is there and each twist is believable, it still feels surprising enough to be supremely satisfying. Although there are plenty of thriller aspects to the story itself and connected with the roles of those in government intelligence, in human trafficking, who carry out calculated and gruesome murders and quietly "necessary" murders, the book also reads a bit like a Cosy Thriller and it works. Stern entertains throughout in what appears to be her first novel. It reads like the work of an experienced best selling writer, face paced and entertaining with great characters of dubious morality. Buy it! I appreciate having been able to read this on #netgalley

What a thrilling, engaging tale of a former assassin who is a woman I can believe in! This is such an exciting ride as we learn of Susan Smith, assassin for a wealthy, corrupt man. Most times I read about a female in such a vocation, I like the story okay, but the woman doesn't quite connect. The woman in this story, Susan, connects completely and drags you along beside her! A marvelous woman who is wonderful at her job, finally trying to 'retire' after years working for a man she never trusted. Her exploits are told over many missions in different countries, featuring the wealthy, poor, moral and amoral. This is a story that has touched my emotions as I hide on a roof with Susan, while she attempts what she has done all her life, making the kill shot!
I highly recommend this story to readers of Mark Dawson, Michael Lister, Lee Child...All who enjoy a superb action adventure!! I rate this 5 golden stars!!

What a pleasant surprise with a female lead who is not "out manned"

Susan J. Smith vs. Mr. Kemp/Guzman/Kruger is the basic premise. Susan turns murderous at 50 in her twilight years and realizes you can never really quit. Great read