I enjoyed most of this book. There was a lot of action and a sense of urgency. The villains were diabolical and not all of them were on the other side which made it more insidious.

Mason was an interesting character. While I don't know if I would call him an honorable assassin, he did have his own code that he tried to live by. He tried to make a difference in one little girl's life which was honorable. Seeing him care for her was one of the high points of the story for me.


I didn't like all the swearing in the book and felt it didn't need the sex scene either...at least it wasn't graphic.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing for providing me with a free e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Blackstone Publishing and Steve Hamilton for the chance to read An Honorable Assassin. Steve Hamilton is a new Author for me. I am going to read the rest of this series because I couldn't put this one down. The main Character Nick Mason is excellent. I found this book to be one where if I closed my eyes I could imagine the events as if I was there. This is a must read if you want twists and lots of action. The way it ended is something that I wonder why it happens but then realized it does probably happens in real life. This is a must read book.

A lethal assassin who operates in ever-shifting shades of grey.

Nick Mason made a bargain a while back in order to be released from federal prison 20 years early, and it was one he soon regretted. While he was free from a prison cell he was now a reluctant assassin for Chicago crime lord Darius Cole, knowing that if he did not do what he was ordered to do Cole would have Mason’s ex-wife Gina and daughter Adriana killed. When he finally killed Cole Mason thought he could leave that life behind, but found out that Cole was but a mid-level player in a much larger organization, one which had no intention of losing Mason’s services. He now finds himself in Jakarta, Indonesia, and within hours of his arrival he is expected to kill Hashim Baya, an independent sponsor of terrorism known as The Crocodile. Mason has a local team to support him headed by Torino (who doesn’t want Mason around,), Luna who acts as his spotter and back-up, and Farhan his driver and guide to navigating the unfamiliar culture. With little data provided and no time with which to formulate a plan it is little more than a exercise in suicide, but with a combination of skills and luck Mason survives the first aborted attempt and must make another. The head of the organization is determined to have Baya eliminated, and with Gina’s and Adriana’s lives hanging in the balance Mason has no option but to keep trying to get to Baya and kill him, but Baya remains a step ahead at each turn. Working in an unfamiliar territory with limited and often faulty intel with a support team whom he is unsure he can trust, and having attracted the attention of an Interpol investigator who has his own reasons to want Baya dead, Mason can only take one step after another to remove Baya from the board in time to save those he loves from horrible deaths….even if he himself dies in doing it.
The third in the Nick Mason series, An Honorable Assassin is a fast paced thriller tracking an anti-hero who is out of his element as he seeks to kill a man he doesn't know for reasons he doesn’t understand. His lethality is a commodity co-opted by an organization with far-reaching influence, and when he asks for answers is told that, “The bullet does not ask the gun why it was fired.”. Luna, who is another useful tool that the organization has under their control, tells Nick to stop clinging to a code of honor….she gave up long ago. But his love for Gina and Adriana gives him the strength to fight on, and while he has blood on his hands that he might never be able to wash away he does try to do some good along the way. Fans of Gregg Hurwitz, Mark Greaney and Harlan Coben should give this book and the preceding two titles in the series a try. Readers of author Steve Hamilton’s Alex McKnight series will find this a departure from those books, but a worthwhile read nonetheless. With a troubled but engaging protagonist, settings that veer between glamorous and squalid, and villains who really need killing, An Honorable Assassin delivers a terrific story. Many thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for allowing me early access to the latest thriller from an accomplished author.

Nick mason is finally back. An Honorable Assassin by Steve Hamilton is the third book and Nick is still caught in a bad place. He is flown into Jakarta to kill someone to save his family but it is not as easy as it should be. I have been a fan of Steve Hamilton since I discovered his Alex McKnight and so far everything he has written is great. I like this book because he puts Nick in a situation where he finds that things are not what it seems and the clash with a different culture is evident. It is as always well written and there are some twists that I rellay liked. I must thank Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for letting me read this advance copy. I really recommend that you try something by this author.

Steve Hamilton is best known for his series featuring former Detroit cop turned reluctant Upper Peninsula private eye, Alex McKnight. McKnight appeared in eleven novels between 1999 and 2018. The first, A Cold Day in Paradise—which I heartily recommend—netted Hamilton an Edgar Award for Best First Novel. The McKnight books are meaty, well-plotted, character-driven extravaganzas, but they never attracted many readers outside the P.I. genre. Which is a shame because they are as good as anything the mystery genre has to offer.

In 2016, Hamilton changed course and released a crime thriller, The Second Life of Nick Mason, to great fanfare. It made multiple best-of-year lists, including from NPR and Kirkus Reviews and, perhaps most telling, it landed on the New York Times bestseller list. The Second Life of Nick Mason combined a rich Chicago setting with solid characterization and an intricate (and surprising) plot. It, frankly, surpassed most thrillers of its kind on every level. Hamilton followed it up with the second Nick Mason book, Exit Strategy, in 2017, then in 2018 released an oddball Alex McKnight book—odd because, unlike the other McKnight books, it alternates between first and third person and is told from multiple character perspectives—titled Dead Man Running. Since then, other than a co-authored novel with Janet Evanovich, Steve Hamilton has been silent.

At least until now, because his third Nick Mason title, An Honorable Assassin, is scheduled for release tomorrow (Aug. 27). The Second Life of Nick Mason opened with Mason being released from a 25-years-to-life sentence, for a truck heist gone wrong, after serving only five years. Part of the deal is Mason must work as an assassin for a Chicago gangster named Darius Cole; the guy who arranged for Mason’s release. Those first two books are about Mason’s struggle to break free from Cole and now in An Honorable Assassin, after he has finally escaped Cole, he finds himself bound to a mysterious and sinister international cartel.

An Honorable Assassin begins only hours after Exit Strategy ends. Mason is sent to the world’s second largest city, Jakarta, Indonesia, without any instructions except that he’ll be met at the airport. When he arrives in Jakarta, even before he has left the airport, Mason’s first assignment is dished out—assassinate a wealthy terrorist sponsor named Hasham Baya as he arrives on a skyscraper’s helipad. Everything goes wrong: Baya escapes, the building is overrun by Indonesia’s paramilitary unit, Detachement-88, and Mason is arrested. The mission planning seems non-existent to Mason and, even worse, before he can get out of police custody a French Interpol agent, Martin Sauvage, takes an interest in him.

Unlike Hamilton’s first two Nick Mason novels, which are a marvelous marriage of the crime and the thriller genres, An Honorable Assassin is a straight-line rocket propelled thriller. It is closer to Lee Child and David Baldacci than what we are used to seeing from Hamilton, but the electric style and frenetic pacing keep the pages turning and the reader from wandering into the improbabilities of the plot. A step below the first two books in the series, An Honorable Assassin is still a bunch of fun and very much worth reading.

A little different take on the assassin for hire book. An assassin is forced into work by a group holding the safety of his family over his head. He heads to Southeast Asia where the book takes places. Nothing is it seems. He works with a group that runs into issue after issue. The first 3/4 of the book moves really well and I really enjoyed it. The ending seems a little less cohesive and I did not like the way Baya was lured to the last location. Just didn't seem to fit with the rest of the story. I did like the Interpol agent's relationship with Mason and look forward to reading more from this author. The action in a different part of the world than I am familiar with made the story fun to read.

After making a deal with a crime lord to be released from prison early, Nick Mason has traded one bad situation for another. He now has a new but anonymous boss who is forcing Nick to assassinate an international terrorist financier by threatening the lives of his ex-wife and daughter. Nick's first attempt in Jakarta fails, and he sets off on an action-filled hunt across Indonesia to complete his mission and ensure his family's safety. This book goes non-stop from the first page and if you like thrillers with plenty of action, this one will keep you hooked. #NetGalley. #AnHonorableAssassin

It's been 7 years. Nick Mason is back. An absolute scorcher of a thriller and too long of a wait. Great read.

Non-stop action. A burst of adrenaline. Harrowing situations that our lead, Nick Mason, finds himself in and has to get out of. Steve Hamilton delivers once again with a twisty plot, the aforementioned action (more so than in previous installments), and characters you will care about.

Great thriller by Hamilton.
Mason is a hit man under the thumb of a shadow ops leader who prefers to remain anonymous. He was released from prison only to be taken into the organization and controlled by threats to his ex wife and their daughter.
In Jakarta, he is given his new assignment to kill an internationally known and feared violent criminal leader named Baya and tracks him as he moves about, failing in his mission to kill him on a couple of occasions.
In his quest, he meets up with an Interpol agent who also wants Baya dead and together they work to hunt him down.
An absolutely riveting thriller with non stop action, mayhem and intriguing side stories that completely
complement and enhance the main plot. The characters are finely tuned and their placement within the story, well crafted.
My first Nick Mason story but more than ready for the next one up.

It's been a long time between Nick Mason books. The first was in 2016 and the second a year later. But finally we are given a third in the series.

In this third installment of the Nick Mason series, Nick has spent 5 years in a max security prison when he is offered a deal to get out of there many years early but there’s always a catch. Nick is sent to Jakarta to hunt down and kill a man known as The Crocodile. The kill goes horribly wrong and now Nick must do everything he can to save himself, his child, and his ex wife.

Nick is now on a collision course with Interpole agent Martin Sauvage. Mick wants The Crocodile dead and Sauvage wants him in a cell.
It’s a war of wills to see who comes out on top.

One might miss the Alex Knight crime novels. And one might be surprised that Hamilton is throwing down thrillers ala Vince Flynn but this is series fun. If you are looking to have some time alone to get lost in a novel this is it. Plan on a rest break though you'll need it for this high octane thrill ride.

Action. A lot of action. A lot of hang on to your seat action. If you like action, you'll love An Honorable Assassin. Did I mention Steve Hamilton's latest Nick Mason thriller has a lot of action? Seriously, Hamilton reminds us with each book why he is an award winning author. Both his Alex McKnight and Nick Mason books are essential reads for any fiction lover. An Honorable Assassin grips you from the start and simply doesn't let go. Mason has a lot of challenges to overcome in this one--especially since he is no longer on familiar turf. There are new locations populated by new characters who Mason may or may not wish he'd met. However, I must point out there are some breaks from the action and Hamilton deftly handles those scenes. As much as this book focuses on action and adventure, the heart of this story is family. Thoughts of family is a constant shared by multiple characters in this terrific thriller. This riveting read will leave you hoping there's another Nick Mason adventure in the near future. Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for the advance reading copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is an action-packed novel from beginning to end, more so than the two previous novels in the series. There was a long wait for this third installment, and I had forgotten some elements of the arc of the plot. Even so, it was well written and engaging if you are in the market for an action book. There was a bit of mystery which was set up at the end of the book to be investigated in the next installment. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a quick read that reads like an action movie/thriller. Many thanks to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel

The third entry into the world of Nick Mason and the reader is kept on the edge of their seat just as much as they were with the first two. Having ended the life of the man who freed him from his prison sentence, Nick Mason now finds himself on the other side of the world, thousands of miles away from Chicago. Thrown into the unfamiliar surroundings of Southeast Asia, Nick does what he does best, he finds a way to keep his head above water. This book was a page turner, I didn't want to put it down, and there are very few books nowadays that have that kind of grasp on me. Steve Hamilton writes with such fluidity that there are seamless transitions between not only the chapters, but the storylines and the sub plots. There is of course an erroneous subplot that is not needed in the book as it really doesn't help progress the story much, but i can overlook that because overall, this book is amazing and i cannot wait for the next installment.

The perfect blend of action and mystery, with a charismatic protagonist and vivid descriptions of extravagant set pieces that put you in the action. One of the best thrillers of the year.

This is one of those books that's all plot, and very little else. It's a good plot, if you like rock-'em-sock-'em nonstop action, but that's really all you'll find here.

The effort to give the characters depth is awkward and simplistic. It's very difficult to develop attachments to the characters because of the clumsy way they're drawn.

Perhaps even worse, the exotic settings were completely wasted. They're described, of course, but those descriptions bring no sense of life or immediacy. I know many of the settings here fairly well from my personal experience, and I simply felt no tug of recognition. More's the pity, because they could have been extraordinary if they had been made more real.

Please don't mistake what I'm saying here. This certainly isn't a bad book, but it's more of a comic book than it is a real novel. And personally, I just don't find comic books all that appealing.

Dynamic, tumultuous and explosive, An Honorable Assassin is a thrilling quest through Indonesia in pursuit of a shadowy terrorist. Steve Hamilton welcomes Nick Mason back after a long hiatus with a heart-pounding story filled with peril and intrigue.

Nick Mason finds himself in Jakarta, employed as an assassin by a shadow organization holding the well-being of his family over his head to get him to do their bidding. Namely, kill Hashim Baya, an elusive terrorist financier known as the Crocodile. But Mason isn’t the only one hunting him. Interpol agent Martin Sauvage is on a personal crusade to avenge his family who died in a terrorist bombing funded by Baya. The two are on a collision course with similar agendas towards different outcomes, competing to complete their mission before the other. Regardless, they better hurry. Because if they miss their opportunity, Baya will disappear, the world will still be at risk and Mason’s family will be squarely in the crosshairs of the very organization he’s working for.

Even though it’s seven years since the last book in this series, Nick Mason picks up right where he left off. He’s still an indentured servant, but instead of reporting to the head of a Chicago crime syndicate he’s now beholden to an ambiguous global cabal who will kill his family if he doesn’t play ball and complete the missions assigned to him. And this mission is a doozy – chasing a terrorist in a country he has no knowledge of, experiencing a culture he doesn’t understand, working with people he doesn’t know and can’t trust, and if he fails he loses the only people he loves. Which leads to Mason leaving no stone unturned and no roadblock decimated in pursuit of a successful assassination. But the one thing he won’t do is compromise his principles. Even if it divides his focus and makes the mission more difficult. Which increases Mason’s likeability and invites the reader to root for him despite his nefarious occupation.

An Honorable Assassin is fast paced, takes place in an uncommon location, and flirts with maintaining morality while steeped in a dark underworld of death and destruction. A fine resurrection of a series and a character that hopefully has a bright future ahead.

Nice to have Nick Mason back; it’s been too long since he led us on a great adventure. The wait was worth it as our hero travels halfway around the world to carry out an assassination. He’s in competition with an Interpol agent who’s chasing the same bad guy.several other subplots keep the action intense and make the reader look for Nick’s next adventure.

Love this series and it’s been too long since the last one! Great book with non stop action and I cannot wait until the next Nick Mason thriller.