Rob Hart has done it again! The Medusa Protocol is another stunningly unique and bad-ass thriller that combines brutal action and perilous circumstances with heartfelt moments and commitment to self-improvement. It’s the most fun you can have watching assassins trying to not kill people.

Astrid has missed several Assassins Anonymous meetings and the group is concerned, not knowing if she’s still alive. When a pizza covered in olives is delivered to their secret location, they know Astrid is still above ground and in need of help. Then the pizza delivery is immediately followed by a kill team looking to eliminate these dangerous former assassins who have taken the pledge never to kill again. After finding a way through this dangerous situation, Mark, Booker and the others set out to locate Astrid and enact a rescue plan. But infiltrating a black site on a remote island covered in poisonous snakes to save a member of their “family” without taking a life will test their skills and their resolve like never before.

Most thrillers put the protagonists in an untenable position surrounded by enemies with blood lust in their eyes, then have the good guys kill everyone as they make their escape or stalk their prey. But The Medusa Protocol is not like most thrillers. First, the main characters are former assassins who were addicted to killing and are now trying to reform themselves through putting their lethality behind and making amends to the living relatives of those they dispatched. With so much blood on their hands, it’s hard to say they’re the “good guys.” Second, because they’re in recovery they cannot kill again and still maintain their sobriety. So when Mark, Astrid, Booker and the others are put into incredibly dangerous situations, they must fight their way out by hurting, disabling, neutralizing and maiming, but not killing. A less than ideal situation that takes a lot of skill and dedication to the program to avoid caving to temptation and relapsing into their murderous ways.

The result is fantastic action sequences filled with creativity, fisticuffs and thoughtful violence with a purpose that is spawned from a moral clarity of those who are trying to be a little bit better every day. So when vicious predators interrupt their attempts at salvation and a peaceful existence, they act like the rest of us and just do the best they can with the hand they’re dealt. It just happens to be that their best is a lot more physically punishing and potentially incapacitating with higher risk of death than what the general population experiences on a daily basis. But growth is in the learning and attempting to do better, right? And if a few bodies drop in the process, who’s going to put up a fuss? I’m certain thriller fans will be quite alright with it.

Two books into this unique series and it’s already one of my favorites in the thriller genre. And the great news is Rob Hart’s got the chops, storylines and characters to continue entertaining us for many books to come. I can’t wait to see what’s next!