Circle of Assassins
by Steven Rigolosi
Published by Ransom Note Press
Click on book
cover to order
at Amazon.com
Reviewed by Brenda A. Snodgrass
(Tales from the Back Page Series #2)
Four desperate strangers in Manhattan's upper West Side answer an advertisement titled "Revenge is Sweet." Each of the four is known as B, C, D, & E. Letter "A" is the coordinator for the circle. Their names and backgrounds are provided later on. Each agrees to kill a "chosen person" in exchange for having their own unwanted person killed. You are taken into the lives of the victims and explore the minds and motives of the assassins.
At times we are left with enough information to form ideas and feelings about each of the characters. Each assassin mails a series of letters to a post office box. They receive information on several means of committing murder, and any possible evidence that could be left behind. Following this exchange of information, they are each sent pictures and information about their victims and when and where not to do it. Finally, they are required to investigate the habits and comings and goings of their victim. Now it is time to execute the plan and the victim.
Steven Rigolosi has masterminded a new type of mystery, one that is continually developing, not waiting until the finish to enlighten readers, although there is a surprise ending.
Circle of Assassins is the second book in the series Tales from the Back Page.
The first book is Who Gets the Apartment? Rigolosi makes characters seem true-to-life and is gifted with new concepts. He also reveals the dark side that is possible in any one of us.
Armchair Interviews says: Good and evil and the dark side of human nature.