KILL CHAIN

4 stars out of 5

Gotta be honest: Before I got an invitation to read and review this book, I'd never even heard of main character Pascual Rose. In part, that may be because he hasn't been heard from in quite a few years. Apparently, the former terrorist turned on former colleagues and, for the past two decades, has been living under the name of Pascual March (also apparently, Pascual must be a very common name in the Barcelona area, where he now makes his home. Otherwise, surely he would have changed his first name as well).

But the premise was enticing, and now that I'm finished I'm glad I said yes to this one. In many ways, Pascual isn't a very savory character, but over the years he's acquired a very talented woman (whom he did not marry) named Sara and a now-grown son, Rafael. Rather solidly ensconced in his new identity, lifestyle and work as a freelance translator, he's quite upset to get a text that will change the course of his life, and most likely not for the better. Two rather shady characters ask him to help them pull off a scheme to "move" an enormous amount of money into various bank accounts in exchange for one million euros. Oh yes - in case that's not enough of an incentive for him to say yes, there's a threat that if he doesn't, Sara and/or Rafael may suffer the consequences.

Left with no choice, Pascual agrees; but soon, things get even more complicated as other unsavory characters make appearances - from German intelligence agents who'd love nothing more than to nail him for old activities to Russian agents to whoever's really behind what essentially is an extremely high-stakes money-laundering caper. Confounding the matter is that Pascual isn't exactly at the top of his game anymore, so he needs to depend on other people who may or may not have his interests at heart.

The very complex plot takes him to several countries and puts him up against several adversaries (both known and unknown), with the action picking up considerable steam as time to close the deal - and Pascual to remain alive - start to run out. For sure, it held my attention all the way.

Kill Chain by Dominic Martell (Dunn Books, October 2020); 280 pp.