The Executioner's Game

Read The Executioner's Game Storyline:

An elite government assassin is sent to kill the man who trained him, only to find that his mission has been compromised and he is trapped in the deadliest game of all.Luther Green is a government assassin. He is employed by E-1, an agency so secret, even the President is unaware of its activities. Luther was recruited from a military academy and plunged into a world where his only purpose was to eliminate America’s worst enemies. Luther’s mind and body were forged into a killing machine by Alex Deavers, a legendary agent who became Luther’s mentor and best friend in the agency. When his training was complete, Luther was dispatched around the globe, racking up an impressive list of successful kills. After a decade of service, Luther is a deadly weapon whose former life is a faded memory.Luther is called back to America for a special assignment. Kilmer Gray, the current Director of E-1, informs Luther that his old friend, Alex Deavers, has turned rogue agent while on assignment in Africa. Deavers has disappeared and is rumored to be insane. Luther accepts the job of terminating his old friend.Luther, and his TWA (Tech & Weapons Advisor), Marcellus Hampton, track Deavers to the U.S. Deavers proves a dangerous and elusive target leading Luther on a chase through the bowels of America’s inner cities, dropping clues which signal that all is not as it seems with the mission. Alex lures them into constant danger, testing Luther’s skill and loyalty at each turn.Finally, Deavers leads Luther to the latter’s hometown, a place where Luther has not shown his face for over ten years. Suddenly, the game is compromised as Luther’s family and old friends are targeted by the rogue agent. Luther captures Deavers, but now he cannot terminate him, not until he discovers why his old friend turned rogue and what actually happened in Africa. When Luther discovers the truth, he realizes that he was marked for death from the start and must now turn rogue agent himself or face elimination.Luther discovers a secret spanning a half century, involving billions of dollars and costing millions of innocent lives. Luther summons all of his skill and turns it against the agency which created him. In the climatic battle, Luther topples E-1, humbles a President and rediscovers the man who was turned into a killer.From Publishers WeeklyHardwick, a veteran film and television producer, screenwriter and director who also writes books (Color of Justice), has a moderately interesting story to tell in this political thriller about an African-American assassin working for an elite government intelligence agency with ties to the CIA. But despite his publisher's attempts to promote him as the black Elmore Leonard, Hardwick's prose isn't really up to the job, making even the more exciting scenes hard going. What he does share with Leonard is the ability to quickly capture the hard edge of Detroit street and crime life, as his lead character Luther Green uses what he learned growing up in that Michigan city to track down the man who hired and mentored him. Alex Deavers is now suspected of killing a U.S. senator on a fact-finding trip to AIDS-ravaged Africa, and the head of Luther's agency wants him dead. Despite his doubts about his friend's guilt, Green follows orders and sets off after Deavers. Few readers will be surprised to discover that they soon share these doubts, which increase with every twist of Hardwick's plot. A rewrite—or some better editing—could have made this a winner. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.