Review: You know what to expect, and it's good
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 11, 2013
The Assassin series is all about the tools and techniques of a master assassin, against the backdrop of Mexican drug cartel violence.  In "Blood of the Assassin", things are turned upside down, with a Euro assassin hired to hit the Chinese leader on a visit to Mexico city and El Rey brought out of prison to help stop him.  The cartels are around, but not really at the center of the story.  Captain Cruz is still on point, but teaming up with El Rey puts impossible strains on his marriage, a slightly soap opera-esque interlude that is nonetheless necessary.This is more good stuff from a writer who knows what he is doing, and you will enjoy it.  There are three major events involving El Rey, and the first two sort of overshadowed the final one, IMHO, but that is a minor point and a matter of personal taste.  More importantly, I did have a sense that Mr. Blake may finally be scraping the bottom of the barrel in this series; how many assassination attempts on heads of state can occur in Mexico, after all?There really aren't a lot of new ideas here, but with El Rey wearing the government's colors this is different enough to give you a good read.  I wonder how many readers decide against a visit to Mexico as a result of these books?