Heroine out for revenge in edge-of-seat series finale

Assassin, by Tara Moss (HarperCollins, RRP $27):

In the final thriller in the Mak Vanderwall series by former model Tara Moss, the focus is on revenge and survival.

When ex-model turned private investigator and forensic psychologist Mak Vanderwall goes missing in Paris she is presumed dead. A hit man had been hired to do her in, after all, so there’s little reason for anyone to believe Mak hasn’t met her demise at the hands of the man hired by the powerful and corrupt Cavanaghs in the hopes of silencing her for good.

But, of course, the heroine of the book isn’t dead.

Mak’s ex – criminal profiler Andy Flynn – is back in Sydney, trying to track down a sadistic rapist and murderer who may be tied to another high profile case.
As he struggles with both the case and what he believes is the loss of Mak, she is making her way back and looking for justice.

This is the sixth and final book in the Mak Vanderwall series and Moss’ ninth book overall, and it’s definitely edge-of-the-seat material.

If you’re already a fan of this series, you’ll particularly enjoy the reappearance of some old favourite characters from earlier in the series but don’t let this being No 6 put you off: it works every bit as well as a standalone as it does a final chapter.

When I picked up the first book in this series a couple of years ago – Fetish – my bias came through and I almost convinced myself I wasn’t going to enjoy it: a book about an ex-model, written by an ex-model? Trying to break into an already crowded crime-thriller market? Surely not.

However, I had concede defeat by the end of the first chapter: I was hooked.

Tara Moss has gained a well-deserved spot in the market and while I was a bit slow off the mark when it came to reading this series (Fetish was published back in 1999), I’ve caught up fairly quickly and am looking forward to her next offering.

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