The novel, written in first person, is a retrospective; Catherine Carnegie is recalling her life. As a young woman, she wanted to be independent, in control of her life. She achieved that goal in opposition to her family. But she is seduced into becoming a member of a secret government organization. It is a life of glamor and danger. She is no longer in control of her destiny.
To describe Cat: she is naïve with an underlying innocence; trusting and complex yet simultaneously uncomplicated; denying a need for acceptance and love but needing them because they are unrelated necessities. Because of those needs, she finds herself in a pit from which there is no escape.
The title and the cover do not reflect the true nature of the novel. One would assume that there would be a trained assassin planning and tracking his kill or a story of recruitment and training of an individual to be a killer. Although there is murder, this is not a high-pitched 'killer' type novel. Rather, it is the story of a woman's life. It is a story of loss and redemption, of love, and of a fall from belief. Keeping that in mind, it is a well-told story. There is some implausibility but that is common in fiction and should not be a distraction.. What one should see is the psychological make-up of the protagonist. Reviewed by the author of The Children's Story, About Good and Evil.
