When I first read the blurb for ‘An Assassin’s Holiday’, a story about a man out to kill Santa Claus, it sounded like an unusual, potentially fascinating story to me. Assassins – and I may have said this before – captivate me. I am not a bloodthirsty person, but my excuse is that I assume that assassins kill the “bad guys”. Of course that is nonsense since anyone can hire a specialist to kill anyone else, but still. The romanticized assassins who get written about or appear in movies is always someone with their own code of conduct, sometimes even a conscience. I am happy to report that I was not disappointed – this story is absolutely enthralling, emotionally touching, and left me smiling.

Brick, the main character of this story who tells it in first person, is someone with a code of some kind even before he runs into Robin. He is a cold-blooded killer who is very good at his job, no question about it, but he also knows that most of the people he assassinates probably deserve it. The he runs into Robin, and his world turns upside down. The first crack in his protective walls is the fact that Robin spends his free time playing Santa Claus for orphaned children – kids just like the one Brick used to be. His defensive systems suffer further attacks the longer he watches Robin, to the point where Brick realizes that something weird is going on. As Brick contacts Robin and more details about “the case” emerge, Brick has some tough decisions to make. His attraction to Robin is a huge part of that, but the other is Brick’s innate sense of right and wrong, alive and well even after years of killing people for money.

Robin is an amazing man. He also grew up in an orphanage, but his life took a very different turn. Robin is an eternal optimist, full of joie de vivre, and determined to find the good in the worst people. His way of approaching Brick stole my heart, and the light he brought to Brick’s life, even though his life was threatened, was truly heartwarming.

If you like unusual holiday stories, if an assassin learning about the hope and light of Christmas strikes your fancy, and if you’re looking for a read that successfully combines suspense with warm emotions and a perfect ending, then you will probably like this novella as much as I do. I love it and put it straight in my favorites folder.


NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews. ( )