Billy Jacks, a steely killing machine, must escort a spoiled young arms heiress, Cassandra von Deker, from England to Luxembourg, where she's to assume control of Deker Industries, in this uneven mix of assassin-vs.-assassin thriller and romance from British author Wilson (A Criminal Act
). Since al-Qaeda plans to take over the company should Cassandra die, her bodyguard's duty is anything but routine. The terrorists' master hit man, code-named Azrael, targets Jacks because he blames Jacks for the death of one of his most valued allies. Unfortunately, the eventual clash between Jacks and Azrael comes as an anticlimax after the reader has struggled through page after page of the growing infatuation of the Paris Hilton–like von Deker with her protector (“Hope gently blossomed inside Cassandra as she imagined he was going to ask of her something intimate”). (Aug.)
