Disposable Asset

This can’t-put-it-down spy thriller from Altman (The Art of the Devil) introduces the most deadly and proficient young woman warrior since the Hunger Games’ Katniss Everdeen. Spymaster Julian Quinn has saved homeless Cassie Bradbury from a life on the mean streets of New York City and transformed her into a relentless assassin. Quinn, whom Cassie views as her savior, is only the first of her friends whose loyalty she will later question. After a spectacular assassination in Moscow, Cassie learns that she’s been lied to about her target and marked as disposable by her own country; every policeman and security agent in Russia is after her. Her one hope is the disgraced former CIA agent Sean Ravensdale, who needs to find Cassie to resuscitate his career. She leads them all on an incredible chase, leaving behind a trail of dead men who have underestimated her lethal abilities. Enthralled readers will welcome the open ending, which suggests that Cassie and the world-weary Ravensdale will be back in a sequel. Agent: Richard Curtis, Richard Curtis Agency. (Sept.)