Assassins

Deva’s clunky sequel to 2014’s Weapon of Vengeance, which introduced Ravinder Singh Gill, the Indian Anti-Terrorist Task Force commander, pits Gill against an old friend and enemy, Leon Binder, who has come to India to assassinate Pakistan’s prime minister, Abid Zardosi, and ex-dictator Gen. Pervaiz Masharrat. “Five measly weeks” is all Binder has to complete the job, so he’s understandably nervous and misses no opportunity to say so in frequent spurts of annoying internal dialogue. Meanwhile, Gill is hampered by a mole on his team, but he slowly inches forward until a personal tragedy nearly derails his search for the assassin. Beneath the awkward prose (e.g., “Her hands clenched in tight, hate-filled balls”; “Zeenat stood over her, horror and satisfaction fighting for footage on her face”) lies a tired, bloated plot. Persumably a success in Deva’s native India (where it was first published), this series will have limited appeal to American thriller readers. Agent: Al Zuckerman, Writers House. (July)