The Accident Man

November 12, 2007
The pseudonymous Cain, a British journalist, has come up with a clever premise for his first novel. One summer night in 1997, Samuel Carver, an extremely capable assassin who only targets bad guys, is in a Paris tunnel ready to make a hit. He causes a speeding black Mercedes to smash into a stone pillar, leaving the car’s principal passenger, a dangerous terrorist, he’s been told, undoubtedly dead. Moments later, Carver himself is on the run from a Russian thug. Only after escaping the Russian does Carver realize he’s caused the death of Princess Diana. Carver vows revenge on those who set him up. A number of spy organizations are involved as well as several intermediaries, all of whom Carver must work his way through before finding who’s behind the conspiracy. A likable hero and nicely detailed action help offset a predictable and at times overwrought romance between Carver and the Russian’s female accomplice. Hopefully, Cain will keep the mayhem and soft-pedal the love interest in his next Samuel Carver thriller.

February 15, 2008
In this clever debut novel, the pseudonymous Cain, an award-winning British journalist, successfully tackles a larger-than-life, real-world event. Samuel Carver is the titular character who will arrange a death (usually made to look accidental) for the right price. Like other fictional assassins, he lives by a certain code. Yes, he'll kill someone when he's hired for the job, but he only takes on certain jobs. And the people he arranges accidents for are universally baduntil his most recent job. What was supposed to be the end to an evil terrorist is instead the accident that shocks the world, and Carver is now on the run from the people who hired him and several other agencies, because this "accident" is the 1997 car crash that killed Princess Diana. Nicely paced and well researched, this is a thriller that genuinely thrills and makes the reader wonder, if only for a moment, What if? Recommended for all public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 10/15/07.]Jane Jorgenson, Madison P.L., WI

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2007
Samuel Carver's job is to eliminate people and make their deaths look like accidents. He is very good at what he does. Thenhe accepts a job to take out a terrorist by staging an apparent car accident in a Paris tunnel on August 31, 1997. Carver has always believed that he uses his skills only to kill ?bad guys, ? but this assignment shatters his illusions. Now his superiors want him eliminated, and with the reluctant help of an enemy agent, he tries to decipher why he was set up and why Princess Diana was targeted. Cain, the pseudonym of a British journalist, ponders the horrendous real-life event, asking, ?What if?? The questions surrounding Diana's death have plagued the populace since the tragedy occurred, and Cain translates those questions into a plausible scenario for what might have happened (if indeed her death was planned). But the novel is more than its intriguing premise: Cain's debut thrilleralso boasts acompelling protagonistwho shows the potential to lead a continuing series. Given the subject, expect this one to attract attention well beyond genre fans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)