The Perfect Assassin: Book 1 in the Chronicles of Ghadid

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher.

The Perfect Assassin by K.A. Doore is a fun fantasy read set in a non-western secondary world. This book is actually less assassin and more murder mystery. The main character, Amastan, is well crafted and the pacing keeps things moving nicely.

One of the best things about The Perfect Assassin is the setting. Doore does a good job of not only developing a diverse non-western setting, but throwing in small touches that help to make the setting feel real. For instance, everyone wears a face cover. This means that in conversation, emotion is conveyed through the eyes, or through small motions of the eyebrows or nose that are visible when wearing those coverings. To see emotion described primarily in terms of small eye movements or the like was certainly unique and lent an air of authenticity to the setting that I appreciated. I also need to praise the pacing. There was very little down time in the novel. Doore kept things moving briskly, without feeling like every chapter contained some sort of high stakes cliffhanger.

While the setting was unique and interesting, there were some elements that I felt were treated in rather vague terms. The religious system, while playing a role in the story, is never explained. It’s monotheistic (I think), and there are spirits, but beyond that it’s given a very vague treatment, which was disappointing. The city of Ghadid itself is also, because of its location, a bit isolated, so we don’t learn much about the political side of the world. This is forgivable because it doesn’t play much of a role in the story. A larger issue is that I was never quite certain whether Ghadid was supposed to be a large city, or a series of very small neighborhoods that combined into a small town. Are there 5,000 people in Ghadid or 100,000? We’re never really given a hint, and I think that keeps the setting for being as exceptional as it might have been. Perhaps the biggest disappointment in the novel was that—partially because the setting never expands to feel like there are a lot of people in it—the plot ended up becoming fairly predictable. Things play out more or less as you’d expect, almost from the very beginning. As a result, the plot lacks impact, and what could be some cool character building moments ended up falling completely flat for me.

There’s a lot of potential here that I don’t think the novel completely lived up to. There are certainly fun elements, and for those looking specifically for fantasy in a murder mystery vein, they may find a lot to like. In the end, this isn’t a bad read, but it also isn’t one that really stood out to me. At the end of the day it may simply be that this book didn’t fully connect with me on several different levels.

3/5 stars

5 – I loved this, couldn’t put it down, move it to the top of your TBR pile
4 – I really enjoyed this, add it to the TBR pile
3 – It was ok, depending on your preferences it may be worth your time
2 – I didn’t like this book, it has significant flaws and I can’t recommend it
1 – I loathe this book with a most loathsome loathing