The Darkest Day (Victor the Assassin Book 5)

First of all, let me say that I have thoroughly enjoyed all of Tom Wood's "Victor the Assassin" books. However, I found this one to be the weakest of the series so far. In this one, Victor always seemed to be one step behind his adversaries. Additionally, there are two sequences in the book, both involving him trying to elude capture that did not ring true to me. In the first, while on foot, in New York City, in the middle of a power blackout, while moving through crowds of people, it seemed that no matter what Victor did or where he went, he was constantly being spotted, not only his by true pursuers, but also by EVERY New York cop that he came across. I found it hard to believe, for ANYONE to be spotted this often under these circumstances, let alone a trained operative like Victor, who is supposed to be adept at blending into his surroundings. I half expected Victor to find a hidden tracker somewhere on his person after his being spotted so many times. Then later, while in a car chase sequence (with another, supposedly trained character driving), the same thing occurred. No matter what they did, or where they went, they kept getting spotted. I don't know whether Mr. Wood ran out of ideas for this book and had to fill in pages with some kind of action/tension-filled sequences or not, but this again didn't ring true to me, based on previous novels with this character. Now, I still enjoyed the book and will continue to follow Victor's adventures in forthcoming books, but I hope the following books return Victor to his previous "self".

A major major disappointment ......I have read all the books in the series...... it is like the author decided to make the book 2 times as long by having nothing but long boring tedious car chases one after the other .....perhaps on film it would be interesting but in the book it mind numbing...... I cannot imagine anyone enjoying a 25 page description of a car chase when you know at the end of Victor will get away.... what should have taken maybe 2 to 3 pages the author takes 15 to 25 pages to say, on many occasions.... it is getting very very annoying and it feels as if the author is trying to toy with the reader by writing 400 page books that in actuality have about 50 pages of plot and all the rest horrifically boring and very predictable chase scenes. I notice this trend in previous books in the series but it has now gotten out of hand and I will give the author one more chance with the next book but if it continues I will no longer read the series

Victor gets a girlfriend—well sorta!The Darkest Day is a typical Tom Wood suspense techno-thriller. Victor, contract killer extraordinaire, is sent by the CIA to assassinate a wayward royal Saudi prince. A prince living an extreme lavish lifestyle while he finances several worldwide terrorist organizations. Finally fed up with his wayward ways, the royal Saudi family has authorized the CIA to terminate the prince. Victor arrives in the Middle East where the prince is currently playing, plans and plots a typical Victor meticulous assassination. Only one problem, Victor soon realizes HE is the target!! After arriving at the killing site Victor is attack by a female assassin. The gun battle is close but both assassins are able to flee with minor injuries. Now the story begins for real as Victor must hunt and kill his foe and find out WHY?Character development was absolutely superb. Mr. Wood is painstaking in both his plot and characters. He pays a great deal of attention to how the characters not only fit the narrative but continually push the storyline. Yes there is lots of action, and some of the chase scenes are a wee bit over-the-top, but the well written storyline makes up for any excesses. Best of all Victor is forced to work with another assassin to solve his conundrum of who wants him dead.No gratuitous language, violence, or sex. In many ways Mr. Wood’s novels are a “How to be an assassin for Dummies” monograph. He goes into great detail on the art of killing and spy craft, and like Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, Barry Eisler, and others he always writes a terrific story.5 stars for The Darkest Day. We learn a little bit more about the solitary Victor in every Tom Wood’s novel. Victor is almost a composite of Jack Reacher-loner, Harry Bosch-deductive thinker, and Mitch Rapp-killer. Victor has chosen the solitary assassin lifestyle and maybe someday Mr. Woods will enlighten us as to why. Until then evil doers beware of Victor! Oh, did I mention Victor gets the girl in The Darkest Days? Well sorta—LOL!!!

Well, Mr. Wood has another hit with this newest installment of the "Victor" series! The action is non-stop from page 1 to the final page and at times you're wondering what's going to happen next. The escapades in New York City during a Black Out are top notch and definitely had me on the edge of my seat as I was reading it.I'm a huge fan of this series, so huge in fact that I ordered my copy from the UK in paperback before it was even available here in the US! I tend to do that with a lot of the UK writers I like.Anywho, you will not be disappointed with this installment of the series and you'll definitely be please with how it turns out.

I was a big fan of the Victor the Assassin books until this one. Story line was not very good. There was a lot of build up to an ending that happened very quickly. If you've read the first 4, it's still worth reading this one, especially since Wood has setup the story for a 6th. I'm sure I'll read the next one, but I won't be as quick to purchase, and may just wait for my library to get it for me to read. Still a fan of Tom Wood, but i was disappointed in this one.

I love Tom Wood`s books. The Darkest Day about Victor the Assassin is another in a series about this character. This time a female assassin plays a major role in the book. First she tries to kill Victor and later works with him. These books are exciting and cover international locations. If you like the Gray Man books and John Milton books, you will love Victor the Assassin. I hope Tom Wood keeps writing about Victor.I highly recommend this book.

Victor is a contract killer: there 8 books in the series plus some short stories. I have read 7 of the books one after another and have found them to be compelling reading. Victor gets into some serious scrapes. If you are squeamish then do not read - Victor escapes from incarceration in two of the books by biting through the jugular vein in the neck of his captor. He is an expert marksman and kills with a double tap of bullets, I lost count of the number of people he kills. Just hope you never meet him. He can kill you in 3 seconds by breaking your neck. So be warned.

I love when Tom Wood publishes a new "Victor" book. This particular one is enthralling and I read it cover to cover and couldn't put it down. As soon as I finished it, I started back at page one...just in case I missed anything, ya know!! I live in the USA and ordered it from Amazon UK because I just couldn't wait for four months until it's released here, extra postage be damned! So glad I did too, it's a powerful story and the action never stops...but then, all of Tom Wood's books are like that and I'd be hard-pressed to pick my favorite. Heck, they are all my favorite! Long Live Victor!

The darkest day is the fifth in the frankly marvellous victor the assassin series. It takes Victor to the big apple pits him against he usual legions of well trained death squads and a femme fatal. However this book never lets up, its like watching a Jason Stathem movie with shoot outs, fights and chases at every corner. The subtle plot changes and twists and Victor's meticulous ways not explained. It's all a bit crash bang wallop, and that's just not Victor.Mr Wood can and has done a lot better and I found this book to be far the weakest in the series. However saying that I still enjoyed it it's just a bit hectic for me. If you like those non stop in your face action movies then you will like this.However if you are looking to get into this series please do not start with this one and read they quite frankly stunning first three.

OK so it pains me to give this book a 4-start rating because all in all the "victor the assassin" series is in my opinion the pinnacle of the lone wolf freelance operative genre eclipsing even andy mcnabs nick stone series which has always been the bench mark for me.Where this book starts to miss the mark compared to the previous books in the series is that the protagonist spends too much time reacting to other people and events rather than being the driving force of the story and this is exemplified in the main man hunt sequence in new york. There was too much evading, hiding, running away (all deftly written to be fair) and not enough "old school" victor - plotting planning, hunting, always being one stop ahead of his enemies.Make no mistake, this is still a better read than the vast majority of other assassin themed books but fingers crossed for a full return to top form for victors next outing.

I read Tom Woods' The Darkest Day over three nights and enjoyed the pace and storyline immensely. My only criticism is that car chases are incredibly difficult to put into words and whilst Tom tried hard, they ended in epic fails!! The need for speed was missed. That said, I cannot wait to read the next Victor adventure, which is the real measure of a good read! Well done Tom. A-, with room for improvement.