In Key West, artist Selina McCaffrey runs Island Dreams, an art gallery except when she is on assignment for her “Uncle” William Davis. Fourteen years ago William “helped” Selena with a problem involving a death and she would do anything for him now. William sends Selena to clean up a mess incriminatingly left behind by his assistant Damon Long. An irate Damon detests Selena who is treated more like William’s family than a worker.

Selena temporarily moves to Tulsa to live next door to Detective Tony “Chee” Ceola, who is putting together a case against William. Selena is to destroy the dossier and if necessary kill the cop. Damon hopes she will mess up though he admits she is a survivor. While a serial killer murdering the dregs of society leaves behind “repent” as his message diverts Tony’s efforts to put away William, the detective and his assassin fall in love. Will Selena choose the man who gave her a lifeline when she was a drowning teen or the cop that offers her a lifetime of love?

The key to THE ASSASSIN is the believability of Selena as a fighter, a survivor, and a woman in love; the cast including Chee pale next to her. The story line grips the audience from the moment Selena shows her skills against a much heavier male opponent and never slows down until she must choose sides. Readers will wonder whether she will go with the father figure who “saved” her in the past or the hunk who offers her a warm enlightened future. Rachel Butler provides a gripping thriller that keeps her audience guessing which one Selena will select.

Harriet Klausner