Editorial Content for The Medusa Protocol

Rob Hart follows up his immensely unique work, ASSASSINS ANONYMOUS, with a sequel, THE MEDUSA PROTOCOL. In the first book, we met Mark, who had spent years as a feared assassin with the nickname Pale Horse.

As of late, Mark and a small collection of individuals with similar backgrounds have formed a support group --- sort of like Alcoholics Anonymous but for recovering killers and global assassins. It has served him well and even came to his rescue in ASSASSINS ANONYMOUS. Since then, he has worked towards paying it forward by sponsoring a young woman, Astrid, a one-time deadly assassin known as Azrael.

"THE MEDUSA PROTOCOL contains stories that are worth telling and savoring. It also makes for some of the best thriller writing of the year."

Things take a suspicious turn when Astrid drops out of sight and misses an AA meeting. During that session, a pizza arrives even though no one had ordered it. It just so happens that the pies are covered in olives, which is Astrid’s favorite. They take this as a message from her, wherever she is. Moments later, their location is violently attacked by a group of killers and burned to the ground as they all escape.

Astrid is being held captive with a horde of other killers at a prison that she later learns is in Brazil. Her captor is Dr. Felix Vogt, whose true intentions are initially unknown to her. All she knows is that she is being subjected to various experiments, some of which are quite invasive and painful. Astrid needs to get out of there and hopes to do so by keeping to the vow she made at Assassins Anonymous about not killing anymore. She befriends a fellow prisoner who might be willing to collaborate with her on an escape plan.

Meanwhile, after the attack on his meeting place, Mark is more committed than ever to rescuing Astrid from whomever may be holding her. He has a companion in fellow group member Booker, and they later team up with Lavigne, a killer whose ears Mark had removed during a past meeting in his time working within the assassin game. Lavigne will help Mark only if he promises to give up one of his ears to him as payment. Once the newly formed trio identifies where Astrid is being held and come up with a course of action, Mark agrees to Lavigne’s demand if it means her safe return.

Astrid has no idea what Mark has planned, and she only hopes that her message in the form of the olive-covered pizza was received. While being tortured by Dr. Vogt, she learns of his master plan --- the Medusa Protocol --- and it is diabolical in its conception. The action both within the walls of the prison and the adventures of Mark and company outside of it are fast and hard-hitting, keeping the novel moving along at a pleasantly frenetic pace. These characters and their circumstances are so well fleshed out as the author masterfully puppeteers them in another wild show.

When I first picked up this book, I thought Rob Hart had said all that needed to be said about a recovering assassin on a journey towards redemption. How wrong I was! THE MEDUSA PROTOCOL contains stories that are worth telling and savoring. It also makes for some of the best thriller writing of the year.