James Patterson and Brian Sitts have mined a remarkable legacy and turned it into what hopefully will become a long-running series. Throughout the 1930s and ’40s, one of the most memorable heroes to grace the pages of pulp fiction was Doc Savage. His countless adventures, in which he pledged to right wrongs and fight evildoers, continue to thrill readers and was even the impetus for his own comic book series.

Dr. Brandt Savage, Doc Savage’s grandson, is the primary protagonist of THE PERFECT ASSASSIN. What is especially thrilling about this book is the opportunity to see Savage transformed from an out-of-shape professor to a killing machine who will be tasked with a mission that he never expected but for which he is ultimately destined.

"The final confrontation between the two sides produces many high-octane battles that keep the action of THE PERFECT ASSASSIN pumping like one of the high-energy exercise routines that Savage had to complete earlier in the tale."

The story begins in Russia 30 years prior and the abduction of twin babies from their home. Readers will look on in horror as the vile kidnappers leave the infants out in the cold overnight to test them. The next morning, the dark-haired girl has passed on, while the copper-haired one is barely clinging to life. Throughout the book, we see passages from the past that show her growing up in a special school where she is being trained to be a killer. As she gets older, she adopts the code name “Meed.”

Now, in present day, Meed has long since escaped from the school and is on a mission of her own --- to abduct Savage. Rather than torture him for information or hold out for some sort of ransom, Meed does something completely unexpected: she trains him. Their training begins like a hyperactive version of CrossFit and turns Savage into a rock-hard dynamo who is a physical specimen to be admired and feared.

Meed also is putting Savage through subliminal message training sessions while he sleeps, giving him such skills as the ability to speak difficult languages like Mandarin Chinese and operate various types of vehicles that he has never driven before. They have an interesting relationship, almost akin to a weird Stockholm syndrome. Savage starts out fearing Meed but then grows to respect her.

Once Meed reveals her true identity to Savage, she informs him that her master plan is to bring down the school for assassins before they find her and silence her permanently. Their mission to the little-known area of Russia known as Kamchatka is nothing short of breathtaking and filled with peril like only James Patterson can create.

The final confrontation between the two sides produces many high-octane battles that keep the action of THE PERFECT ASSASSIN pumping like one of the high-energy exercise routines that Savage had to complete earlier in the tale. I eagerly await Savage’s next adventure and can only hope that it somehow will involve our mysterious heroine once again.