Wild… In The Best Way.

I know that comparing any action/trained assassin story to Bourne is a bit of a faux pas. Still, there were scenes in this that the only way that my brain could compute was by going to the highlight reel in my head of scenes from those movies and pulling up the ones where he gets out of insane situations with planned, fast movements. Adrian Hell is such a great assassin that the comparison is meant as nothing but a compliment.

A Necessary Kill, besides containing one of my least favorite words to try and remember how to spell, was an excellent story from beginning to end. Sumner absolutely nails the nonstop action in this one. I don’t know if I was breathing properly for a while. The action was so fast that I felt like I was reminding myself to take a breath. Adrian is forced to team up with some interesting and unique characters in this one and the back-and-forth this creates is hilarious and great at the same time.

I won’t spoil the storyline, people, or crazy things that happen but there were surprises around every corner. This one was a wild one from beginning to end in the best way possible. I’m struggling to write much more without spoiling, so fair warning for the next paragraph.

SPOILER ALERT: There is one benefit to an audiobook being done before the ebook editions – a book like this, with the steepest of cliffhanger endings can be somewhat quickly answered by looking to see if there are more books in the series. Spoilers aside, I’m thrilled that there will be more Adrian in my life, and I hope that Bennett keeps getting the honor of performing them.

Overall, A Necessary Kill was brilliant from front to back. Sumner has solidified himself as a master thriller writer and Adrian is one of the best fictional characters I’ve read in a long time. Throw in the excellent performance by Gary Bennett and you’ve got an EASY top rating from me, and this will likely go down as one of the top books I’ve read in 2023.

Oh and the scene(s) with his “dark side” for lack of a better term. Bone-chilling.

Rarely do I have to come back and add more to a review after, and likely a small spoiler alert. Sumner, you should consider writing a post-apocalyptic story based on the world that you created in this story (trying so hard not to spoil much more).