ContempConvos: I Am The Weapon by Allen Madoff

Goodreads Summary:

They needed the perfect assassin.

Boy Nobody is the perennial new kid in school, the one few notice and nobody thinks much about. He shows up in a new high school in a new town under a new name, makes a few friends, and doesn’t stay long. Just long enough for someone in his new friend’s family to die-of “natural causes.” Mission accomplished, Boy Nobody disappears, moving on to the next target.

But when he’s assigned to the mayor of New York City, things change. The daughter is unlike anyone he has encountered before; the mayor reminds him of his father. And when memories and questions surface, his handlers at The Program are watching. Because somewhere deep inside, Boy Nobody is somebody: the kid he once was; the teen who wants normal things, like a real home and parents; a young man who wants out. And who just might want those things badly enough to sabotage The Program’s mission.

In this action-packed series debut, author Allen Zadoff pens a page-turning thriller that is as thought-provoking as it is gripping, introducing an utterly original and unforgettable antihero.

Review:

O.M.G. I was not expecting this book to end how it did. Or to start how it did. I did not expect anything at all. And speaking honestly here, it was a breath of fresh air! I honestly felt like I was reading a script of a crime/covert operations type of show.

Zach Abram is Mr. Nobody. No one sees him arrive into their lives and no one notices when he leaves. I want to say he is like a shadow, but shadows leave something behind (if someone knows here to look) and he doesn’t. I really liked the way his back story was revealed in snippets through the entire book. It created this mysterious aura that helped form his character.

There was something that I loved about this book. Normally when an assassin or trained operative comes into play, no one sees him, he leaves nothing behind, but in this book the trained operative makes a mistake! He assumes that the family of the target does not know how to recognize people like him. He has all this training yet it fails him for a good portion of the book and it is through those mistakes that we learn that even the coldest person has feelings. The main character in a way is the anti-hero of his own story.

Gosh this was such a good book that I really don’t want to spoil it for anyone. If you are a fan of Jennifer Lynn Barns and/or Ally Carter,  I think you’ll like this book. It does have some flaws, but overall it is a good novel. It felt wholesome and the world was well established. I may have to get the second book because that ending… so did not see it coming! EEEKKKKKK!

Rating: 4 out of 5

Disclaimer: Thank you Little, Brown Books and  NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book for free in exchange for an honest review. Receiving this book for free does not sway my opinion.

Key word: Falling