The Assassin's Bargain by B.L Newport

Phaedra Humphrey is an Intimate assassin. After twenty years of doing the job, she’s become disillusioned and decides to retire. But simply walking away from the job, is not an option. Phaedra makes a bargain with her boss, Joy Oh, but will Joy uphold the bargain?

Joy has been in love with Phaedra for years and has tried every trick in the book to seduce her and not succeeded. She is going to try one last time before Phaedra walks out of her life forever, if she lets her walk out!

Phaedra’s bargain with Joy is to train her replacement, Petra Brighton, in return for being able to walk away from Professional Personnel Services (PPS) and to retire with no strings attached. What Phaedra and Joy couldn’t predict, is that Phaedra and Petra would fall in love with one another. This creates a huge problem and could ultimately result in both women getting killed.

When Joy suspects Phaedra and Petra of being intimate, she takes out a contract to kill Phaedra using the one person who she suspects will not be able to carry out the task. Will Phaedra escape death?

Phaedra has to learn to put her trust in others, but will she be able to after years of trusting no one but herself? Will she be able to remain in control enough to protect herself and the woman she loves more than her own life?

A wonderful, well written, refreshingly new story unlike anything I’ve read before. I love B.L Newport’s Reapers Inc series and I wondered how I would like something entirely different. I needn’t have worried, this book is equally as good as all her others. This story is a page turner from the first page right through to the last page. B.L Newport’s storytelling is varied and diverse. Her writing is an easy and comfortable read. All the characters are fully formed, well fleshed out and multidimensional. Each character is essential to the progression of the story and they all interact really well together.

The story starts off by telling us the background of how PPS was formed and who started the company up. So often these things are left to our imagination in books. We see how each character fits into the story and the part they play.

Phaedra and Petra are so obviously made for each other and meant to be together. Both women fight their attraction in the knowledge that they can never have a relationship. I enjoyed seeing the path they took to fulfil their dreams.

As well as the tension and excitement of the story, there are a few nice hot romantic scenes to lighten it up. The scenic descriptions were so good, I could easily immerse myself in the story and imagine I was there amongst the characters as the story played out.

I would love to see a sequel or even a short story to let us know how everything turned out with Phaedra’s retirement from the PPS and how she coped with life after being an assassin for so long.

With each book I read from B.L Newport, I can see her growth as a writer shining through. That’s not to say her earlier books are not good, they are wonderful. She is a master storyteller. A credit to her craft.

I’m looking forward to B.L Newport’s next book with eager anticipation. Hopefully, another in the Reapers Inc series. But really, after this book, simply ANY book will be welcome.