Killer Intent review: Astute, cleverly plotted and scarily plausible

The attack was watched by millions of people live on TV and jeopardises the “special relationship” between the UK and US.

With political leaders scrambling to find scapegoats, military intelligence officer Major Joe Dempsey vows to track down the assassin, even if his mission is not officially sanctioned.

He starts to uncover a conspiracy to destabilise the peace accord in Northern Ireland and bring the UK government to its knees and realises he must face a shadowy figure from his past.

At the same time, Sarah Truman, a CNN reporter determined to get her headline, and Belfast-born criminal barrister Michael Devlin are running a parallel investigation. 

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When they realise they are in the path of a relentless killer, Dempsey faces a race against time to save them and prevent the conspiracy from changing our political landscape for ever.

Killer Intent is an astute, cleverly plotted and scarily plausible conspiracy thriller with plenty of twists leading to a well-judged finale.

In this debut novel Kent makes good use of his personal experiences as a top criminal barrister and champion amateur heavyweight boxer, creating a satisfying mix of skulduggery in the halls

of power combined with authentic fight scenes.

But his greatest achievement is his rounded, well-developed lead characters in Dempsey and Devlin who hit the ground running in the first of a projected four-book series.

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