‘Last Instructions’ by Nir Hezroni

Published by Point Blank,
14 February 2019.
ISBN: 978-1-78607-547-5 (OPB)

This is a sequel to the author’s first thriller, Three Envelopes, featuring Mossad secret service operatives, although it is equally enjoyable as a stand-alone.

In the latest novel, ably translated from Hebrew by Steven Cohen, Mossad is on the hunt for its former agent 10483, now a disgruntled, vengeful psychopath who’s trying to extinguish the organization of which he was once a part.  But it’s not only Mossad who’s on his trail but also two separate independent units all competing in a race against time, and a race for glory, to snuff out and put an end to the ex agent’s evil genius.

10483’s mind and behaviour were rewired and messed with in programming experiments   (called “transformations”) while he was with Mossad.    He now makes it his twisted, zealous mission to exact retribution by seeking out and assembling a hidden nuclear warhead that he’ll convey to and detonate at the CIA’s Langley HQ.  His story is narrated in the first person that makes it all the more immediate and urgent and gets the reader into his thinking processes as to the reasons for his wanting to settle scores. Indeed, one can’t help feeling a sneaking sympathy for him given how he was treated and what he was subjected to.

The author has extensive experience of hands on military intelligence and this credibly shines through, is skillfully interwoven and makes for interesting and vivid reading.   The plotting is intelligent and well structured; all major characters are given their fair share of telling their version of this dark, complex story and the enthralling climax is thrillingly played out in Tel Aviv. The result is an   arresting, fast paced, not –your- average thriller, a real nail biting page-turner written in immersive style that will give readers a cracking ride to the very last suspenseful paragraph.

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Reviewer: Serena Fairfax

Nir Hezroni was born in Jerusalem. After studying physics in high school and completing several years of military service in intelligence, Hezroni retired to study economics and business management. He then proceeded to build a career in high tech. In 2014 he published his first thriller, Three Envelopes, which was enthusiastically received by critics and readers alike. He lives with his family near Tel Aviv.

http://nirhezroni.com/

Serena Fairfax spent her childhood in India, qualified as a lawyer in England and practised in London for many years. She began writing by contributing feature articles to legal periodicals   then turned her hand to fiction. Having published nine novels all, bar one, hardwired with a romantic theme, she has also written short stories and accounts of her explorations off the beaten track that feature on her blog. A tenth, distinctly unromantic, novel is a work in progress. Thrillers, crime and mystery narratives, collecting old masks and singing are a few of her favourite things.

www.serenafairfax.com