Immortal Flame (Hell to Pay #1)

On his way to an assignment, hired gun Peter Blackstone gets into a fatal car wreck. Well, fatal except that he doesn’t die. Cursed with immortality, and used as an assassin whose blade feeds the evil to his boss, Peter can only hope no one finds out about the lovely doctor who “saved” his life: Allison La Croix. She can see death, and he is death in the flesh, but the link created accidentally between them is a dangerous one for them both. He may have a weapon that leads him to his kill, but so does she.

Immortals aren’t new, and neither are immortal assassins, but this story begins to weave an intriguing twist on an old plot. These immortals used to be human, but made a deal. Peter used his deal to save his wife, not knowing that it would be collected upon within days. Unless he completes a “Meaningful Kill” he is a slave forever. The use of special knives to harvest evil souls that feed the boss make these assassins not quite the bad guys they pretend to be. Allison can see death, but not all the time until she meets Peter; once again, a slight twist to psychic phenomena. Cleverly and expertly woven between their POVs, their journey is not an easy one - lives will be lost, family endangered, much bodily harm done to many - and love begins to bloom despite neither really wanting it. There are enough other assassins mentioned and brought into their fight that this series will be an exciting one and well worth the time to savor strength in men, and women.

Julie York