Doctor Assassin (A Medical Science Thriller) by Mark R Belsky and Jon DiSavino is a terrorist thriller novel that would appeal most to a diverse audience of mature young adults and adults who enjoy medical science thrillers and who do not mind some sexual scenes. Dr. Max Dent was perfectly happy to put his life as an Israeli Intelligence assassin behind him and is considered to be a very competent heart surgeon. But the decision to take on one final mission might just lead to the end of his new life. Will he be able to stop what could be the biggest threat to human life since the Holocaust and return to his surgery life, or will this threat prove to be his final mission in more ways than one?

Doctor Assassin (A Medical Science Thriller) by Mark R Belsky and Jon DiSavino is a very well-written book with a captivating cover that served to grab my attention the moment I saw it. I have to say that this book reminded me a bit of the TV show 24 with the terrorist threat, but I found that I enjoyed the medical element of this book so much that it made it better than 24. I quite liked the inclusion of Lilah not just as Dr. Max Dent’s girlfriend, but as a character who was working with him to handle the threat. So often girlfriends and wives are included just as token characters in thrillers, so I liked how real Lilah felt and the way that I was able to connect with her emotionally. Overall, I greatly enjoyed following Dr. Max Dent through this thriller and I hope the authors decide to continue to write in this genre as they are quite gifted at it.

Doctor Assassin: A Medical Science Thriller is a work of fiction in the thriller, mystery, and suspense subgenres. It is suitable for the general reading audience and was penned by author Mark R Belsky. The book follows ex-assassin Max Dent who has managed to establish himself as a well-regarded heart surgeon working in the USA. After being persuaded to take one last mission for his former employers, he quickly finds himself at the center of a plot that could claim more innocent lives than the Holocaust. Max must work with his girlfriend Lilah to stop both a deadly new disease and those who have worked to propagate it.

This was immediately a refreshing and exciting twist on the espionage thriller with the medical drama elements of the story providing an accessible ingredient that worked with the more traditional spy story elements to create an original take on the genre. Author Mark R Belsky has created a dynamic and engaging protagonist in Max Dent, one who will hopefully form the basis of a series, given his unique perspective and skillset. It was an excellent duality of his character to have him saving lives in the context of the Hippocratic Oath and also that of an international assassin, and the author wastes none of the dramatic potential that such a character innately holds. Overall, Doctor Assassin is an exciting page-turner that establishes a refreshing and engaging rhythm that builds on the already existing tropes of the spy thriller and creates something new that is unmissable.