Tears of the Assassin is the kind of immersive story that can get you into trouble. I read the eight sample chapters in one sitting on my office desktop while I should have been working. The character of David Diegert is immediately relatable and the reader feels moral indignation at the way he is treated by his father, brother, and the army as we root for he and his mother to overcome their problems. And that's all before the cold-blooded killer and evil genius world takeover part! Schiele clearly understands that truly high stakes are grounded in truly believable characters, and I can't wait to see how David's story ends.