35. Montmorency and the Assassins by Eleanor Updale

Montmorency and the Assassins by Eleanor Updale
ISBN: 0439683432
Scholastic Books, New York, 2006
404 pages

Teaser: The book starts out as an adventure, as the last two books in the series had, set in late 1800’s Europe, as assassin Montmorency fights for his life in a hospital. He is surrounded by his friend and confident, Lord George Fox-Selwyn.

Summary: Montmorency and Lord George Fox-Selwyn criss-cross Europe as assassin for hire. They appear to place little of the decisions on the morality of the kill, but on the price of the job. There is however the impression that they do evaluate the more global affects of their actions, but appear to be easily swayed for their assignments by the party paying. The reflection of the consequences comes only after the completion of the job, while recovering from their injuries or in reflection of how close they themselves came to death. Montmorency enjoys spending his wealth from his jobs and his appearance in social society as mysterious and regal and not to be questioned. I found Montmorency to be quite the story teller and that it would be inviting to be at one of his castle like settings sipping wine and caviar. Nothing cheap in public, in sharp contrast to living in the swells while on assignment.

Evaluation: I found this book to be a disappointment over the last two in the series. It was written as if someone from the outside had picked up the first two books and created an adventure from a different prospective. It just didn’t seem to be the same author at all. I also found the chapters to be very short and lacking details of what could have been very flavorful and descriptive to someone who had no knowledge of European culture and countryside.
I found the book to have some good mystery and adventure, but the predictable details of assassinations, bombings and bodies falling were superficial and lacked the sense of bonding and relationships between the characters in the last two books.

Overall, I did find it a good book and in short chapters for those who may not stay focused to longer plots or grasping the books setting in the late 1800’s and some old English language. It did bring a sense of closeness between the main characters as friends, as well as the fear of the loss of family members and threats against them from retaliation in the book. The loss of a dear friend in the end was a shock and a heavy blow to Montmorency and I could see his revenge being strong and prompt.

Challenges issues and age recommendation: The book does contain some graphic descriptions of war, old battle wounds and operations in less than desirable locations. The ending of the book was a bit of a cliff hanger that would lead the reader to want to pick up the next book, but was also strange and detailed in the oddity of purpose of the presentation. Action/adventure fans would enjoy this book, although it is a longer book with a slower pace than the last two books. I would recommend this book for a well experienced 7th grader and up.