Burden of the Assassin: Peter Black, Book 1

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars | 9,456 ratings

Price: 21.83

Last update: 01-24-2025


About this item

You were born alone.

You will live alone.

You will die alone.

This is the burden of the assassin.

A master assassin craves one thing above all else: a normal everyday life.

Trained to be a killer from the age of 11, Peter has never known the things the average person takes for granted. He has always been an asset.

Burned by the CIA and now occupying their secret hit list, he works overseas as a Ronin, living a solitary life in hiding.

But someone knows where he is.

A strange man arrives at his door offering Peter the chance of a real life. "Get this done and you can be free," he is told.

All he has to do is complete a three-name kill list in one month. Make it look like a series of unfortunate accidents.

What could be so complicated about that?


Top reviews from the United States

  • Pamela Rosen
    5.0 out of 5 stars But a Thrill to Read
    Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2023
    I want to be quite honest upfront so while the book was well written, exciting at parts, filled with action and lots of murder (shocking I know), it was also emotionally draining because of the incredible angst that ran throughout the novel. That didn’t stop me from enjoying the book or wondering when we would learn about certain key details being held back; but it is something I thought I should bring up just in case that would be an issue or a problem for somebody. It’s not nearly as shocking as a Karin Slaughter novel and it doesn’t have the Lincoln Rhyme detective explaining why specific clues mean “x,y or z”, but the lead character, Peter Black, is intriguing in his own personal manner. However, if you’re looking for a funny murder novel, this would not be the right book.

    *SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD* *DO NOT READ ON IF YOU CARE*

    When the novel begins, Peter Black is already an established assassin; indeed, he is famous for his work and feared by many of his peers. However, the novel goes back and forth in Peter’s life, from where he is now to back before he even knew about assassins. But one thing Peter knew about as a young pre-teen was abuse from his years in the foster “care” system, both from the people with whom he was placed and from the older, bigger boys back at the general care facility whenever Peter was sent back. When we first meet Peter, the federal authority sent out to a murder scene is amazed not just by his age but by his fighting skills and his ability to hide pain, an already learned skill by the age of eleven.

    And it is at this point of the novel that things take a strange twist. The local police at the scene were going to arrest Peter for murder as well as aggravated assault upon several POs and when “Jean” arrives at the scene (the federal officer), you honestly feel as if Peter is being rescued by this woman. Peter goes from being locked in a tiny room with a bag over his face, handcuffs on, and straps around his body to the officer taking charge of him and ordering that the handcuffs be removed “at once”. Indeed, not five minutes after being placed in her car, Peter is at a diner, chowing down and eating (possibly for the first time in days) and it is at this moment that his life will change forever when he pipes up with a comment that only an incredibly bright, perceptive person could possibly know and after a few more questions, the officer realizes just HOW intelligent and perceptive Peter truly is. It is a *gift* . But what she decides to do with the gift is questionable at best.

    Jean’s job for the country is to find and train possibly exceptional candidates for assassination. So instead of placing Peter in a gifted and talented program, as we already know, he is going to become an assassin — yes, he will actually become one of the best assassins — but was that *truly* in Peter’s best interests? At the age of 11, even if he had successfully been found guilty of murder, he would have been sent to a juvenile facility and likely would have been released at the age of 21. He would have been fine at the facility bc he already knew how to protect himself against larger, bigger bullies and then he could have done whatever he wished in his lifetime. Instead, he was stuck being an assassin for all of his existence bc it’s not a job you just leave — you leave bc you’ve been killed or you die. You don’t “retire”.

    And you realize that even with a strict code of ethics and a certain code that has helped him live thru his mid-30s, Peter is miserable and only getting worse bc other people have not honored his code, leaving him in a state of depression and (as mentioned) angst. You truly bond with the protagonist and then you feel awful — *miserable* — when he attempts to help the weak and the helpless and they are merely afraid of him.

    However, I promise you that the storyline is one that kept me reading straight thru to the end. Ignoring everything else around me so that I could find out the answer to all the unanswered questions in the book. And the only thing that kept me happy at the end of reading the novel was the reminder that it’s part of a trilogy. That the story didn’t end right there. So while I may have made it sound depressing, clearly there’s more to it or I wouldn’t have spent so much time reading it or writing this incredibly lengthy review. (Sorry about that.)
  • Kindle Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars So many twists and turns.
    Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2024
    I hope our stories lead gets to take a break soon. By goodness, he has earned it. On the surface, the hard training has paid off. However, what is the toll on the mind and body. I still think I would train to be the best. A tough choice: Did the leading man make the right decision? Find out for yourself.
  • Andrew C
    5.0 out of 5 stars What A Start to the Series
    Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2023
    This is easily one of my favorite books of 2023 and one of my favorite starts to a series. Vogel and Archer have Peter Black reminding me of Evan Smoak (Orphan X), Reacher, Rapp, and Harvarth...the action is intense and nonstop. The plot is deep with plenty of twists and turns. I believe the character develop!ent is as good as you silk read as well. The villains are vile and you can't wait for them to get theirs. There is also a lot of tragedy in this book as well with a fair amount of protagonists dying which you truly feel their loss. For close to 500 pages this book flew by. I !I've this book and can't wait to read the next one!
  • Marty
    5.0 out of 5 stars Burden of the Assassin
    Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2023
    This book is poignant and sad. In the end there is redemption and even poetic justice. Even with innocence and love lost and lives stolen there still remains hope for reconciliation and forgiveness. Gave this a five star rating because, it so touched my heart. There can be joy in the morning and beauty for ashes. Even for those who have endured the most cruelty imaginable, pain and suffering. A testament to the resilience of the human spirit. Would recommend this book to everyone. It goes beyond a good thriller that is not only well written and exciting; it also, has such depth that even after plumbing the darkness of the abyss, it leaves one hopeful that one can push off from the bottom and head up into the light.
  • The Wild Gerbil
    4.0 out of 5 stars If you have read, and are a fan of the orphan X books, you can consider this a B+ homage
    Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2023
    Take a young orphan, raise him in a secluded spot, trained in death warfare, and the ability to absorb pain. Orphan X did that better. The number of words misspelled, are probably less than 15, but I find it very distracting in what is supposed to be an excellent novel.

    In spite of that, I found the book, enjoyable, and quite compelling. Almost too many characters, or a lack of them being clear, was a weakness, but not a terrible one. I did find it hard to put down, and will explore the next in the series. With so many of the characters not surviving the end of the book, I am anxious to see how the next version proceeds.
  • Astrida M
    5.0 out of 5 stars One of my fave books this year!
    Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2023
    Wow, what a good book! I had to read it at every available moment that I could! My first but not my last book with these very talented writers. Peter Black is a very complex character. He was kidnapped and trained to become an assassin at a very young age! He is partly a psychopath, a killer, an insecure young man with women, an honest and caring individual and very likeable to the reader. This book reminded me of the Orphan X series by Gregg Hurwitz in case you can't get enough of Peter's character. This is one of my top 5 for the year so far!
  • Al Benitez
    3.0 out of 5 stars Good pace and interesting plot.
    Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2023
    Although the concept was obviously ripped off from the Orphan X novels the story is engaging and has plenty of action. The writing; however, is full of misspelled words (not typos), cliches and poor grammar. B level, but not bad for the price. ; )
  • Betty J Baker
    5.0 out of 5 stars I love David Archer s writing
    Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2022
    This is probably one of the saddest, most violent books I have ever read. If it was not co-authored by David Archer I probably wouldn't have read it. But it was and I have read every book he has written, including the Noah Wolf books. David has a way of taking an unsympathetic character and making him or her wonderful. That is there in this book in spades. Peter Black is an assassin. That is all he knows how to do. He has been trapped in that lifestyle since he was 11years old. The way he lived before and the training he goes through makes you wonder how he survives. Please read this book and give it a chance. I don't know how much Vince Vogel had to do with character development but their collaboration turned out very well. Kudos to them both!

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