Book Review: Little Sister by Mark Dawson

Mark Dawson has been one of my favorite contemporary spy-thriller authors ever since I’ve first met John Milton, the author’s most favorite character. I’ve been reading the Mark Dawson books ever since without fail.

Little Sister is the third book in the Group Fifteen Files novella series which focuses on the same group of undercover assassins that John Milton so much wanted to leave after getting tired of it all. To place the series in the John Milton universe, they take place after John Milton left and before Isabella Rose came into view.

In this book, we meet Bjorn Thorsson, who was part of Special Air Service, and who left to enjoy a quieter, more peaceful life. He has a sister, Gudrun, who is not only beautiful but is also entangled with a dangerous hedge-fund owner who doesn’t shy at having people killed if they disobey him.

When Gudrun gets into trouble with her hedge-fund boyfriend and eventually wants to leave him, the guy decides that she is not worthy to live. Suddenly, Gudrun’s life is in grave danger, and it’s up to Bjorn to save his little sister before it’s too late.

So how does story converge with Group Fifteen? Well, it seems that the group has some interests in keeping the hedge-fund guy alive, which doesn’t sit very well with Bjorn.

While the book is short (the whole series is made of novellas), the story is action-packed, which never lets you go until you savored the very last page. Despite its length, the book is a full-fledged story that leaves no thread loose.

Each booklet in the series reveals a bit more about the clandestine group of operatives, and if you have read the John Milton novels, you will understand his need to get away from them so much better. The group is mostly made of assassins, of people who leave their morals, ethics, and conscience behind (or deeply tucked away) to be able to do the jobs they are given.

When Bjorn’s future seems to include him being part of the Group 15, I was a bit sad because he seems like a very decent guy, and I can easily see him burned-out just like Milton after doing the killings for year after year.

Also, at this time, I wouldn’t mind seeing a new series with Bjorn Thorsson. I found him just as captivating as John Milton himself. He definitely is a book-series material. Here’s hoping…

It was interesting to note that each novella in the Group Fifteen Files series is co-authored with another writer. Scorpion is co-authored with Steve Cavanagh, Witness X with Scott Mariani, and, this latest one, Little Sister with Michael Ridpath, the author of the Fire and Ice crime mystery series, which is a great read all by itself.

I’m now looking forward to reading more in the Group Fifteen series, as they are very quick reads and get easily gobbled before the regular John Milton/Isabella Rose feature novels.