Cameo The Assassin by Dawn McCullough White

Cameo opens up with a tragedy that will stay with you for the remainder of the novel.  Gwen "Cameo" is dying, her little sister is dead and she has just been brutally raped, stabbed and beaten.  She lives, but she is never the same.  She refuses to part with the cameo brooch, all that is left from her mother, and hence how she gets her name.  Her eyes remain filmed like a corpse and she is very pale.  She joins the Association, a group of Assassins that do work for the nobles.  Cameo is one of the best at her job.

However, Cameo seems to be without feeling.  She talks flatly without any inflection, she cares not for creature comforts.  She does her job without flinching and moves on without feeling to the next one, giving death.  She is also an alcoholic.  She has a silver flask she takes with her everywhere and keeps it filled.

On the way to a job, her carriage is accosted by robbers.  She really could care less, except they take her cameo brooch.  She gets it back, but her next job is to kill the same robber, only this time a fellow assassin is to accompany her.  She can't stand Gail, the other assassin.  He captured her at one time and tortured her. 

Instead of killing Black Opal and Bel, the robbers, she kills Gail.  She knows now she can never go back to the Association so she takes off with Opal and Bel.  These two are unique and eccentric characters.  Bel believes himself a poet and Opal is a dandy with too much makeup and wearing women's clothing.  When a price is issued for all of their heads, the story really takes off.

Filled with action, intrigue, a splash of romance and fascinating characters, Cameo is an exceptional read! I loved the characters and never expected the twists and turns that the story takes. Dawn does a great job of keeping the reader in suspense while giving just enough to keep this reader curious to keep turning the pages.  Very clever!!