title: L'Assassin: A Thriller (A Louis Morgon Thriller)
author:  Peter Steiner 
description: American expat Louis Morgon has lived quietly for three decades in a small town in the Loire River valley, painting and tending his garden, but as L Assassin begins, his life is about to change. His longtime lover, Solesme, is dying of cancer, and a clumsy burglar has stolen his lawnmower. The 67-year-old Morgon soon realizes that the burglary was the beginning of a plot to brand him a terrorist; the architect of the plot, he also realizes,is Hugh Bowe, his former mentor. Even Morgons grown children are at risk, and his only ally is the lone policeman in his small French town. Thwarting Bowe takes Morgon to three continents. This unusualsuspense talegenerates the building tension associated with such classic international thrillers as Day of the Jackal, and it vividly evokes the more tranquil pace of life in both small town Provence and a Breton village. Add to that a handful of richly drawn characters, and you have a novel with appeal for both political thriller fans and anyone who enjoys international fiction. --Thomas Gaughan
zlib_text: Also by
  
  
  PETER STEINER
  
  
  Le Crime
  
  
  L’Assassin
  
  
  The Terrorist
  
  
  ## ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  
  
  
  
  
  ![image](../images/author.jpeg)
  
  
  
  
  
  Earlier in his life, Peter Steiner taught literature for a living. Then he
  became a cartoonist for The New Yorker. He now writes stunningly good spy
  novels. He has published three previous books, The Terrorist, L’Assassin, and
  Le Crime (published in hardcover as A French Country Murder), in his series
  set in France and featuring ex–CIA man Louis Morgon. Peter Steiner makes his
  home in France and Connecticut.
  
  
  Visit his Web site at [www.plsteiner.com](http://www.plsteiner.com).
  
  
  
  
  
  I.
  
  
  “THE SECRETARY OF STATE would like to see you.”
  
  
  “Thank you,” said Louis Morgon.
  
  
  He rose, turned, and gazed at President Nixon’s photo hanging behind his desk,
  not out of any sense of devotion to the president, but to check his own
  reflection in the glass. He gave the knot of his tie a little upward tug.
  
  
  “I’ll be right back,” he said.
  
  
  “Good luck,” his secretary said, th