(Posted for Ann Roberts)
I picked this book up off my shelf and it’s been there for
some time so I might have read it and reviewed it before. Let’s hope not. I think I started it once
upon a time and didn’t finish, as the idea of a thoughtful, “average guy” hit
man was too disturbing for me at the time. If I’ve reviewed it before, just
tell yourself, “Poor Ann. She’s under a lot of stress”.
Lawrence Block paints the character of Keller with his usual
wry wit and insight into human nature. Keller is a gentleman hit man who sips
tea with an older woman on the front porch of the big house where he goes to
get his assignments and fantasizes about settling down in a cozy cottage with a
nice wife and kids in the towns that he visits to carry out his nefarious
deeds. He is tender with women and animals, compassionate to those who are not
on his hit list, and even some that are, yet has no qualms about taking out a
reputed bad guy for money. But don’t try to double cross him. It won’t end
well. Hit Man is an entertaining read
and in the cknowledgments, Block, a New Yorker, claims to have written a
portion of it in Lucedale, MS, not far from my home town. Why Lucedale? I had to
wonder.
Hard cover, 309 pages
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