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The Barnes & Noble Review
Thirty years after the ruthless hit man Quarry first appeared in print (1976's The Broker), Max Allan Collins brings the iconic Vietnam vet turned assassin-for-hire back for his very last -- and deadliest -- mission.
Living under an assumed name and working as the manager of a lodge in the wilds of Minnesota, Quarry has put his life of crime behind him -- until one night, suffering from insomnia, he drives to a remote convenience store and sees an old adversary. Hidden among the aisles, Quarry watches as Harry, a homosexual mobster from Chicago, buys an assortment of merchandise, including feminine hygiene products. Wondering if the thug is in Brainerd to kill him -- and frankly curious about his purchases -- Quarry follows Harry back to a secluded cabin where he stumbles onto a kidnapping and, after much bloodshed, saves a young heiress from probable death. The girl's father, a callous media magnate, contacts Quarry months later with a lucrative proposition that lures him out of retirement: he's to kill a librarian for $250,000. Quarry takes the job, but after meeting the seductively beautiful, brown-eyed blonde, he makes his biggest mistake: He gets emotionally involved.
As James Bond is to spy, Quarry is to hit man. Collins's remarkably endearing antihero is a timeless noir icon, a truly unforgettable enigma of a character with an ever-expanding cult following even though he has only appeared in a handful of novels and short stories in the last three decades. And if this new -- and apparently last -- Quarry novel wasn't enough, the striking cover art by the legendary artist Robert McGinnis makes this one of the genre releases of the year. Paul Goat Allen
Publishers Weekly
Fans of Collins (Road to Perdition) will be delighted to find him resurrecting Quarry, the ruthless hit-man he put to rest years ago, after six Quarry novels and a small handful of short stories. Now living and relaxing in the Minnesota woods, Quarry is lured out of retirement by a Chicago media magnate who wants a seemingly harmless young librarian dead. But when he winds up falling for his target, one Janet Wright, Quarry begins second-guessing his assignment and experiences an uncharacteristic change of heart that almost gets him killed. Stemming from Collins's screenplay for the award-winning short film A Matter of Principal, this novel covers a lot of ground in a small space-a credit to the distinct, wry voice Collins has given Quarry, who doesn't waste anything, least of all words: "Louis cracked open the door and peered out and said, `What is it?' and I shot him in the eye." Compact enough to be read in a couple of sittings but bristling with suspense and sexuality, this book is a welcome addition to the Hard Crime Case library and, if there's any justice, will spark sales of Collins's back-catalogue titles. (Aug.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
