Hit Man

Usually, I’m strongly tempted to file any book or film with a professional hit man as its protagonist under “Fantasy” rather than “Crime.” (And as an aside – for some reason, professional hitmen protagonists seem much more a movie than a book thing. I do wonder why that is – maybe because you get away with less psychological depth in movies, and hence it is easier to make a central character that kills people for a living, if not likeable then at least someone to care for?) Because, well, professional hitmen – they’re right up with elves and unicorns, and all the other creatures of legend.

But I never felt that temptation with Hit Man, the first in a series featuring assassin-for-hire John Keller, because author show more Lawrence Block (who also wrote the excellent “Matthew Scudder” series, several volumes of which I have been writing about here) did something very clever here, which basically consists of moving everything having directly to do with assassinations to the margins. He does not even attempt to gloss over the inherent implausibility of the whole concept of a professional hit man, nor does he attempt to make to make it appear plausible; instead, he just takes it at face value and takes it from there.

Hit Man is told as a series of ten inter-related stories, and while each of these deals with at least one contract, it is only a minority of the stories in which those hits are the centre around which the narrative revolves (and in every single on the kills themselves are either glossed over or left out completely), most of the time they deal with our protagonists everyday life instead. This might seem like a rather weird choice on Block’s part – here is this man with a very… exotic profession, and instead of telling us all the details about it, the stories focus on what is normal about him – his travel arrangements, how spends his time in foreign times, or how he acquires and keeps a dog. But even when it is only taking place in the margins of the narrative or even is not mentioned at all, Keller’s profession is always at the back of the reader’s mind, and even when he is occupied with the most mundane things it is always present, hovering just at the edge of perception.

The longer the book continues, the more apparent it becomes just how clever Block’s oblique approach to his protagonist is: Over the course of the book, he presents the reader with the portrait of a thoroughly normal man, somewhat lonely, a bit melancholic and given to occasional daydreaming, and all in all quite a likeable guy. But also someone who follows a deeply unethical profession, who not only has no qualms murdering people for money but also does not hesitate to kill complete innocents if they get in his way. And even so, even though he never glosses over the fact how unsavoury a character Keller is, he remains likeable throughout, the reader can’t help but sympathize with him almost against themselves. And this way Block manages to pose several pertinent and unsettling questions about ethics, about how we judge people, about what makes someone a good or evil person, without ever having to formulate them explicitly.

This is a level of profundity (not to mention brilliant writing) that is rarely found in crime fiction; and if that wasn’t enough, Hit Man also is a very funny book. Not funny in a “laugh out loud and slap your thigh” kind of way, but I very often caught myself smiling wryly at the things happening to Keller, at the small absurdities and ironies of life, and even the occasional chortle might have escaped me. The humour in this book is of the quiet kind, and is often tinged with melancholy, just like Keller himself, but is not less funny for that, and this is quite remarkable for a book dealing with such big issues, and dealing with them in such an extremely unobtrusive way. In short, Hit Man once again confirms Lawrence Block as one of the best crime writers around (living or dead), and in my opinion is one of the best books in a career that is not exactly poor in high points. show less

This is the first in a short series of crime fiction novels where we follow the "Hit Man" Keller. Stories and novels about assassins is not generally my "go-to" sub-genre. This book has ten episodes, ten short stories that come together to create a picture of our interesting character.

Keller goes about the business of being a killer so matter-of-factly that it is easy to not think of him as a bad guy, but just as a regular guy who has a job to do. Block writes this so well in a simple, yet obviously skilled manner. Improbably it works. Keller is something of a melancholy man with simple needs and daydreams. The story/stories themselves are about all the little things in his life as he goes about his business. He finds great inexpensive show more Mexican food in Roseburg, Oregon and happily starts working his way through their menu, daydreaming about the life the waitress is going to have with her new husband, the kind of house maybe they should get as a starter home, the kind of house he might like to have if he lived here ... He misses his dog "Soldier" he had as a kid. This is really sounding kind of silly when I write this, but it adds a charm to these stories that pulls you in, and you like Keller even as he puts into play the little pieces needed to carry out his hit on someone who seems like a very nice guy as well. So that's the first story and the additional stories just build off of this. These stories are full of surprise twists. By the end of the book Keller is thinking of retiring. However, he has re-sparked his childhood interest in stamp collecting and would not that be a great hobby instead of killing people, but the expense may just keep him working a little longer! I loved stamp collecting when I was younger and all the stamp stuff towards the end of the book was icing on the cake.

Bit by bit as we go through the stories (this never did feel like a regular novel) we learn more about Keller as he tries to learn about himself and why he is the way he is. Of the ten stories only one seemed "off," the ninth one. By off I mean not possible, involving a supposed Social Security scam.

I am most certainly going to be reading later books in this series, and sooner rather than later. I really like Keller and Block's down to earth matter of fact writing style for this. Very good stuff! show less

Book source ~ Purchased on Audible

John Keller is a regular guy. Not too handsome, not too fugly, just pretty much forgettable. Which is the way he likes it considering he’s a hit man. Based out of New York City, he works with an Old Man in White Plains who acts as the broker for such jobs. Keller travels a lot, usually at a moment’s notice, and kills people, but he makes a decent living, so he’s fine with it.

This is a bit different than I was expecting. Yes, Keller is an assassin. But he’s so damn likeable it’s hard to root against him. This is also a series of short stories which I didn’t realize when I bought it. It’s all good though. Each story is self-contained in the life of John Keller. Various jobs, how he went show more about them, and what he does in-between. There’s interaction with the Old Man from White Plains and his assistant Dot. He even starts seeing a psychiatrist. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Keller is a fascinating character, his jobs are varied, and the whole thing is just so interesting. I hate to say that a book about an assassin is an enjoyable read, but it is. It really is. I also had no idea that there are more Keller books. I’m going to be putting those on Planet TBR for future entertainment. show less

The first of five collections of short stories about Keller, a contract killer/hitman for hire. He works for an old man in White Plains (who's never named) and trades banter with the old man's assistant/go-between, Dot. We watch the old man deteriorate over the course of these ten stories, and the last one, "Keller's Retirement," isn't quite what it seems.

Keller travels all over the country to kill strangers he's never met. He has a very vivid imagination (and no wonder - apparently a lot of the job is hurrying up and waiting for the right moment to strike) and often finds himself wondering what it would be like to settle in whatever random place he's in this week. He spins entire backstories for the random people he encounters and even show more looks at houses sometimes.

In this series of stories, he also acquires a dog and a woman to walk it (who morphs into a live-in lover), and recaptures his boyhood love for stamp collecting. The way Block writes about this is absolutely fascinating; I, too, found myself more interested in the rare stamps Keller was chasing than in his final set of victims. I really admire Block's ability to draw his readers into his stories like that.

Also going on in the background of Keller's existence is an existential mid-life crisis, especially after said dog and woman walk away. Keller isn't particularly morose, though; there is quite a lot of wickedly dry wit with a nice mix of sarcasm. Keller has something of a conscience, too; when he inadvertently saves the life of the grandson of one of his intended victims, he takes a serious step back and wonders if he can actually go through with killing someone who's pathetically thankful for his saving a life.

Great, great stuff. I'm definitely going to continue reading about Keller's adventures, even if I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm not supposed to be enjoying this ride quite so much! 😅 show less

I'm completely embarrassed to say that I've read this one before, somehow, in some form. One would think I'd remember a book called Hit Man. Alas, I'm getting old. So what did I do when I discovered my little error? Keep on reading, of course, because I could only vaguely remember details and it is a fast read. What I have to say about memory is that it's very odd to read one long deja vu, and somewhat disconcerting to realize my memory had inserted another chapter. Perhaps I was channelling Block. More likely, I read the next book and forgot most of the specifics. Now, if only I can get my subconscious to review it...

Block does it again, creating sympathy and a multifaceted character in that most staple of thriller tropes, the show more assassin. The book is written as a series of loosely connected shorts that cover episodes in Keller's life as he goes through his routine at home in NYC and on the road plying his trade.

This assassin is definitely a little different. As he follows his mark around the small town of Roseburg, Oregon, he starts to fantasize what living there would be like. Perhaps he'll take his savings and buy a 'starter home.' Perhaps he'll start his own business, do some printing. However, the job ends, the fascination passes, he comes back to his life in NYC. Not for long, however; soon he is on his way to Martingale, Texas, carting along a paperback he hasn't read on the strength of the line "he rode a thousand miles to kill a man he never met." In a boozy barroom, he listens to stories about cheatin' hearts and naturally, meets a woman looking for a good time.

Back in NYC, he shares a dream about mice with his therapist. Long before Tony Soprano sat with Dr. Melfi, Keller was sitting with Dr. Breen. That doesn't work so well, but soon he's moving on to his new dog, followed by a dog-walker, because after all, an assassin's got to travel. Then he and Dot have some trouble at the agency with the man upstairs (literally).

Overall, a fun, fast read and an unusual character study. I found myself discovering sympathy (likely for the second time) for the hit man, who has so badly actualized himself. These books are--in the wise words of Trudi--potato chip reads; you might only mean to read a few pages, but soon you've downed the whole bag.

Cross posted at: http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2012/12/26/hit-man-by-lawrence-block/ show less

I admit to buying books like this purely because one of my favourite films is Grosse Pointe Blank with John Cusack, about a hitman who goes home for his ten year high school reunion, but occasionally I find a story - or set of short stories - worth reading on their own merit. I would have preferred one continuous story, but I enjoyed - if that's an appropriate word for a book about a contract killer! - reading about Keller, who is dispatched by a mysterious and ailing man, via a woman called Dot, to carry out his particular brand of troubleshooting around the country. He reminds me a lot of old school detectives like Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe, cool enough to deal with trouble but still human enough to care. Keller loves animals - he show more briefly adopts the pet of one of his victims, and strikes up a relationship with the woman he hires to walk the dog in his many absences - and even starts collecting stamps while briefly considering 'retirement'. Sometimes the job improbably comes to him and occasionally he makes a mistake, but each chapter is a new story in a new city, only vaguely linked to the others. Entertaining if ethically unsound reading! show less

How does Lawrence Block do it? He's the author of the comic Evan Tanner series about an ultra-insomniac CIA agent. He's written the dark and suspenseful Matthew Scudder series. Then he's got the uproariously funny and New York-hip series about Bernie Rhodenbarr, the world's suavest burglar. You'd never think that these three series were penned by the same author.

Now Block does it again with the incredibly inventive Hit Man, a debut novel about a philosophical murderer for hire. You'd expect such a man to be amoral, but Keller -- just Keller, no first name -- has his own code of honor. The novel is a series of short stories that sometimes intersect. This series is as different from Block's other three as they were from each other. show more Keller's stories are even darker than those of Scudder although Keller is considerably more introspective than Scudder (even after Scudder went on the wagon). Perhaps that's because, as a deliberate loner, Keller has a lot more time for self-analysis. (God knows, you'll find that traditional analysis didn't do much for the guy!)

It's a fabulous, fabulous read. You won't be able to wait to get the next one in the series, Hit List. show less