The First Quarry

“I had learned to kill in the jungle of Vietnam and figured I could kill in the zoo of America just as easily.”
“Society sanctioned killing strangers in war, but didn’t like it when you took out some bastard you knew who richly deserved it.”

That is Quarry. And this is his 'first' story. "Some first job. Six kills but not the guy I was hired for. Two beautiful women and more sex than I'd had in the last six months. I'd survived..." And it kept my interest and entertained me enough that I read it in one day! Good ending too!

And Sambos restaurant!?! Man, we had one of those racist places in my hometown growing up. I cannot believe they were allowed! WTF?!?

Like your crime short and boiled hard? Then this is the book for you.

A prequel to a great series looking at Quarry's 1st assassination job. A job that just climbs in complexity as the target’s life gets in the wife. Mobsters, cute college girls, an angry ex-wife and even a PI all get in his way. Violence and seduction ensure.

I am still liking the series: a great ferocious blast of hard crime with a lurid cover to satisfy any crime cravings I get. We get enough back story, action, sex and violence to keep it a rollicking ride going throughout and I like young, cold hearted quarry with his twisted morals Not exactly an easy feat for an author to pull off. Of course women fall at his feet and men underestimate him but frankly who cares, show more it what it is and it does it very well.

Hard-boiled fans will love it. Recommended. show less

This book takes place in the midwest -in the Quad Cities of Iowa to be precise. And, it charts the beginnings of one fun to read assassin, a man known only as Quarry. He, as you probably know already, came back from risking his life in Vietnam to find his wife with another man, found the other man working on his car the next day and kicked the jack out, and went on to survive a rough trial but found himself jobless and miserable. He is recruited by the Broker, another man who only goes by one name, to do a hit on a college professor who is bedding the wrong undergraduate.

Told in the first person, it is just a terrific story and a great introduction to the Quarry character. It takes the reader into the small midwestern towns and back show more into the seventies. The action never lets up in this book and I couldn't put it down till I reached the furious ending. I highly recommend it. Hard Case Crime has found another winner! show less

This was my first foray into Collins's 'Quarry' series, which was recommended to me by someone who knew I liked the 'Parker' series by Richard Stark/Donald Westlake.

Decent enough as a hardboiled thriller goes. Maybe not the best place to start the series (it's the story of Quarry's first job, even though it was written somewhere in the middle of the run). Reads quick, perfect for my commute. Will read more from the series as I find them.

This was a very pleasant surprise. Fast paced with some humor & a great plot. A perfect HCC book in every way. The characters were well drawn & the action very realistic. The end was marvelous! I highly recommend it to anyone that likes this sort of book. Mickey Spillane could have gotten some lessons from this guy.

My least favorite so far in the HCC series (I've read four). The character just isn't very likeable. It took about half the book before I really started to care about the main character and even then I couldn't really identify with him in any kind of likeable way. The book is also very short, under 200 actual pages. All in all not bad, but not one of my favorite HCC. He must have something however, because he has fi ve books under the HCC imprint.

What is the appeal of "hit-man" books? Perhaps it's just me, but I like the ones I have read. Lawrence Block has his Keller series (excellent) and Max Allan Collins has his "Quarry" series. I look forward to breezing through them with relish. Perhaps it's some inherent genetic flaw in me, but they are great escapism.