A man known only as Keller is thinking about Samuel Johnson's famous quote that "'patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel'... If you looked at it objectively, he had to admit, then he was probably a scoundrel himself. He didn't feel much like a scoundrel. He felt like your basic New York single guy, living alone, eating out or bringing home takeout, schlepping his wash to the Laundromat, doing the Times crossword with his morning coffee... There were eight million stories in the naked city, most of them not very interesting, and his was one of them. Except that every once in a while he got a phone call from a man in White Plains. And packed a bag and caught a plane and killed somebody. Hard to argue the point. Man behaves like that, he's a scoundrel. Case closed." But Lawrence Block is such a delightfully subtle writer, one of the true masters of the mystery genre, that the case is far from closed. In this beautifully linked collection of short stories, we gradually put together such a complete picture of Keller that we don't so much forgive him his occupation as consider it just one more part of his humanity. After watching Keller take on cases that baffle and anger him into actions that fellow members of his hit-man union might well call unprofessional, we're eager to join him as he goes through a spectacularly unsuccessful analysis and gets fooled by a devious intelligence agent. We miss the dog he acquires and loses, along with its attractive walker. Like Richard Stark's Parker, Keller makes us think the unthinkable about criminals: that they might be the guys next door--or even us, under different pressures. For a small selection of the many Blocks in paperback, try Coward's Kiss, A Long Line of Dead Men, The Sins of the Fathers, Such Men Are Dangerous, and especially When the Sacred Ginmill Closes.


The New York Times Book Review, Marilyn Stasio
By job definition a loner, who can't acquire a girlfriend, a therapist or even a dog without being prepared for the (often dire) consequences, this guy really needs to think and talk. Hence, the ironic tone and confessional content that make these intimate tales so funny and full of rue.


From Kirkus Reviews
For some years now, Block's been chronicling the adventures of fatalistic hired assassin J.P. Keller. Now Block (The Burglar in the Library, p. 912, etc.) has revised and collected ten stories showing Keller doing what he does best. As he sallies forth from his First Avenue apartment to one American city after another at the behest of the old man in White Plains, Keller ponders whether he can kill a man he's grown to like, mops up after hitting the wrong target, serves as cat's-paw for killers initially more clever than he is, and agonizes over which of two clients who've paid to have each other killed he's going to have to disappoint. In between his methodical executions, he also checks out real estate in Oregon, consults a therapist, takes up stamp collecting, wonders if learning more about flowers would enrich his life, buys earrings for the woman who walks his dog, and worries how much of a commitment he can make to either the woman or the dog. It's the combination of the many things Keller ruminates about and the many things he tries not to (``This is the wrong business for moral decisions,'' the old man's secretary admonishes him) that gives him his melancholy fascination. Is the result a novel or a cycle of stories? Block's ravenous fans--delighted to see at least three masterpieces (``Keller on Horseback,'' ``Keller's Therapy,'' and ``Keller in Shining Armor'') gathered in one volume--won't care any more than Keller would. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Boston Herald
"Leave it to Lawrence Block to write a knock-out novel about a hit man staggering through a midlife crisis. . .Block delivers a one-two punch of humor and introspection. . .Along the way, readers will find themselves analyzing why they are eager for the killer to discover inner peace."


Book Description
Keller is your basic urban Lonely Guy.He makes a decent wage, lives in a nice apartment. Works the crossword puzzle. Watches a little TV. Until the phone rings and he packs a suitcase, gets on a plane, flies halfway across the country...and kills somebody. It's a living. But is it a life? Keller's not sure. He goes to a shrink, but it doesn't work out the way he planned. He gets a dog, he gets a girlfriend. He gets along.


Download Description
Keller is your basic Urban Lonely Guy. He makes a decent wage, lives in a nice apartment, works the crossword puzzle. Until the phone rings, and he flies halfway across the country...and kills somebody. It's a living, but is it a life? You've never met anyone like Keller. Keller is a killer. Professional, cool, confident, competent, reliable. The consummate pro. The hit man's hit man. But he is a complex person: understandably guarded and reclusive, icy and ruthlessly efficient, he is also prone to loneliness, self-doubt, and career worries. Keller may be a crack assassin, but he is also an all-too-human being. We first met Keller in Hit Man. He's back again in HIT LIST. Same job, new list of targets, and a hit man who's after him


About the Author
A Mystery Writers of America Grand Master, Lawrence Block is a four-time winner of the Edgar Allan Poe and Shamus Awards, as well as a recipient of prizes in France, Germany, and Japan. The author of more than fifty books and numerous short stories, he is a devout New Yorker who spends much of his time traveling.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
February 1998

Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Lawrence Block has been awarded every major mystery prize. With more than 50 published works, he is considered by many to be the ultimate voice in mystery; The Wall Street Journal calls him "one of the very best writers working the beat." Block's latest novel, Hit Man, is already winning praise from critics and fans alike.

During his incredibly prolific career, Block has created a memorable cast of recurring characters who have mesmerized his legions of fans. The latest addition to Block's list of memorable characters is Keller, a cool, confident, competent, and reliable hit man.

A precise professional, Keller, a native New Yorker, weaves in and out of assignments and personae with remarkable ease. Always armed with an alias and plausible stories when he is dispatched to remote locations, Keller epitomizes the professional hit man. But Keller does stand out. A complicated man, guarded and reclusive, Keller is prone to loneliness, self-doubt, and career worries; he is sort of a wistful murderer. He may be a killer — and this becomes quite obvious as we accompany him on his rounds — but he is also an all-too-human being.

Hit Man clearly displays the qualities that distinguish Lawrence Block's award-winning fiction — the intelligence, the wicked cleverness, the outright humor. But above all, Block writes with the true-grit sense of humanity that has become his trademark.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Keller is a killer. Professional, cool, confident, competent, reliable. But he is also a complex person: Guarded and reclusive, icy and ruthlessly efficient, he is prone to loneliness and self-doubt, nightmares and career worries. He is known to his therapist as a "corporate troubleshooter," but Keller's real business is murder. He lives the life of a well-paid but lonely traveling businessman, a habitue of impersonal hotel rooms, bleak stretches of highways in rental cars, and anonymous eateries. A born New Yorker, he nonetheless fantasizes about the good life in the country, and in every place he visits, he dreams of setting up a home, away from the pressures and moral complexities his line of work entails.

SYNOPSIS

Keller is your basic Urban Lonely Guy. He makes a decent wage, lives in a nice apartment, works the crossword puzzle. Until the phone rings, and he flies halfway across the country￯﾿ﾽand kills somebody. It's a living, but is it a life?

You've never met anyone like Keller.

Keller is a killer. Professional, cool, confident, competent, reliable.

FROM THE CRITICS

Boston Herald

Leave it to Lawrence Block to write a knock-out novel about a hit man staggering through a midlife crisis. . .Block deliversa one-two punch of humor and introspection. . .Along the way, readers will find themselves analyzing why they are eager forthe killer to discover inner peace.

Boston Herald

Leave it to Lawrence Block to write a knock-out novel about a hit man staggering through a midlife crisis. . .Block deliversa one-two punch of humor and introspection. . .Along the way, readers will find themselves analyzing why they are eager forthe killer to discover inner peace.

San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle

An odd and appealing combination of the hard-boiled, the surreal and the whimsical. Keller grows on us, story by story. ..But he is also a cold-blooded killer. . .Unlike Keller, who likes movies where you can tell who the good guys are, Blocksfans can grateful for a book in which you can't always tell which is which.

San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle

An odd and appealing combination of the hard-boiled, the surreal and the whimsical. Keller grows on us, story by story. ..But he is also a cold-blooded killer. . .Unlike Keller, who likes movies where you can tell who the good guys are, Blocksfans can grateful for a book in which you can't always tell which is which.

NY Times Book Review