Hit and Run

By: Lawrence Block

Narrated by: Richard Poe

Keller's a hit man. For years now he's had places to go and people to kill.

But enough is enough. He's got money in the bank and just one last job standing between him and retirement. So he carries it out with his usual professionalism, and he heads home, and guess what?

One more job. Paid in advance, so what's he going to do? Give the money back?In Des Moines, Keller stalks his designated target and waits for the client to give him the go-ahead. And one fine morning he's picking out stamps for his collection (Sweden 1-5, the official reprints) at a shop in Urbandale when somebody guns down the charismatic governor of Ohio.

Back at his motel, Keller's watching TV when they show the killer's face. And there's something all too familiar about that face. . . .

Keller calls his associate Dot in White Plains, but there is no answer. He's stranded halfway across the country, every cop in America's just seen his picture, his ID and credit cards are no longer good, and he just spent almost all of his cash on the stamps.

Now what?

©2008 Lawrence Block; (P)2008 HarperCollins Publishers

Good book!

What did you love best about Hit and Run?

I liked that the assassin found a new life.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Hit and Run?

Finding out his friend Dot was alive

Which character – as performed by Richard Poe – was your favorite?

Keller

No suspense, no intrigue

I don't know what my problem is lately with book choices but I seem to pick out turkeys disguised as ... Some bird that's more interesting. First thing is the narrator's voice. I couldn't shake it as an old Marlboro man, 50-60 years old. The character is mid-forty.

Now the story. It just wasn't that interesting. I kept waiting for some mystery, double-crossing and/or real intrigue and it never materialized. Instead you get a really straightforward tale with a lot of steady eddy moving to and fro by the main character. What kind of car and how he got it, what motel, where'd he eat, what did he eat, went to a movie, drive to New Orleans where he just happened upon a really lucky break by rescuing a damsel in distress who offers him her house and affection within hours of meeting and discovering he is a mysterious maybe killer. I love those coincidences (not really).

The final act is to go right a wrong by killing someone to even the score. He pretty much hit the road, dialed a few phone numbers, caught up with a wise-guy, got what he needed out of him and proceeded to his target. All very uneventful. Can you tell I was disappointed?

Keller and Dot DO NOT disappoint!

Gentle, mild mannered paid killer and his witty, humorous manager are in high form in this book! The plot twists and turns through excitement and thrills. I love the conclusion.

Not his best work.

Like this author a bunch but this book seemed like a writing assignment that had to reach a certain word number to be turned in. The story line is good, but not great. The twists were okay but not startling. The solution was mundane and anti-climatic. Not one of his best efforts.

I liked it

The characters are sympathetic even though I get a bit of a emotional jolt when I hold up to culturally expected standards. I like them all, and thankfully the author doesn't present the victims as either completely victimized nor totally abhorrent. I enjoy books that make me sit back and take a look at my reactions without getting all emotionally manipulative about it. I am also glad that it is more entertainment than scary/thriller/bump in the night stuff. Not my first Lawrence Block book, and will not be my last, either.