| Plot Summary of Hit List |
|---|
"
Morrow, Nov 2000, 25.00, 272 pp.
ISBN: 0060198338
John Keller's business requires frequent flyer miles and constant communication with his "agent" Dot. John relaxes by collecting stamps and dreams of one day settling in the towns and cities he frequently visits. If he ever honestly wrote his occupation on a 1040, John would describe his work as a HIT MAN.
John knows that many of his victims are innocent good people, but employment in the new economy has been booming lately as his skills are in greater demand than ever. However, John has a new problem as someone else is beating him to the hit, hurting his lucrative business that depends on reputation and completing the job, customized to meet the objective of the customer. As an unknown assailant hones in on his consulting services, John concludes that he personally has made the HIT LIST of a rival who plans to shut down John permanently.
HIT LIST contains all the humor and action that readers expect from a Lawrence Block novel. The story line is two parts amusement, two parts gloom and doom, and six parts irony. In spite of his profession and his tendency to languish in self-doubt, John retains a likable charm even if readers wonder why he continues to off decent folks. It is the killing of the innocent that leaves HIT LIST not for everyone, but those readers who relish a dark satirical look at life.
Harriet Klausner
"
Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
|
"John Keller kills people. Keller lives in his mid-size New York apartment, goes on dates, watches TV, visits his astrologer, collects stamps, and occasionally travels to far-off cities and kills people he's never met.
But something has gone very wrong for Keller. As he moves from city to city, he leaves a trail of death in his wake...somebody else's trail. Keller soon concludes that someone is out to kill him, and doesn't mind taking out a few civilians in the crossfire.
As the stakes mount, Keller must juggle murder contracts, jury duty, and his mysterious assailant, as well as decide what to do about an old lover who may have figured-out the truth about his profession."
James Craver, Resident Scholar
|
|
|
| Review Analysis of Hit List |
|---|
|
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
|
|
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 20%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Time/era of story:
- 1980's-1999
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
The crook is....
- criminals killing each other
Crime Thriller
Yes
Mostly a criminal POV story
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- killer
Age:
- 20's-30's
- 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use?
- just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- killer
Eccentric:
Yes
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- almost none
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- money/treasure
- insanity
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Midwest
- Pacific NW
City?
Yes
City:
- New York
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- 5-7
- 8 or more
Sex
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- descript of kissing
Unusual forms of death
- asphyxiation
- poisoning
- hanging
- run over
- drowned
- impaled
- perforation--bullets
- perforation--swords/knives
- blunt clubbing (like seals)
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
|
|
