Five Star, Oct 2003, 25.95, 261pp
ISBN: 1594140618
This anthology consist of one strong novel and four delightful shorts starring a hit man who suffers no remorse as he sees this as a means of earning a buck.
“Primary Target”. In his thirties, Quarry is retired from his kill for pay job. He lives comfortable in Paradise Lake, Wisconsin running an in inn with his young pregnant wife Linda. A client offers Quarry $1 million to assassinate ultra right wing religious fanatic and presidential candidate Freed. Quarry turns down the job. Not long afterward two amateurs attack Quarry's home killing his spouse and visiting brother-in-law, but failing to take out the key antagonist. Quarry dispatches the duo and begins his quest for vengeance.
The four short stories are all well written and provide further insight into Quarry, a strong character whose presence is enhanced by deep secondary players and strong plotting.
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 - 10% Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40% Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30% How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
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
How much violence does he/she use?
- a significant amount
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- politician/elected ruler
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Midwest
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 5-7
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
