Books: Hit List

I had taken up this book because I liked the earlier book by the author Lawrence Block which dealt with the same protagonist John Keller. This book is the second in the series. The first one turned out be an easy read, no mental anguish while providing many a moment to smile. A hit man leading a normal life. The irony is self evident.

This book isn't as entertaining as the predecessor. The first book was a collection of short stories from the life of Keller very loosely joined so as to give a chronologically evolving story for someone who is reading the entire novel but also not confusing for someone who is reading individual chapters. In this book, Lawrence Block chooses to tell a single story instead of the episodic format adopted in the first book. There is something strange happening in Keller's professional lives. Even though his job is killing targets, there seems to be more deaths around the assignments than what is normally necessary. How Keller figures out the mystery and solves it forms the story.

Lawrence Block has a way of writing which is humorous. The thinking and the nature of conversations of Keller might seem natural at first but is hilarious when you put it in the big picture. How can a merchant of death be discussing such mundane things when he is planning his next act or staking out the target? Although this is what is interesting in the book, the pace of the book is extremely slow which makes it difficult to read.

You may skip this one.

The other books in the series...

Tags: Books,Lawrence Block,John Keller




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