Loren D. Estleman, _Something Borrowed, Something
Black_.
This book
chronicles the welcome and overdue return of Estleman's
character Peter Macklin, here a retired hit man for the
Detroit mob. A newlywed on his honeymoon, Macklin is spotted
by an associate of Carlo Maggiore, "Carl Major", an old
acquaintance and onetime target, who presses him into doing
one more job. Macklin's young bride is monitored by Abilene,
a pseudo- cowboy associate of Maggiore's and during the
course of his duties, he lets slip who Macklin is and also
shows off his own psycho tendencies, leading Laurie Macklin
to attempt to slip his clutches.
The book
switches back and forth from San Antonio, the site of
Macklin's hit, to Los Angeles, and is very effective in
building suspense. Macklin is a hard, tough character who
previously appeared in _Kill Zone_, _Any Man's Death_, and
_Roses Are Dead_. He's reminiscent of Richard Stark's tough
guy, Parker, though Parker is a thief who only kills when he
has to and Macklin is a killer, first and foremost.
Hopefully, we won't have to wait another 9 or 10 years (or
whatever it was) for the next Macklin book.
Maybe it says
something about me, but I really love the idea of a hit man
as main character. Along with the Macklin books, I've also
enjoyed the Quarry series by Max Allan Collins and both of
Lawrence Block's Keller books, _Hit Man_ and _Hit List_. Are
there any other writers who've used hit men as their lead
characters, either in series or stand-alone novels?
Craig Larson Trinidad, CO
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