“A knockout. . . . Block delivers a one-two punch of humor and introspection.” — Boston Herald “One of the best novels of the summer season. Block remains a true master of the crime genre.” — Chicago Sun-Times “If there is one crime writer currently capable of matching the noirish legacies of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, it’s Lawrence Block.” — San Francisco Chronicle “Block treats both his unlikely hero’s initial flight and his attempt to establish a new identity in such painstaking detail that they become riveting....From the first, Keller assumes this hit will be his last case. Readers can only hope it isn’t so.” — Kirkus Reviews “Brisk, suspenseful, and funny.” — Library Journal “Block’s trademark blend of humor and violence is a good fit for the deadpan Keller. . . . One of the crime genre’s most unusual antiheroes.” — Publishers Weekly “The wry observations throughout, uttered by Keller as well as the other two main characters, will keep you smiling until your cheeks hurt.” — New York Sun “An odd and appealing combination of the hard-boiled, the surreal and the whimsical. Keller grows on us.” — San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle “[An] engrossing thriller” — Fort Worth Star-Telegram “Crazy, good fun, crafted by an experienced mystery writer who should never put down his pen.” — Deseret News “As entertaining as we’ve come to expect from Block’s books.” — Charlotte Observer “With Lawrence Block, one of the most prolific mystery writers alive, it’s always been plotting, and a clever ear for dialogue, that illuminates the inner regions of his characters’ souls.” — Philadelphia Inquirer “Against all odds, Block will have you rooting for the professional killer.” — Florida Times-Union “Block keeps the readers on edge.” — Daily News (Iron Mountain-Kingsford, MI) “Lawrence Block’s crime fiction stands out because of his ability to create interesting and likeable characters....[Hit and Run] is no exception.” — Tampa Tribune Lawrence Block is one of the most widely recognized names in the mystery genre. He has been named a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America and is a four-time winner of the prestigious Edgar and Shamus Awards, as well as a recipient of prizes in France, Germany, and Japan. He received the Diamond Dagger from the British Crime Writers' Association—only the third American to be given this award. He is a prolific author, having written more than fifty books and numerous short stories, and is a devoted New Yorker and an enthusiastic global traveler.
Features & Highlights
For years now Keller's had places to go and people to kill.
But enough is enough. Just one more job—paid in advance—and he's going to retire. Waiting in Des Moines for the client's go-ahead, Keller's picking out stamps for his collection at a shop in Urbandale when somebody guns down the charismatic governor of Ohio. Back at his motel, Keller sees the killer's face broadcast on TV. A face he's seen quite often. Every morning. In the mirror.
Keller calls his associate Dot in White Plains, but there's no answer. He's stranded halfway across the country, and every cop in America has 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?
Customer Reviews
Rating Breakdown
★★★★★
60%
(539)
★★★★
25%
(225)
★★★
15%
(135)
★★
7%
(63)
★
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Most Helpful Reviews
★★★★★
1.0
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A Naturalistic "thriller"
Hit and Run is, believe it or not, a Naturalistic thriller. It's premised on the question: What would it be like if a hit man were to settle down, get a real job, work on his stamp collection, and try to leave the past behind?
The problem is, who cares?
As it turns out, in case you wanted to know (as if anyone would), he's a pretty good home remodeler, but he prefers laying bathroom tile to sanding wood floors. Also, he likes New Orleans Saints ball caps better than Homer Simpson ones. And he watches a lot of television. Which we're told all about. For no apparent reason.
The book has absolutely zero action in it, except for one scene. There is another that might almost count, because he shoots a guy---but it's a convenience store clerk, and that's all there is to it, he just pulls out a gun and shoots the guy and that's it. He then proceeds to rob the man, in what turns out to be the only scene in the book in which the author exercises any selectivity in an attempt to convey some meaning---we're told that the convenience store guy has a stack of hardcover Ayn Rand novels and a blow up doll with an Ann Coulter mask on it in his bedroom. This is apparently the author's weak idea of portraying a right-wing loser---the only problem is, as anyone who has read Ayn Rand knows, she has about as much in common with Ann Coulter as she does with Michael Moore.
And for a hit man, the main character is incredibly dimwitted. The second something goes wrong, he's completely paralyzed. He's not exactly a master of disguises (the aforementioned Homer Simpson ball cap is the best he can do), and he can't come up with a plan to save his life---literally. He pretty much just gets by on dumb luck (or rather by the author's whim, since this is fiction, but the author can't contrive any believable means for him to negotiate his situation). It's as though the author hasn't done any research at all, but just sits at his writing desk relying on pure imagination---and unfortunately, he is singularly unimaginative.
All in all, this has got to be the dullest "thriller" ever written. At least, it was the dullest one I've ever had the misfortune to read, and I've read my share.
8 people found this helpful
★★★★★
2.0
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Too long
I enjoyed the first couple of chapters, but then it got too wordy for me, he takes forever to describe where Keller is staying, eating and hiding from the law. I enjoyed the comedy. It picked up again at the end. I had to skip most pages waiting for something interesting to happen. I think the ending could have been better.
4 people found this helpful
★★★★★
2.0
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Not worth the time. Read something else.
I thought I'd give this book a try (first by this author) when I saw it at a library book sale. For $1 I suppose the time I spent reading it (1 week) was worthwhile, but the content was poor. I didn't care about the characters. The writing tried to be humorous at times, and it just so forced. The story itself took forever to evolve and the entire part where Keller was wandering around the U.S. could have been wrapped up in 1 paragraph. It didn't even explain why the assassination was ordered in the first place. I wouldn't even call it a thriller, actually. There was nothing suspenseful about it. Boring and not worth the time.
2 people found this helpful
★★★★★
1.0
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Block takes artistic authority too far
Lawrence Block inserts a political bias into the novel where it's not needed.
Our "hero" (Keller) finds a blowup doll in the bedroom one of Keller's targets. Block mentions the face of the doll looks like political pundit Ann Coulter. This is so unnecessary and immature.
Leave politics out, Larry.
1 people found this helpful
★★★★★
1.0
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Trash
I was unpleasantly surprised by this book, having been a big Block Burglar series fan for years. Why do I give a ---- about the main character and his assistant who kill innocent people without a second thought?
1 people found this helpful
★★★★★
5.0
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Good Book
Probably ends the hit man novels for Block, but an excellent differnt read on the hit man scene.
1 people found this helpful
★★★★★
1.0
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Not Interesting
My mother said if you can not say anything nice about something it is best to say nothing, so I will end my review now. The book was boring and predictable.
1 people found this helpful
★★★★★
3.0
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Should be called "Murder in the Library"
John Keller is a hit man on assignment. He's picked up at the airport by his contact, given the choice of two guns for the job, maked his choice and is dropped off at his hotel.
The next day he reads that the governor of Ohio has been assassinated. The killer used a Glock automatic. That was the other gun he had touched and he has a bad feeling, then he sees his photo on CNN and knows he's been set-up.
He drives to New York and finds that his contact, Dot, has apparently been murdered, someone has also broken into his apartment and stolen his computer and stamp collection.
Keller always liked New Orleans and thinks that he could hide out there with the aftermath of the herricane. Then he hears a woman scream. The obvious choice for a man on the run would be to go the other way, but he goes to the scene of the scream and finds a woman about to be raped. Keller does away with the attacker and becomes friends with the intended victim, Jilia Roussard. Julia recognizes him from the news but believes him when he tells her that someone is making him the fall guy for the governor's killing.
In a surprising plot twist, his friend Dot reappears. She killed another woman and left her in her apartment, then set the place on fire. Now the action picks up as Dot and Keller go after the contact and then the person who set the plan in action.
This narrative story has good pacing and dialogue. However there is so little action that it should have been called "Murder in the Library." For most of the book, nothing happens. There are also some parts of the plot that are a stretch, for instance, Dot's reappearance after we thought she was murdered. Her explination, she knew someone might be after her so when a Jehovah's witness representative comes to her door, Dot kills her, oh, by the way she had false teeth and so did Dot, so Dot put her teeth in the other woman's mouth and set the fire. Hard to imagine!
1 people found this helpful
★★★★★
5.0
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Fitting Finale to Keller's Story
Whether or not you've read any of the Keller series from Lawrence Block, Hit and Run stands on its own. Meet John Paul Keller, known to his one associate as Keller. He's on his last job in Des Moines, Iowa to do a routine hit. But Keller's instincts tell him things are never what they seem. When he's buying stamps, Keller first hears the news. Ohio Governor Longford is assassinated, and Keller's face shows up on the TV as the assassin. He's a hunted fugitive, and his only friend, Dot, has closed the brokerage and disappeared or died. Keller's life turns to one of hiding, but where can he go with his face plastered on screens across the country? Was he set up? Did the people who hired him to take the fall also kill Dot? Keller's last hit turns into his own fight for survival without the resources to even get back home, while he questions the life that led to his ultimate demise.
I don't want to give away any of the plot, because you will delight in reading it for yourself. I've always been a Lawrence Block fan, and like the guy as a mentor too (even if he vows he's hung up the keyboard for good - I hope he keeps going for more last hits). Hit and Run is an awesome finale to the Keller saga. I loved it. Couldn't put it down.
