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    Hit Parade
    Hit Parade
    Hit Parade
    Audiobook7 hours

    Hit Parade

    Written by Lawrence Block

    Narrated by Lawrence Block

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    The New York Times bestselling author and master of the modern mystery returns with a fierce and poignant new novel featuring his acclaimed killer-for-hire, Keller. John Keller is everyone's favorite hit man. He's cool. Reliable. A real pro: the hit man's hit man. The inconvenient wife, the business partner, the retiree with a substantial legacy. He's taken care of them all, quietly and efficiently.

    Keller's got a code of honor, though he'd never call it that. And he keeps the job strictly business. But while Keller might be a pragmatic and crack assassin, he's also prone to doubts and loneliness just like everybody else. And though he's got Dot, his wisecracking contact and sometimes confidante, these days, it doesn't seem to be enough.

    Keller's been at this business a long while. Just maybe it's time to pack it in. Only problem is, retirement takes money. And to get money, he's got to go to work...

    Hit Parade, the third novel featuring the fascinating Keller, displays the hallmarks that distinguish Lawrence Block's award-winning fiction: the intelligence, the clever plotting, the humor, the tricky twist and ironic turns, the darkness and emotional complexity -- and, above all else, the humanity.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateJul 4, 2006
    ISBN9780061134784
    Author

    Lawrence Block

    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.

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    Reviews for Hit Parade

    4/5

    153 ratings9 reviews

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    • 3/5
      The plot is too full of coincidences, makes it all seam so contrived.
    • 4/5
      Keller's cold, but he's no sociopath. Not sure how he'll hold up in a full-length novel, but I'm going to find out in the next book.
    • 2/5
      After reading the first two books in this series, this one is repetitive.
    • 3/5
      This is the third collection of stories about Block's Hit Man Keller. The first collection of stories, "Hit Man" was excellent (4 stars). The second collection "Hit List" was not nearly as good (2 stars). I'd say that the 3rd collection is a bit better than the 2nd but still lacks the punch that the first group of stories had. Block retreads many things we have seen before and does constant recapping of events within a couple stories as if the reader had forgotten what happened 20 pages before. If the information was material to what was about to happen then a bit of it would be understandable, but frequently it is just conversation filler with his contact "Dot". The sparkle in the conversations between Dot and Keller just isn't there as much and that detracts from these stories. This constant recapping of history caused the 2nd collection to suffer as well. When these stories are assembled into a novel format it would improve them to spend some editing time to remove the extraneous duplicate material that slows the stories down, and weakens them when put together.Still, these are enjoyable light reading and can be read a few chapters at a time for a story and then set aside to pick up later. Keller's stamp collecting hobby which figures in some stories is always a kick for me to read and reminds me of my collecting days many years ago. Despite being a killer, Keller has his own moral code of sorts, and sorting that out inside his head is interesting at times. Some of the jobs he is hired for challenge him at times, and have twists such as when he is sent to kill a fellow stamp collector. He didn't want to do the job and he liked the guy a lot. He was a friend. Frequently though, Keller doesn't really want to know much about the intended victim other than what is needed to get the job done. So the reader never knows if a particular job is going to be quick and clean or lead to something else entirely - which happens sometimes when Keller digs a little deeper into things. The dog story in here was like that where Keller got just a little too close to everything and it was one of the best in a very twisty way.There are two more books in the series and I will be reading them.
    • 3/5
      Block hit man, John Keller, is an interesting creation. The plotting is incredible. The dialog can crack me up. I thought this would end up being a collection of short stories but it hangs together. I'll be looking for another in the series.
    • 4/5
      This is the 3rd book in the John Keller series. Before reading this book, I wondered if I would still be interested in reading about a hit man. I did find this book to be every bit as enjoyable as the two that preceded it. Somehow, Block manages to keep it fresh.Keller talks about retiring, but his love for his stamp collection seems to get in the way. He also shows signs of being a little reckless in this book. I'm sure I will pick up the next installment at some point.
    • 5/5
      It was getting beyond the first section that was difficult for me. Being English and not being knowledgeable on the subject of Baseball,I found it hard going. This was a pity as the rest of the book was so good.Keller,the hit man anti-hero of this and a couple of earlier works is a complex character. he is a ruthless killer who on being sent out on a 'hit',rarely fails in his task. On the other hand he has many admirable traits,in that he tries hard not to kill anyone other than the person the contract is out for,will not kill children and in a few cases has been known to kill the person who takes out the contract rather than the proposed victim.He collects stamps and likes to have quite deep discussions with his mysterious controller,Dot.In 'Hit Parade', Keller has several 'hits' to perform,all with their own problems,not least when he is sent to kill a stamp collector,with whom he forges a friendship - Should he kill him or should he tell him what is happening and help him to escape ?By the end of the book Keller wonders about retiring,but he has to have enough money to be able to do this,so must continue with his killing to achieve his objective. A truly vicious circle!
    • 5/5
      There really isn't an overlying "story" per se - it just tells a series of loosely related stories about a hit man. As with Hit List, some of the transitions between "stories" were not very well done, and there's an occasional feeling of "I've heard this before"... butThis is just as enjoyable as Hit List - a series of vignettes about a hitman's life. There is a little bit of repetition of Keller's past/stamp collecting, but I assume this would be useful if you were to read the books out of order. Of the 4 books in the series, Hit Man is the best of the "vignette" style and Hit and Run was the best for having an underlying plot/theme.
    • 2/5
      Sigh, I feel like such a reading snob when I read books like this that I'm sure most readers of this genre find just so wonderful! And really, I did enjoy this book. I read it because author Block is coming this summer as part of our local libraries' Outloud! Author Series and I'm leading a staff book discussion to help them promote the program. It's certainly not a book I would have come to on my own, but it was fun and easy and fast. The main character, Keller, was even pretty endearing and likeable, despite his occupation. It's probably good the descriptions of the killings weren't too graphic, though of course keeping killing light-hearted has its own problems. In fact, Keller and his partner Dot did struggle some with what they were doing, but were very good at rationalizing. The book was basically a year (?) in the life of a hired killer; we get to see him getting his job assignments and working to accomplish each. Fun and interesting to read his thoughts as he figured out strategies. I liked Dot and wonder about her. How do you get to be an administrative assistant/partner for a guy like this? And it sounds like she does the same job for others. Very interesting character --how old is she? I picture 50s or 60s. (How old is he? Not that old, I think, maybe early 40s.) She's a sharp lady with a good sense of humor, their interactions were fun.