(8.00)204 pages.
The author takes us back in the timeline, to Quarry's first assignment as a hitman.
Quarry's origins are summarized in every novel in this series, but this time, we get the details. How he came home from the Vietnam War, a former sniper, and found his wife in bed with someone else. How that man died. How The Broker then recruited him to be part of his assassination bureau.
His first assignment is to kill a university professor. It's a solo job, as someone else has previously done the surveillance. As usual, Quarry doesn't know who paid for the hit, or why. The target lives in a cottage in the countryside. The Broker has arranged for Quarry to do his stake-out from the new housing development across the street.
It seems a straightforward assignment… until it gets complicated. Why are so many people visiting the professor? Why are so many people interested in the professor? What happens if Quarry learns who the client is, and why he wants the professor dead?
The author gives us in this novel an inexperienced Quarry, new to the assassination business, but with all the right instincts. In a startling ending, Quarry shows how he resolves loose ends and dispenses justice.
Given the subject matter, expect some violence and sex. Some racial slurs are used that would have been appropriate in the setting. Note that the plot involves child abuse and suicide, so avoid this novel if these subjects are a problem for you.
I thought the novel got off to a slow start, but I was riveted once the killings began. The characters are well drawn. The ending was quite good.
Reviewed by 
Editor in Chief Bill 
.