Friday's Forgotten Books, September 9, 2016

Today was supposed to be anthology day. I changed the date when personal life got in the way but some of these were obviously meant to be part of that topic. I apologize. I should have sent out an email.

The Wrong Quarry – Max Allan Collins (from the archives)

(first published 19 Thursday Dec 2013)

Posted by Randy Johnson

I’ve been a fan of Max Allan Collins ever since I discovered the Nathan Heller books during a low period in my life when I haunted the local library for a couple of years when the money got tight. Gradually I’ve filled in as many of the old titles as I could while keeping up with the new ones as they emerged.

The Quarry books are a particular favorite, the hitman turned-well not exactly an angel-but a man with his own system of honor.

Nowadays, armed with the Broker’s old list of hitmen, which he was once a part of, he makes his living finding them, watching for a target, and offering these folks protection. For a fee of course. He’ll get rid of the killers and find out who hired them. For another fee naturally. 

Now in the small town of Stockwell, he finds himself involved in something more. And he goes about learning the truth in his usual methodical manner, all the while with an eye on his back.

Mr. Collins does his always superb job of building his story and surprising the reader more than once along the way.

Most excellent. Now all I need is to read the short stories that accompanied one edition of a novel in the series. I don’t think they’ve been released in another venue such as an ebook(hint, hint).
We miss you, Randy!

Sergio Angelini, JULIETA, Alice Munro
Yvette Banek, MISTRESS OF MELLYN, Victoria Holt
Joe Barone, LITTLE BEE, Chris Cleve
Les Blatt, THE METHODS OF SERGEANT CLUFF, Gil North
Brian Busby, James Benson Nablo 
Bill Crider, Hard-Boiled Detectives: 23 Great Stories from Dime Detective Magazine, Dziemianowicz, Stefan R., Robert Weinberg and Martin H. Greenberg, editors.
Martin Edwards. essay on Forgotten Library, Forgotten Community
Curt Evans, INSPECTOR GHOTE'S GOOD CRUSADE, H.R.F. Keating
Richard Horton, FAVORITE STORIES BY FAVORITE WRITERS
Jerry House, THE SF ANTHOLOGIES OF GROFF CONKLIN
George Kelley, WOMEN OF FUTURE'S PAST, Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Margot Kinberg, LAST ACT OF ALL, Aline Templeton
Rob Kitchin, DARK AS MY HEART, Antti Tuomainen
B.V. Lawson, AMERICAN DETECTIVE, Tony Hillerman
Steve Lewis. MICHAEL SHAYNE'S LONG CHANCE, Brett Halliday
Todd Mason, THE LABOR DAY GROUP, Thomas Disch
J.F. Norris, LET HIM HAVE JUDGMENT, Bruce Hamilton
Matt Paust, THE MAN IN THE QUEUE, Josephine Tey
The Rap Sheet,Diane Capri, PERSUADER, Lee Child
Reactions to Reading, A DEADLY CAMBODIAN CRIME SPREE, Shamini Flint 
James Reasoner, NEVER LOVE A CALL GIRL, Mike Avallone
Richard Robinson, ERAGON, Christopher Paolini
Gerard Saylor, FIELD OF SWORDS, Con Uggulden
Kevin Tippl/Barry Ergang, GRIFTER'S GAME, Lawrence Block
TomCat, HE DIES AND MAKES NO SIGN, Molly Thynne
TracyK, FAST COMPANY, Marco Page