Quarry’s Choice
Max Allan Collins
Hard Case Crime
Paperback, 248 p., $9.99 US, $11.99 Can L7.99 UK
ebook $7.99
Max Allan Collins has been working in the crime and mystery fields for decades now, and one of his most popular and enduring characters is the hitman Quarry. Quarry has had something of a renaissance in recent years, with Hard Case publishing a number of new novels. The previous volume, The Wrong Quarry, is sitting in my TBR pile.
In the latest installment, Collins gives us an episode from early in Quarry’s career. He’s recently returned from Viet Nam and hasn’t been in the contract killing business long. When an associate of his boss, known as The Broker, is shot at, Quarry is sent to Biloxi to take out the man who ordered the hit.
He’s going in under cover, pretending to be a new hire. The second in command of a gambling and prostitution ring is concerned that his boss is getting too ambitious and is endangering them all. Since the boss ordered the hit on The Broker, the number two guy has arranged for Quarry to join the team, so to speak.
Of course things aren’t nearly that simple. The first complication is the girl Quarry is given to keep him company. Luann is a stripper and hooker who was sold into the business by her mother when she was a young teen. Quarry lets Luann get close to him, and that’s his first mistake.
The astute reader will see where Quarry makes more than one mistake. Of course, just because the choices he makes are mistakes, that doesn’t mean they are the wrong choices. Just not the best for a professional killer to make.
Collins establishes the period well. He does this in two ways. First, there’s the music. My understanding is that Collins is a musician himself, and the songs that Quarry hears playing in the background are very much of the era.
The second way that Collins establishes the period is in some detailed descriptions of what his characters are wearing. I’m just old enough to remember that, yes, people really did dress like this back in the 70s.
Collins shows the dark side of strip joints and prostitution. Luann tells him some things that have been done to her that are pretty rough. Collins doesn’t shy away from graphic content, especially sex and language in this one. The violence is almost tame by comparison. If this isn’t your cup of tea, you might want to keep this in mind before starting Quarry’s Choice. Collins is one of the few authors I’ll read that have this level of graphic content.
I met Mr. Collins once, when Bouchercon was in Austin. This was back in 2002. (Has it been that long? Now I’m depressed.) I liked him immediately. He seemed to be having more fun than any three people in the room combined, and everyone was having a good time. My impression of him, and I mean no insult at all by this, was that he was a giant kid who had figured out how to make a living doing something he loved. We should all be so lucky. His enjoyment of being there and meeting his fans was palpable. I had read a few of his books before going, but he made a fan of me that day by how well he treated when I asked for his signature. I’ve been reading his work ever since.
Quarry’s Choice may not be for everyone. But if you’re up for it, it’s a gripping story with all the twists and turns you would expect from a Quarry novel. A solid addition to the series.