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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... McMinnville Public Library | Holm, C. | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Monmouth Public Library | Fic Holm, C. 2015 | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Michael Hendricks kills people for money. That aside, he's not so bad a guy.
Once a covert operative for a false-flag unit of the US military, Hendricks was presumed dead after a mission in Afghanistan went sideways. He left behind his old life -- and beloved fiancée -- and set out on a path of redemption...or perhaps one of willful self-destruction.
Now Hendricks makes his living as a hitman entrepreneur of sorts -- he only hits other hitmen. For ten times the price on your head, he'll make sure whoever's coming to kill you winds up in the ground instead. Not a bad way for a guy with his skill-set to make a living -- but a great way to make himself a target.
Author Notes
Chris Holm is the author of the Collector trilogy, which blends crime and fantasy, and the Michael Hendricks thrillers. His Hendricks novel, The Killing Kind , was named a New York Times Editors' Choice and won the Anthony Award for Best Novel. His second Hendricks novel, Red Right Hand , was nominated for the Anthony Award for Best Novel. Holm lives in Portland, Maine.
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Former U.S. special operations soldier Michael Hendricks, the hero of Holm's inventive thriller, was presumed killed in a horrifying attack in Afghanistan that left his unit destroyed. Informing neither the government nor his ex-girlfriend, Hendricks returns to the U.S., where he contacts the intended victims of organized crime hit contracts and, if they meet his standards for decency, offers to take out their killer, for a fee 10 times what the hit man was paid in the first place. A shadowy cartel of organized crime groups hires sadistic but effective hit man Alexander Engelman to deal with Hendricks. Engelman learns Hendricks's background through devious means, which sets up a final showdown of hit man versus hit man. Holm (Dead Harvest and two other novels in his Collector fantasy series) carries off a preposterous plot with brazen aplomb, creating a diverting, action-packed story interspersed with excellent character vignettes. Agent: David Gernert, Gernert Company. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A fast-moving thriller with a clever premise. Edgar Morales is about to get whacked by a button man for an international crime syndicate called the Corporation. When the fatal shot rings out, though, it's said button man's head that explodes. His executioner is Michael Hendricks, who has an odd specialty: he's a "hitman killing hitmen." So the Councila group of major American crime familieshires Engelmann, "one of the most gifted contract killers in the world," to blot out Hendricks, "a pest in need of exterminating." Hendricks is a killer with not just a conscience, but business sense. If there's a price on your head, he'll take out the hired killer for 10 times that price. And if he calls you, it means that "someone, somewhere, want[s] you dead." The plot weaves the storylines of both killers in with that of FBI Special Agent Charlotte "Charlie" Thompson, who wants to catch the two men. Hendricks is the most complex of the characters, hence the most interesting. He's a Special Forces veteran thought by most people, including his former girlfriend, to have been killed in Afghanistan. His code prevents him from killing innocents, unlike Engelmann, the flat-out evildoer who relishes the pain and suffering of others. Hendricks' worldview comes out of his crucible of pain, while Engelmann just grew up bad; he will happily kill you and have a good night's sleep. Meanwhile, Charlie and her partner try to track both men down. The three main characters play their roles wellCharlie is appealing, Hendricks is the semisympathetic antihero, Engelmann is just plain vile, and they're all smart. Who will best whom is by no means obvious in this fast-moving, witty tale of good guy versus bad guy versus worse guy. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
When Michael Hendricks, an off-the-books hit man working for the U.S. during one of its many incursions into the Middle East, finds himself listed as presumed dead after an IED explosion, he jumps at the opportunity to move still further off the grid. The only person who realizes Hendricks is alive is Lester Meyers, who lost both legs in the same IED explosion and now, back home, uses his computer-hacking skills to learn about planned Mob assassinations. He passes the info along to Hendricks, who convinces the intended victims to pay him to kill their would-be killers. Of course, the Mob is unhappy about this situation and hires the crème de la crème of hit men to kill the mysterious killer. There are too many clichés and telegraphed plot lines here, but there's plenty to praise, too. Holm's action scenes are breathtaking whirlwinds, and even when readers know what's next, he builds an improbable level of suspense. Yes, this first Holm novel is a bit uneven, but it's clear he's a writer with a strong future. Stick with him.--Lukowsky, Wes Copyright 2015 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
THE ARAB OF THE FUTURE. A Graphic Memoir: A Childhood in the Middle East (1978-1984), by Riad Sattouf. Translated by Sam Taylor. (Metropolitan/Holt; paper, $26.) With fluent prose and precise drawing, a cartoonist depicts his father's flaws. NOT ON FIRE, BUT BURNING, by Greg Hrbek. (Melville House, $25.95.) This impressive novel explores the aftermath of an imagined "8/11," which evokes people's best and worst selves. THE SONG MACHINE: Inside the Hit Factory, by John Seabrook. (Norton, $26.95.) A New Yorker writer looks at producers, executives, songwriters and artists in the troubled music business. HERE, by Richard McGuire. (Pantheon, $35.) A corner of the living room of the author's childhood home in New Jersey is viewed over a period of eons in this graphic novel, which introduces a third dimension to the flat page. THUNDER AND LIGHTNING: Weather Past, Present, Future, by Lauren Redniss. (Random House, $35.) How human beings live with nature, combining information with striking illustration. SUPERFORECASTING: The Art and Science of Prediction, by Philip E. Tetlock and Dan Gardner. (Crown, $28.) To become a superforecaster, rely on data and logic and eliminate personal bias. STEP ASIDE, POPS: A Hark! A Vagrant Collection, by Kate Beaton. (Drawn & Quarterly, $19.95.) Recent strips from Beaton's audacious online comic, collected here, cover a wide range of topics. THE SEARCHER, by Simon Toyne. (Morrow/ HarperCollins, $26.99.) This novel about a man with amnesia grabs our attention and keeps it. THE KILLING KIND, by Chris Holm. (Mulholland/Little, Brown, $26.) A fast-moving, well-constructed thriller about an assassin who kills assassins. The full reviews of these and other recent books are on the web: nytimes.com/books.
Library Journal Review
Michael Hendricks is a hit man who kills only other hit men. As a military special op assassin in Afghanistan, he was declared dead, leaving his childhood sweetheart Edie to marry someone else and him to reinvent himself. Hendricks's guilt at what he did as a soldier drives him to kill killers-for ten times the killer's fee. Unfortunately, many of his victims are mob-connected, and the organization hires Edelmann, a nasty piece of work, to eliminate Hendricks. Charlotte Thompson, an FBI agent, also is pursuing Hendricks. Events come to a head at a casino at which all three converge, only to emerge from the carnage to meet again for a fiery climax at Edie's home. Verdict Holm's "Collector" trilogy, which blended urban fantasy with pulp crime fiction, featured an unusual but likable antihero, and so it is the same here with both Hendricks and his crippled war buddy Lester, who helps him with computer wizardry. The ending slips into melodrama, but the wild and furious action, the unusual plot featuring assassin versus assassin, and the memorable characters all keep the reader racing through this skillfully told tale of vengeance. [See Prepub Alert, 3/23/15.]-Roland Person, formerly with Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.