Synopsis/blurb…..
What best defines a
man. His profession? Or his passion?
Keller's profession
is murder for hire. He kills strangers for money.
His passion is
philately, which is to say that he's a stamp collector.
Once he'd planned to
retire from his profession. But how would he fill his time? He wound up
returning to his boyhood hobby of stamp collecting, and it promptly ate up much
of his retirement fund.
These things
happen...
So when a man in
Detroit hires him to dispatch another Detroiter, Keller's up for it. Only
problem is it has to be done right away, and Keller's got plans for the
weekend. He's flying out to San Francisco to attend a philatelic convention and
take in an important stamp auction. (Well, important to Keller, if not to you
or me.) How can he be in San Francisco and Detroit at the same time?
Turns out he doesn't
need to. Because the target will be making the same trip. His name is Sheridan
Bingham, and he's a prominent philatelist specializing in issues of the German
States, and he'll be in San Francisco, exhibiting some of his stamps at the convention,
and bidding in the very same auction as Keller.
But what happens when
Keller meets him and finds him a kindred spirit? What happens when he gets to
know the man?
Besides being a
collector and a killer, Keller is an unqualified Guilty Pleasure for an
ever-increasing number of readers. "I don't think I ought to like
Keller," readers tell me. "But I can't help myself..."
Quotidian Keller is
an extended episode in the third Keller novel, Hit Parade.
The last of the 10 single episode releases from Lawrence
Block with Hitman Keller – and I’m kind of glad. Not because I’m tired of
reading about him, just because I’ve exhausted my supply of superlatives.
Deja-review – deja-vous.
I’ll take Block’s word for it, it’s harder to kill a man
once you’ve got to know him. Lots to
like again – an hour or so in the company of a stamp collecting, amiable soul
and friendly fellow. One who just happens to be very good at killing, though as
usual a bit of lateral thinking is required to ease the passage of our victim
into the next life.
Top banana author – top banana tale. Try him for yourself
and see.
One minor quibble, I had no idea what QUOTIDIAN means. Block
showing off or me an ignoramus?
quotidian
kwɒˈtɪdɪən,kwəʊˈtɪdɪən/ adjective
1. of or occurring every day; daily.
"the car sped noisily off through the quotidian
traffic"
2. MEDICINE
denoting the malignant form of malaria.
4.5 from 5
Read in February, 2018
Published – 2007
Page count – 41
Source – Kindle Unlimited
Format - Kindle
That's the thing about an author with Block's talent, Co. Once you've said, 'The best,''Excellent,' etc., what more do you say? Glad that you enjoyed this last Keller outing.
ReplyDeleteCheers Margot. Hopefully, I'll get back to Block later in the year!
DeleteRegarding that word: Me either (or is is neither?), so I looked it up for both our enhanced education. :-)
ReplyDeletequo·tid·i·an
kwōˈtidēən/Submit
adjective
of or occurring every day; daily.
"the car sped noisily off through the quotidian traffic"
ordinary or everyday, especially when mundane.
"his story is an achingly human one, mired in quotidian details"
synonyms: daily, everyday, day-to-day, diurnal
And now I see you beat me to it. You remind me of my chemistry teacher in high school, the only class I ever failed. After a valient struggle to understand the subject matter during the first grading period (6 weeks), he told me (and I quote, verbatim), "Helms, you don't need this class credit to graduate. Why don't you bring a library book or use this hour as a study hall?" I was crushed. (Acutally, I was grateful!) :-)
DeleteMichael, cheers. I don't think I'll be slipping this one into my everyday conversations!
Delete