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"A sophisticated psychological thriller." — Booklist."Taut, well-paced, full of surprises and sparky New York dialogue." — The (London) Times."Perfect for a jaded mystery buff." — Chicago Sun-Times.The freelance hit man known as Pluto takes a unique approach to his clients don't know they've hired the assassin until after the murder. Pluto looks for a conflict between two people, kills one of them, and invoices the other. No one is ever foolish enough to deny payment — Pluto always collects his fee. When Lt. James Murtaugh of the New York Police Department takes on the case, Pluto begins stalking the investigating officer, leading to a suspenseful battle of wits between the detective and the relentless killer. Loaded with intriguing characters and ingenious twists, this action-packed mystery promises compulsive page-turning and an electrifying ending.
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First published November 1, 1985
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About the author
Barbara Paul
99 books19 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Barbara Paul is an American writer of detective stories and science fiction. She was born in Maysville, Kentucky, in 1931 and was educated, inter alia, at Bowling Green State University and the University of Pittsburgh.
A number of her novels feature in-jokes: for example Full Frontal Murder borrows various names from the British TV series Blake's 7.
Barbara Paul is an American writer of detective stories and science fiction. She was born in Maysville, Kentucky, in 1931 and was educated, inter alia, at Bowling Green State University and the University of Pittsburgh.
A number of her novels feature in-jokes: for example Full Frontal Murder borrows various names from the British TV series Blake's 7.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 9, 2016
I read a very positive book review of this some weeks ago, which is why I picked it up. I'd say it's not the sort of thing I usually read except I've lately been dipping into the mystery/gothic/straight up blood&guts genre(s). I'm not sure what's gotten into me, but here I are ;O)
The premise is murder-for-hire AFTER the fact. Murderer researches people's lives, determines who would benefit from the removal of somebody troublesome from their lives, takes that human out and then bills the survivor. So, bit of a twist.
What made this book a page-turner was the excellent writing of Barbara Paul. There was no 'stopping to smell any roses' along the way, the story was told quickly and very interestingly and kept moving right along, --and you DO want to know what happens next and she doesn't make you wait on a street corner, scuffing your shoes against a curb till you find out. I appreciate that. (Which is not to say that pertinent details are missing or that the psychology of the characters is not described, it is, but succinctly & in keeping w/her terse prose style). You get everything you need to know about every character & event w/o any fluff filler. The story line was engaging (in a murder-y way) and the ending well-crafted-- but that's all I'll say about the ending because any more would spoil it.
I flew through this book in a few hours & thoroughly impressed with Barbara Paul's talent.
The premise is murder-for-hire AFTER the fact. Murderer researches people's lives, determines who would benefit from the removal of somebody troublesome from their lives, takes that human out and then bills the survivor. So, bit of a twist.
What made this book a page-turner was the excellent writing of Barbara Paul. There was no 'stopping to smell any roses' along the way, the story was told quickly and very interestingly and kept moving right along, --and you DO want to know what happens next and she doesn't make you wait on a street corner, scuffing your shoes against a curb till you find out. I appreciate that. (Which is not to say that pertinent details are missing or that the psychology of the characters is not described, it is, but succinctly & in keeping w/her terse prose style). You get everything you need to know about every character & event w/o any fluff filler. The story line was engaging (in a murder-y way) and the ending well-crafted-- but that's all I'll say about the ending because any more would spoil it.
I flew through this book in a few hours & thoroughly impressed with Barbara Paul's talent.
June 16, 2020
I think I will take a bit of a break from Barbara Paul books for awhile. Kill Fee was a good book with a
daring plot. The suspense was, at times, exceptionally good. My problem with the book was the ending, actually the last page of the book. Wow, but not in a good way. I will get back to reading her books later. She is a wonderful author with unusual plotting skills. Her books are somewhat dated but that does not take away from her great plots and characters.
daring plot. The suspense was, at times, exceptionally good. My problem with the book was the ending, actually the last page of the book. Wow, but not in a good way. I will get back to reading her books later. She is a wonderful author with unusual plotting skills. Her books are somewhat dated but that does not take away from her great plots and characters.
February 16, 2021
Bill Pronzini and Marcia Muller reviewed 1985’s Kill Fee in their excellent book 1001 Midnights. They got my attention by noting that Kill Fee is that rarest of mysteries - one with an original plot. In the book, a deranged killer called Pluto finds people in New York City who are having conflicts. Then he kills one of them. After the murder, Pluto presents the surviving beneficiary with a bill.
After reading the 1001 Midnights review, I put Kill Fee on my to-read list. This fall, Edward R. Hamilton had a remainder copy of the 2016 reprint and I snapped it up. I’m glad that I do so.
The plot is the best thing about Kill Fee. It’s totally implausible, but if you can get around that, the book is very entertaining. Paul uses the Manhattan setting well, painting a vivid picture for the reader. She also has a gift for creating vivid characters. Again, not all of the characters’ actions ring true, but the readers gets to follow the killer, the cops, their spouses, and assorted others for 250 pages.
Kill Fee isn’t perfect. I wish that Paul had followed the old “show-don’t-tell” advice a bit more. She takes sides with her characters, which further decreases the book’s realism. Also, there are a few plot twists that the reading can anticipate; though, I must admit that Paul kept me guessing - and interested - right up to the last paragraph.
Graham Greene used to like to refer to his popular-fiction books as “entertainments.” Kill Fee clearly is such a book. And if you’re OK with not finding the secret of life in its pages, Kill Fee is a great way to while away a few hours.
After reading the 1001 Midnights review, I put Kill Fee on my to-read list. This fall, Edward R. Hamilton had a remainder copy of the 2016 reprint and I snapped it up. I’m glad that I do so.
The plot is the best thing about Kill Fee. It’s totally implausible, but if you can get around that, the book is very entertaining. Paul uses the Manhattan setting well, painting a vivid picture for the reader. She also has a gift for creating vivid characters. Again, not all of the characters’ actions ring true, but the readers gets to follow the killer, the cops, their spouses, and assorted others for 250 pages.
Kill Fee isn’t perfect. I wish that Paul had followed the old “show-don’t-tell” advice a bit more. She takes sides with her characters, which further decreases the book’s realism. Also, there are a few plot twists that the reading can anticipate; though, I must admit that Paul kept me guessing - and interested - right up to the last paragraph.
Graham Greene used to like to refer to his popular-fiction books as “entertainments.” Kill Fee clearly is such a book. And if you’re OK with not finding the secret of life in its pages, Kill Fee is a great way to while away a few hours.
March 29, 2024
This book is best-known- insofar as it's known at all- for its novel plot: the villain's MO is to find two people locked in a bitter dispute, murder one of them at a time and in a way that establishes an alibi for the beneficiary of the killing, and then, after the fact, to bill the surviving disputant a hundred thousand dollars for the service. This is obviously kind of ludicrous, but well within the bounds of absurdity that mystery novels generally operate in.
That said, this is really more of a cat-and-mouse thriller than a mystery story- it's the story of a murderer (Pluto) and the detective on his trail (Lt. Murtaugh), but the culprit is known to the reader from very early on, and the limited third person narration moves freely between the viewpoints of the detective, the killer, and various other characters (most importantly Murtaugh's right-hand man Sgt. Eberhart, their cruel boss Cpt. Ansbacher, and Leon Walsh, the nebbish beneficiary of the first murder depicted in the novel). The writing is tight and pacey; the characters are all sharply and immediately (as opposed to deeply) defined; the dialogue is concise and punchy.
I don't know what more there is to say, I guess. This isn't great art, and doesn't need to be or intend to be- it's a very well-constructed thriller, with twists and tension and an appropriately abrupt and shocking ending. As near to the Platonic ideal of an airplane novel as I have yet read.
That said, this is really more of a cat-and-mouse thriller than a mystery story- it's the story of a murderer (Pluto) and the detective on his trail (Lt. Murtaugh), but the culprit is known to the reader from very early on, and the limited third person narration moves freely between the viewpoints of the detective, the killer, and various other characters (most importantly Murtaugh's right-hand man Sgt. Eberhart, their cruel boss Cpt. Ansbacher, and Leon Walsh, the nebbish beneficiary of the first murder depicted in the novel). The writing is tight and pacey; the characters are all sharply and immediately (as opposed to deeply) defined; the dialogue is concise and punchy.
I don't know what more there is to say, I guess. This isn't great art, and doesn't need to be or intend to be- it's a very well-constructed thriller, with twists and tension and an appropriately abrupt and shocking ending. As near to the Platonic ideal of an airplane novel as I have yet read.
June 4, 2023
La trama inizialmente pareva interessante e anche la caratterizzazione psicologica iniziale di Leon Walsh e della sua situazione coniugale era gestita bene.
Poi però, con l'entrata in scena di Pluto che costituiva l'inizio della narrazione, la struttura della narrazione è saltata: sono entrati in scena molti personaggi (il tenente Murtaugh, o il capitano Asbarcher) i quali non si capiva che ruolo avessero nella vicenda. Insomma, la narrazione che doveva essere incentrata, sia sul piano psicologico che su quello dell'azione, su Leon Walsh e su Pluto, si è spostata, verso la metà del libro, su Murtaugh. Il risultato è che da lì in poi la narrazione ha iniziato a basarsi unicamente sulle indagini condotte dai poliziotti; avrei preferito, come pensavo all'inizio del libro, che la narrazione fosse incentrata su Pluto e Leon Walsh, in modo tale che il lettore potesse empatizzare maggiormente con loro e con la loro complicata situazione. È molto più originale e coinvolgente seguire in prima persona le gesta di un assassino e del suo "cliente" (come in Furia Omicida o in Metamorfosi di un Assassino)
Inoltre anche lo stile di scrittura lascia moltissimo a desiderare: invece di introdurre passo passo le caratteristiche dei personaggi, le descrizioni di questi sono infarciti di spiegoni imbarazzanti.
Poi però, con l'entrata in scena di Pluto che costituiva l'inizio della narrazione, la struttura della narrazione è saltata: sono entrati in scena molti personaggi (il tenente Murtaugh, o il capitano Asbarcher) i quali non si capiva che ruolo avessero nella vicenda. Insomma, la narrazione che doveva essere incentrata, sia sul piano psicologico che su quello dell'azione, su Leon Walsh e su Pluto, si è spostata, verso la metà del libro, su Murtaugh. Il risultato è che da lì in poi la narrazione ha iniziato a basarsi unicamente sulle indagini condotte dai poliziotti; avrei preferito, come pensavo all'inizio del libro, che la narrazione fosse incentrata su Pluto e Leon Walsh, in modo tale che il lettore potesse empatizzare maggiormente con loro e con la loro complicata situazione. È molto più originale e coinvolgente seguire in prima persona le gesta di un assassino e del suo "cliente" (come in Furia Omicida o in Metamorfosi di un Assassino)
Inoltre anche lo stile di scrittura lascia moltissimo a desiderare: invece di introdurre passo passo le caratteristiche dei personaggi, le descrizioni di questi sono infarciti di spiegoni imbarazzanti.
October 1, 2018
I've read many books by this author, and I think this is one of my favorites. An unusual plot with lots of twists and turns right up to the very end. In fact the ending - wow. Wasn't expecting that...
March 9, 2024
Interesting variation of Strangers on a Train, except this time the killer kills first, then seeks out the main suspect for payment. It got a little too complicated and long-winded, but Paul was a talented writer who’s worth reading. Didn’t think this was her best work.
May 25, 2020
3.75? Rounding up. Tour de force class, briskly related with a final shock. Fine characterizations. Don’t really make like this anymore; usually padding.
December 1, 2016
Damn, that was dark. Especially that ending.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews