Primary Target

Quarry #5

by Max Allan Collins

After Quarry turns down a million-dollar job to assassinate a presidential candidate, those who tried to hire him make two mistakes--they kill Quarry's pregnant wife and they fail to kill him

Genres: Crime, Noir, Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Action, Adventure

190 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1988

About the author

Received the Shamus Award, "The Eye" (Lifetime achievment award) in 2006.

He has also published under the name Patrick Culhane. He and his wife, Barbara Collins, have written several books together. Some of them are published under the name Barbara Allan.

Book Awards
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1984) : True Detective
Shamus Awards Best Novel winner (1992) : Stolen Away
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1995) : Carnal Hours
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1997) : Damned in Paradise
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (1999) : Flying Blind: A Novel about Amelia Earhart
Shamus Awards Best Novel nominee (2002) : Angel in Black

Japanese: マックス・アラン・コリンズ
or マックス・アラン コリンズ

Reviews

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

10 years have passed since Quarry's Cut, with the hitman having carved out a nice little existence; he's got a wife with a baby on the way, owns a dinner, and lives a life of leisure. He now reads about violence in fiction, rather than being the perpetrator with the days of taking lives, and sans Broker, saving them, well and truly over. That is, until a stranger familiar with Quarry's former occupation turns up on his doorstep with an offer of a cool million dollars to take out a presidential candidate.

Quarry's Vote isn't as strong as the other four Quarry novels preceding it. Quarry himself is still as cold and calculated with an easy air of death emanating from his pores, however the political aspects didn't interest me.

A staple of these books are the pulp overtones and Quarry's Vote is no different; dames, distress, bullets, caskets, and Quarry wading through the mess and coming up spades, which all make for an enjoyable one-sitting read.

My rating: 3/5 stars. More suited to readers who like crime in their politics.

[Carla Remy · Rating 4 out of 5]

From 1987
Time has passed, like ten years since the last book. Now Quarry is 39. He thought he’d retired from being a hit man, but of course he gets pulled back in.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story of Quarry getting sucked back into his old job. Fairly predictable overall, but fun nonetheless. Never mess with Quarry. He's not a very good detective, but he's not stupid & he's never afraid to use violence to solve a problem. The ending was especially good, as was the political commentary. Yes, definitely one of the best overall & Collins explains that it is one of his favorites in the afterword.

Unfortunately, this was renamed from Primary Target & republished by Hard Case Crime. They didn't bother putting the old title on the cover, though. That's the last cheap shot, so I'm done with both buying the Quarry & Hard Case Crime books. They've both bilked me one too many times now. I've bought this book 3 times now: once as Primary Target, it was also a big chunk of Quarry's Greatest Hits, & now under a new title. The later Quarry books are going downhill & I don't like the new size of the HCC books, either. The new ones won't fit in with the old ones on the shelf. I have the original run & haven't gotten to all of them yet, anyway. Excellent cover art.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fifth installment of the Quarry books starts with a retired Quarry married with a blond pregnant wife, life seems to be good and mundane for this former hitman. He is somewhat annoyed as somebody comes and visits him to offer him a million dollar for one hit, a political hit. Being retired Quarry turns the job down also because his original mentor had advised him not to engage into any hit with political implications. His negative answer does have consequences as well as his pregnant wife and her visiting brother get killed before Quarry takes care of both hitmen.
Then Quarry starts to backtrack the killer duo and their bosses because Hell hath no furry but a Quarry scorned. And he is unstoppable the nice little twist at the end was expected but nicely executed and it made this story an nice and quick one. Certainly one of the better Quarry novels of the ones I read so far. It seems that Max Allan Collins felt more comfortable as time progressed and he had a better idea what to do with Quarry.

Well worth your while for a comfortable beach or travel read.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quarry is retired from the business, runs a hotel, and has a young pregnant wife. One day, a man offers Quarry a one million dollar contract to kill a presidential candidate. Quarry refuses and several days later, men kill his wife, their unborn child, and his wife's brother. With everything taken from him, Quarry goes looking for whomever wanted to hire him to do the hit and settle things... permanently!

Primary Target was short but really good. Quarry does what he does best, acting cool and calculated despite the circumstances. For once, Quarry is a sympathetic character, although he's still a bastard. The story had a few twists, though I saw the last one coming miles away. There wasn't as much action as some of the other Quarry tales but it had enough twists and turns to make up for it.

[ML · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that had me shell shocked 😳 many times! Quarry gets married and she is just who he needs in his life. They are set to have a baby. He’s taken over the business from the previous Quarry book. The diner/gas station/ hotel business. It’s doing well and Quarry is retired.

He gets offered an assassin job and declines it. This sets in motion a chain of events that is so sad I was 🤯🤯.

Needless to say, Quarry gets his revenge big time. The end was perfect. Quarry with nothing to lose is a scary Quarry. I look forward to the next installment!

[Ben A · Rating 4 out of 5]

An older, married Quarry is lured out of retirement and is forced to once again play detective and uncover the conspiracy surrounding the potential assassination of a narcissistic third-party presidential candidate that is on the verge of leaving small town politics and entering the national arena.

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of the reason I put off reading the Quarry series for so long is because I assumed they’d be those cliché-ridden crime tales with toxic men and bad dialogue. I was pleasantly surprised to find this to be untrue.

Yet here, a fish-out-of-water tale written in the 80s is just that. Tough guy dialogue. Homophobia. Dames.

So I had to knock it down a star but it’s still a fun read. And it’s wild that I read this after reading the Huey Long bio and seeing the new alt right candidate guy on Succession. Max Allan Collins’ take on how fringe politics move to the mainstream is surprisingly astute.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this before in Quarry's Greatest Hits. The full novel is in there along with several short stories, supposedly. It seemed to me this was a bit more fleshed out, but that could be my poor memory. It was still a fun read & quick. Quarry actually shows some emotion besides being pissed off & there are twists & turns. The ending isn't exactly stunning, but nicely done.

[Oli Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

@therealhardcasecrime S06 finished and it’s the fifth #quarry novel #quarrysvote by #maxallancollins originally published in 1987 as #primarytarget
After a ten year break MAC brings back quarry who is retired, married, fat and happy. The first quarter of the novel does an impressive job of getting the reader up to speed and engaged and then breaking your heart.
Quarry experiences some emotions and it is handled well - in keeping with his character.
The intricate web of players/coincidences gradually being revealed is enjoyable. You can almost hear the audience “ooooo” with intrigue at the end of some of the chapters.
Solid thriller. quick read. great stuff. Perhaps a little more serious/mature than his early appearances. A dash of sardonic humour in just the right places. One of my favourite quarry novels so far.
Plus another #robertmcginnis cover - HCC and MAC are spoiling me with so many in a row!

[Mohammed Abdikhader Firdhiye]

This Quarry comeback novel in the series was different than the first 4, Quarry himself was in a different place, different life and showed emotions i didnt expect from him. I enjoyed how Collins used the political scene in the story, the satire about the parties,their ideologies and the egomanic, pretentious smooth talker candidate looking for the popular vote.

It was better written, crisper prose, characters than early books, it will be interesting to read the books,short stories after this novel as strong.

[Maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

PROTAGONIST: Quarry, hitman
SERIES: #5
RATING: 3.75
WHY: Quarry hasn’t been in the hitman business for 10 years. He’s leading a quiet life in Iowa, married and owner of a local inn. When someone offers him a million dollars to kill a political extremist, he turns him down. That's when his idyllic life is shattered, and he's back in the business. He needs to find the man who tried to hire him as well as the person who is behind the contract. And he also finds himself dealing with another hitman with whom he used to partner. Collins is a master of plotting, and the resolution works perfectly.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Quarry's Vote, originally published as Primary Target, Quarry is retired and running a small motel/resort on a small lake in rural Wisconsin. He lets himself drink and get pudgy over the long winters and has even married a sweet young blonde girl, who he originally had shacked up with as a one-night stand, but it morphed into something else after her parents were killed in a car wreck. It is an idyllic life and, in his early thirties, Quarry is embarking on a calm life. Only, and you knew this was coming, someone from his old life looks him up and proposes a job, the job of a lifetime, really. One million dollars for one hit. It's a political hit on a third-party presidential fringe presidential candidate. Quarry ponders the money, but decides he is retired from that life and turns it down. Quarry also explains that, with a political hit, like Oswald, you are never safe. You are a loose end that someone has to deal with.

Seeing a car parked nearby with a lone man sitting in it, Quarry realizes that he may have turned the job down, but he is now a loose end that must be dealt with. He is now being hunted by those who would have hired him.

Quarry then puts the clues together and heads to the Quad Cities area of Iowa/Illinois to find out who has put the hit on him.

Although the idea of Quarry doing a political hit makes the book sound hokey, it is actually another great work in the Quarry line with Quarry playing detective to find out who is behind it in the complicated political world of third-party politics.

Along the way, the story is told with typical Quarry dead-pan humor that makes it an absolute pleasure to read.

Quarry is like a one-man army invading a political war camp. No one is who they seem in the Quad Cities and they are all inter-connected.

Highly recommended. Indeed, I recommend each and every book in the Quarry series.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

PRIMARY TARGET by author Max Allan Collins is the 5th book in the “Quarry” that places the elusive hitman in a no-win situation that involves a high profile political figure, being a candidate running for the presidency in the upcoming election.

Retirement in his small community and marriage has given the ex-hitman a peaceful existence, something he’s never really had before, and since he knows that this would be a risky proposition at best, he refuses which puts him at odds with those who requested his services.

Quarry then fakes his own death to try to avoid further attempts on his life by his enemies

Situations eventually put Quarry in the position of actually being the protector of the man he was approached to kill, a twist of fate that further places him in harm’s way while he protects his employer.

Since as usual things are not what they appear, he has to figure out exactly who the target is and how to survive this assignment.

Great action in this one, and once again Quarry’s unconventional approach to improvisation when things go wrong serve him well in staying one step ahead of his enemies, who are many.

4 stars.

[Donald · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Ask not who you can kill for your country…”

Quarry gets married again! And his wife is expecting!
And then, his past pays him a visit…

Someone wants to hire Quarry to assassinate Donald Trump, I mean ‘Preston Freed’. When he says no, bad things happen. But Quarry is badder, and he’s pissed! And he wants revenge!

A fast read, lots of Quarry being a bad ass, and ultimately, he gets what he seeks! And, there is more than one way to assassinate a person! A good fifth book in this series!

[Malum · Rating 3 out of 5]

He tries to get out, but they keep pulling his ass back in!

A good Quarry story, and way better than the last volume.

[John Ogden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Improbable plot, predictable ending. Not the best of the series.

[Gloria Feit · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the publisher: Now retired and happily married, Quarry turns down a million-dollar contract to assassinate a presidential candidate. It’s not the sort of assignment you can just walk away from without consequences - - but coming after Quarry has consequences, too. The longest-running series from Max Allan Collins, author of “Road to Perdition” and the first ever to feature a hitman as the main character, the Quarry novels tell the story of a paid assassin with a rebellious streak and an unlikely taste for justice. Once a Marine sniper, Quarry found a new home stateside with a group of contract killers. But some men aren’t made for taking orders - - and when Quarry strikes off, on his own, God help the man on the other side of his nine-millimeter.

Quarry, who thinks of himself as a Vietnam-era relic, looks at himself at this stage of his life thusly: “I was thirty-five. I was getting bored with one-night stands and my own microwave cooking, I wanted some company and she seemed pleasant enough. She talked too much, but most people do. She was beautiful, a terrific cook, and she kept out of my way. What more could I ask?” He’s been retired for nearly ten years, having used the name “Quarry” during those years when he was a paid assassin. Written in 1987, the book at times seems prescient: “We are coming into a fascinating election year. The two parties - - depending upon whom they choose as their standard bearers of course - - should be in for a real battle. Think of it: the highest office in the land up for grabs…we could have a true conservative in the White House . . .” He turns down the offer, despite the big bucks involved. And the situation leaves him deeply unsettled, threatening the life he has come to love, as people such as the ones making this offer don’t like to leave any loose ends. Thinking of his wife, he muses “She was a sweet kid. I didn’t deserve her, but then who does deserve what they get in this life, good or bad?”

The ensuing tale of killers chasing a killer, who is in turn chasing them, is wonderfully well written. A target is described as a “wealthy paranoid political crackpot who thinks the Soviets are after him.” When Quarry is asked “Are you a detective or an assassin,” he responds “Necessity has turned me into a little of both.” When Quarry enters an upper-middle-class residence, he thinks: “It was the home of somebody who used to bowl but now golfs.” His writing has been called “classic pulp fiction,” but my own take on it is that it is as enjoyable as anything being written contemporaneously.

Highly recommended.

[Bradford D · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Behind me the world turned orange; ahead the world was dark. I walked toward the darkness.” This quote from “Quarry’s Vote” ostensibly describes the action as Quarry walks away from a burning house and into the unlit night, but it really describes Quarry himself as he turns from any semblance of a normal life and returns to killing people. It is absolutely perfect. You can enjoy this as escapist entertainment, but Collins is going to make sure and get some things off his chest too; he skewers the tobacco companies, branded culture, politics, car culture and more in hilarious ways. You can’t ask for more.

[Wayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book ! Found it in the mystery section of my local library. Quarry turns down a million dollar hit on a potential presidential candidate. That's when the fun starts. Lots of plot twists and wry black humor that makes it a Quarry novel. Seek this out if your a fan.

[Matthew Lipson · Rating 4 out of 5]

While for me there has not been as good a Quarry book since reading The First Quarry. In fact, Quarry, the true first Quarry book, I found uninspiring. But, whichever Quarry book you break your cherry on, the next ones won't be as good. That said, Quarry's Vote was different enough to hold my attention and gave me a rush a Quarry book hasn't given me in awhile.

There is always something about a story bringing a main character out of retirement that gets me. By definition it has to be unique from the rest. The author has already broke formula as the situation, usually, has to be a little more personal. And, for Quarry, the situation gets very personal very quickly. Until this book, Quarry's strength and ability to get the job done relied on the distance he could keep from the subject no matter who he ended up sleeping with. The plot is different enough in this one that Quarry doesn't sleep with anybody. This doesn't mean there isn't any sex. The other characters engage in it, while he shows no interest.

This aside. the plot revolves on a very late 1970s early 1980s political climate. This does make the book feel dated, and, in Collins' defense, the book was originally published in 1987. So, taking on politics in any era will automatically date most pieces of writing. That doesn't stop it from being a fun romp and an interesting return for an older more mature Quarry.

These books are hard to read in any particular order. I was attempting to figure out the chronology as presented by the books, but, as Collins didn't write them in any particular order, I gave up. This was a good book, and I was happy to see it didn't fall into the formula that some in the series fall into. I still have a few on my shelf to read, and there are even more out there not on my shelf. I will continue to read them, as there will be another gem like this one out there waiting.

[Paperback Papa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Quarry series by Max Allan Collins is about a hit man. He is not a good person, or even particularly likable. Yet somehow the author makes you root for him. The stories are first person narratives of Quarry's escapades. I've read a few of them and I would rate this one, written in 1987, as one of the least enjoyable.

In this installment, Quarry is offered a nice sum of money to kill a presidential candidate (hence, the title). He declines, which makes the people who tried to hire him mad. I won't offer any spoilers, but what follows is a whirlwind of violence, with people getting killed right and left. And that is the problem with this book. There were too many characters for me to always be clear on who was being killed and why. As always, Quarry is the last man standing. There is a twist at the end, but it's pretty predictable. I think most people will guess it before it's revealed.

The Quarry novels are extremely well-written, fast-paced, very noir-ish, and not overly long. I also love that Hard Case Crime publishes them with a nice, readable font. I wouldn't recommend these novels, but if you like violent hit man stories, you might enjoy them.

[Stephen Hickman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great cover art which I couldn't connect with the story, but hey, I'd parted with the money when that became apparent. It read like an episode of a US Detective drama except in this case the protagonist is an assassin with empathy issues, or perhaps not, if you like your MC's uncomplicated, hard, clinical, and cold, though I should add, in the one love scene he attempts he fails to get it up due to an emotional refusal after his wife's bloody death a couple of days earlier. Yes, you almost have sympathy until you recall the timeline. Later reviewing a blackmail tape Quarry says, "Is that rear entry, or are your really stirring the fudge there?" This is a no apologies, straight talking, killfest, that finishes before you start asking yourself, why the hell you are reading it. Instantly forgettable like a comic.

[Michael Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kill a political candidate. Easy. Get away with it - HARD. Quarry is approached to do a job for lots of money. But the job is basically suicide for the hitter. He turns it down. The people involved come after him anyway. He get mad.
Easy concept to understand. Collins tells simple stories with the Quarry series. Old style, dime store paperback tales that read quick and easy. But unlike many of this format from days of old, these stories are good. The characters are well defined, the plots are simple and easy to understand and the tales mostly flow smoothly. The characters gets confused. The reader gets confused. The story twist and turns a bit to keep the simplicity of the tale interesting. The reader has to solve some problems just like Quarry needs to rethink some things as new data is acquired. And we love it.

[Vultural · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collins, Max - Quarry’s Vote

Professional hitman Quarry is retired, comfortably off, living in seclusion.
He encounters a girl half his age and eventually marries, a turn I found contrived.
Turning down a lucrative contract leads to those nearest him being killed.
Another annoying coincidence, I suppose necessary to kick the revenge plot in gear.
Once underway, Quarry locates his adversaries, observes, ingratiates himself to innocent helpers.
Even though he is middle-aged and overweight, ladies stare and flirt.
Maybe that will subside when he hits 80. Or he’ll be chased by gals in wheelchairs and walkers.
Formula all the way, but if you appreciate this efficient killer, you should enjoy this.

[Alexander Engel-Hodgkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.3/5

Quarry's Vote is a good improvement over its predecessor, Quarry's Cut, which was also a good book. Max Allan Collins' writing is brisk and no-nonsense, and as effective as it ever has been in these novels. Quarry is also a consistently enjoyable character. While the plot suffers from some ridiculous coincidences, I'd say Quarry's Vote is perhaps the third-best of the lot, behind the third and first novels. I think Quarry's List is the worst of the five, but it was still decent. Collins ended his original run on a strong note. Someday I'll get to the others.

[shìthead · Rating 2 out of 5]

The characters go in and out of seriousness and Quarry's motivations are all over the place in this one. I don't really like a weak Quarry, it kind of defeats the object of him. There is some nuance with regard to the political aspects at least which is preferred to the schlock two-dimensional redneck nazis of Jack Reacher for example.
But overall Collins is capable of much more than what's demonstrated here; I recommend you try his other works first as he is one of the more proficient pulp writers.

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Up to reading this, I found the Quarry novels to have a good story arc, be interesting and inoffensive.
This succeeds on the first count and is 50/50 on the second, but really fails on the last.
Trying way too hard to make the protagonist macho, women are just present as possible sexual conquests and as for homosexuals - you can only imagine (or maybe not) - while purporting to be fair minded !
Considering that Quarry had a gay work partner earlier in the series, it's particularly peculiar that this nastiness appeared at this stage.

[Max Driffill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid entry in the Quarry series. It has all the twists and turns you expect in a Quarry book. It has a some great action beats and a decent set of antagonists. They aren’t really up to Quarry’s speed, but they can’t all be. It’s a fun book that that finds Quarry content and retired and Collins wants to mess with that contentment.

If you like Quarry, and you like hard boiled noirish fiction, you won’t find much better.

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last of the original five Quarry books (20 years later Hard Case lured Collins and Quarry back into action). Quick reads, kind of low budget Richard Stark, but plenty of the guilty pleasures of the genre - violence, damsels (i.e. sex objects) in distress, double crossing damsels, bad-guy comeuppance, remorseless vengeance, awful jokes which are occasionally inappropriately funny (your laugh mileage will vary). Of the six I have read I would say this one is noticeably better than the others.