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Quarry #8
The First Quarry
BIG MAN ON CAMPUS Crime fiction readers know Quarry, the ruthless killer-for-hire, from Max Allan Collins' acclaimed novels - including THE LAST QUARRY, which told the story of the assassin's final assignment (and was the basis for the feature film The Last Lullaby). But where did Quarry's story start? For first time ever, the best-selling author of ROAD TO PERDITION takes us back to the beginning, revealing the never-before-told story of Quarry's first infiltrating a college campus and eliminating a professor whose affair with one of his beautiful, young students is the least of his sins...
144 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
100 people are currently reading
752 people want to read
About the author
Max Allan Collins
820 books1,339 followersReceived 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 152 reviews
July 17, 2023
second read update:
i was right. returning to the book as a bigger fan of the quarry series and max allan collins in general, i really clicked into the rhythm and details of the story this time around.
_____
older review:
read this one right after “the last quarry” which i really dug. this book wasn’t as strong, but i do have a feeling that once i get more acquainted with quarry in the other stories i’ll be returning to this one with different eyes and amend my rating. maybe my expectations were too high, but the last quarry had a blazing fast pace and made for an easy hard boiled page turner, and i was expecting more of the same kinetic energy.
still excited to explore the rest of the series, even if i’m not a biggest fan of the more exploitive “sexy parts” of the books, which read like amusing nerd boy fantasies, but hey, those were the times before the internet after all. folks were sex starved. i can handle it if it gets me to a great hard boiled story, yet this book just felt like too much set up and not enough happenings.
max allan collins, a mickey spillane disciple, does deliver a solid ending that hits home, but the last quarry was solid throughout. hoping the other books deliver more of that propulsive fun.
anyway, i’m off to devour “quarry in the middle” next, so fingers crossed, innit? 🤞🏽
i was right. returning to the book as a bigger fan of the quarry series and max allan collins in general, i really clicked into the rhythm and details of the story this time around.
_____
older review:
read this one right after “the last quarry” which i really dug. this book wasn’t as strong, but i do have a feeling that once i get more acquainted with quarry in the other stories i’ll be returning to this one with different eyes and amend my rating. maybe my expectations were too high, but the last quarry had a blazing fast pace and made for an easy hard boiled page turner, and i was expecting more of the same kinetic energy.
still excited to explore the rest of the series, even if i’m not a biggest fan of the more exploitive “sexy parts” of the books, which read like amusing nerd boy fantasies, but hey, those were the times before the internet after all. folks were sex starved. i can handle it if it gets me to a great hard boiled story, yet this book just felt like too much set up and not enough happenings.
max allan collins, a mickey spillane disciple, does deliver a solid ending that hits home, but the last quarry was solid throughout. hoping the other books deliver more of that propulsive fun.
anyway, i’m off to devour “quarry in the middle” next, so fingers crossed, innit? 🤞🏽
March 26, 2014
I’d say I’ve met my new favorite all American badass, and what I hope is the start of a beautiful friendship. Quarry is a former soldier that doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty, and there are enough beautiful dames and plenty of broads to keep even a man like Quarry satisfied throughout the pages of this action packed novel. The abundance of death rivals most Shakespearean tragedies, and the prose packs more punches than a heavyweight bout. Quarry has a smart mouth, and he utilizes all of his weapons to perfection.
As described in THE FIRST QUARRY, he’s not an assuming man, but he’s not one that should be underestimated either. Multiple individuals make that mistake in the novel, and it’s often their last one. I delved into this novel so deeply I felt like I was the action star, and I was playing on the big screen at one of the local multiplexes. Needless to say, I was rather disappointed when I reached the end, and not because the end wasn’t satisfying. In fact, I was rather giddy with the prospect of reading eight more Quarry novels and knowing that there is a ninth one coming out early next year with a cover that looks every bit as scintillating as all the other Hard Case Crime novels out there.
Now I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the lovely ladies in this novel in more detail, and what a fine troop of women it is that trek through the pages of this noir tale. Dorothy Byron may have a few miles on her, but as Quarry puts it, he wouldn’t mind helping her with a few more. And with a mouth talented enough to suck a basketball through a garden hose, she’s every man’s wet dream. Annette, on the other hand, has dark hair and a dark complexion, and what she lacks in age-related experience, she more than makes up for in youthful enthusiasm and daddy issues.
If this is ever made into a movie, I’d like to put in my vote for a black and white film, and Hollywood needs to bring in the curvy women. Forget the stick thin models, let’s see some curvy broads and femme fatales with a sharp tongue or two. As for the rating (and in tribute to the late Roger Ebert who passed away two days ago), I’ll resort to the old Siskel and Ebert standard of two thumps up. Way up.
Cross-posted at Robert's Reads
As described in THE FIRST QUARRY, he’s not an assuming man, but he’s not one that should be underestimated either. Multiple individuals make that mistake in the novel, and it’s often their last one. I delved into this novel so deeply I felt like I was the action star, and I was playing on the big screen at one of the local multiplexes. Needless to say, I was rather disappointed when I reached the end, and not because the end wasn’t satisfying. In fact, I was rather giddy with the prospect of reading eight more Quarry novels and knowing that there is a ninth one coming out early next year with a cover that looks every bit as scintillating as all the other Hard Case Crime novels out there.
Now I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the lovely ladies in this novel in more detail, and what a fine troop of women it is that trek through the pages of this noir tale. Dorothy Byron may have a few miles on her, but as Quarry puts it, he wouldn’t mind helping her with a few more. And with a mouth talented enough to suck a basketball through a garden hose, she’s every man’s wet dream. Annette, on the other hand, has dark hair and a dark complexion, and what she lacks in age-related experience, she more than makes up for in youthful enthusiasm and daddy issues.
If this is ever made into a movie, I’d like to put in my vote for a black and white film, and Hollywood needs to bring in the curvy women. Forget the stick thin models, let’s see some curvy broads and femme fatales with a sharp tongue or two. As for the rating (and in tribute to the late Roger Ebert who passed away two days ago), I’ll resort to the old Siskel and Ebert standard of two thumps up. Way up.
Cross-posted at Robert's Reads
March 11, 2026
4.5 stars
"I liked surviving. It was about all I valued. I'd seen plenty of evidence supporting the notion that life and death were meaningless, and God was maybe either nonexistent or uninterested, but what was wrong with breathing? Didn't a decent meal and getting laid and watching something funny or exciting on TV or reading a good western and did I mention getting laid, didn't that ALL beat nothingness inside a box six feet under all to ****? So I tend to come down strong on the survival side." -- the rumination of our title character, on page 121
It only took 30+ years - though I'm not complaining - for author Collins to provide readers /fans with Quarry's first assignment, harkening back to the dawn of the 1970's, in the succinctly titled The First Quarry. Initially I thought the story was a bit too raunchy / graphic (especially with Quarry's steady stream of unfiltered / unguarded thoughts running rampant throughout), but then I realized it was intentional . . . or just a coincidence that worked in the book's favor. Quarry - the alias of a USMC sniper from the Vietnam Conflict era, now home stateside and seeking a new life after discovering his wife's extramarital affair (and murdering her paramour in retaliation) - is just twenty-five years old and performing his very first contract killing in this gritty narrative. It was a dark comedy of errors and/or ad-libbing, as the seemingly straightforward undertaking - Quarry has been hired to dispatch a slick lothario of a literature professor-turned-novelist from the University of Iowa - seems to turn more complicated with every subsequent chapter. Collins' pulpy serving of cynical crime fiction was highlighted by the protagonist's continual but amusing off-color / un-PC first-person narration, but damned if this antihero did not step and save the day . . . or least he was the one still standing while all of the 'bad guys' were vanquished. I suppose either way was a notch in the 'win' category. 😉
"I liked surviving. It was about all I valued. I'd seen plenty of evidence supporting the notion that life and death were meaningless, and God was maybe either nonexistent or uninterested, but what was wrong with breathing? Didn't a decent meal and getting laid and watching something funny or exciting on TV or reading a good western and did I mention getting laid, didn't that ALL beat nothingness inside a box six feet under all to ****? So I tend to come down strong on the survival side." -- the rumination of our title character, on page 121
It only took 30+ years - though I'm not complaining - for author Collins to provide readers /fans with Quarry's first assignment, harkening back to the dawn of the 1970's, in the succinctly titled The First Quarry. Initially I thought the story was a bit too raunchy / graphic (especially with Quarry's steady stream of unfiltered / unguarded thoughts running rampant throughout), but then I realized it was intentional . . . or just a coincidence that worked in the book's favor. Quarry - the alias of a USMC sniper from the Vietnam Conflict era, now home stateside and seeking a new life after discovering his wife's extramarital affair (and murdering her paramour in retaliation) - is just twenty-five years old and performing his very first contract killing in this gritty narrative. It was a dark comedy of errors and/or ad-libbing, as the seemingly straightforward undertaking - Quarry has been hired to dispatch a slick lothario of a literature professor-turned-novelist from the University of Iowa - seems to turn more complicated with every subsequent chapter. Collins' pulpy serving of cynical crime fiction was highlighted by the protagonist's continual but amusing off-color / un-PC first-person narration, but damned if this antihero did not step and save the day . . . or least he was the one still standing while all of the 'bad guys' were vanquished. I suppose either way was a notch in the 'win' category. 😉
March 25, 2025
The first 4 Quarry books were written in the 1970s. From what Collins says in the introductions, they were not a success in the 1970s, but a cult following grew and that’s why he wrote Quarry’s Vote (my favorite so far) in 1987.
Well I guess the following kept growing, because in this, the 21st century, he’s written so many Quarry books. Of course. They are amazing and so fun to read (though I do not love all the porny sex).
This one,The First Quarry, is a prequel, going back to 1970 when “Quarry” first came back from Vietnam, met the Broker and became a professional killer.
Well I guess the following kept growing, because in this, the 21st century, he’s written so many Quarry books. Of course. They are amazing and so fun to read (though I do not love all the porny sex).
This one,The First Quarry, is a prequel, going back to 1970 when “Quarry” first came back from Vietnam, met the Broker and became a professional killer.
December 24, 2011
Ernest Hemingway once said, "All things truly wicked start from an innocence." I suppose that even applies to professional hit men.
Quarry was innocent at one time. But being a soldier in Vietnam ended that innocence. Quarry learned to kill, but it was a matter of self defense. It was them or you. Whether taking an enemy out with a sniper rifle looking through a scope or shooting back in a firefight, it was always self defense.
But when you get paid to kill people, you have to be able to put things in perspective. Quarry is a man who is able to put all those conflicts into neat compartments. All the little boxes are sealed. Nothing ever get scrambled up to make you think too hard about what you're doing if you just keep all those little boxes inside you locked up tight enough.
Quarry knows that a professional killer taking out a target isn't self-defense, but if you have the proper perspective, the target's a dead man already. Someone has already decided the target is going to die. The hit man's not even the killer.
Quarry says, "And yet, I wouldn't be the killer, not really. I'd just be the mechanism. The killer had hired the job. And if it wasn't me, it would be somebody else getting paid. And f... somebody else anyway."
Max Allan Collins introduced crime fans to a man named "Quarry" in his novel "The Broker" in 1976. Collins is no light-weight. He wrote the graphic novel which was the source of "The Road to Perdition."
"The Broker grew into a series of short stories and novels, the most recent being "Quarry's Ex," published by Hard Case Crime in 2011. Collins beat Loren Estleman' Macklin and Lawrence Block's Keller to the punch, launching the first series featuring a hired hit man.
"The First Quarry" didn't appear until 2008. In fact, Collins considered the series over and done. But Quarry resurfaced in 2006 and again with this story. Collins has said in multiple interviews he got more mail regarding Quarry than any of his other characters. Quarry was a cult classic. Reviving him was inevitable.
It is Quarry's first job. It is 1970, winter, in Iowa City. It's not the ideal way to spend Christmas, but a job's a job.
In the murder business, the killer always has a buffer between himself and the client. It's the broker who negotiates the deal. Client contacts broker. Client names the target and pays the freight. The target's already dead. As he said, Quarry's just the mechanism. Do the job. Move on.
But Quarry's first case gets complicated. Too complicated. The target is a professor of creative writing at Iowa State who has taken one too many dips into the coed pool. There's at least two daddy's who would take exception to where the professor was dipping his wick. Then the guy's married to one unhappy lady who knows all about his extracurricular activities.
Pushing the button on the professor's just not an easy job. The prof has students in and out at odd hours and the new graduate assistant who looks real cute in pink panties from Quarry's angle is just assisting her professor too much. She never leaves. Most of her assistance is provided on her knees as her mentor relaxes in an easy chair, a blissful look spreading across his face.
One thing to be said for Quarry. He doesn't like collateral damage. Only the target is already dead. Everybody around the target gets a second chance.
The broker has chosen the right man for the job. He's young enough, neat enough that he fits right into the college scene. He's not out of place at a Holiday Inn, the coffee shop or a Sambo's.
It's risky, but the only way to know the professor's schedule is to get close to that grad student with a penchant for pink panties. That's when things really get complicated because sweet Annette's daddy is a Don. The professor is milking Annette for information to write his own blockbuster about the dandy Don from down in Chicago. So Quarry has no choice but to introduce himself to Annette and pretend to be interested in literature.
Nothing's ever easy. The Don's at war with a rival enterprising narcotics distributorship. Two of the competition snatch Annette off the street outside Sambo's. Quarry has to save Annette. Now he knows the client. The client knows him. Both ends of the transaction have loose ends. Nobody's safe.
If you didn't know Quarry's already had a number of additional cases, you would figure this one would be the last. The Broker and Quarry are loose ends the Don will have to make disappear. He has the army to do it.
The Professor's wife is staying at Quarry's Motel. Dorrie's got some miles on her, but Quarry doesn't turn down the opportunity to comfort her over her grief for her dissolving marriage. Annette's exceedingly grateful for Quarry's saving her life. Quarry has enough sex he should need a prescription for testosterone supplements.
In a lean, mean, dirty little story Collins puts the reader inside the gritty logical mind of a hit man. The dialogue zips along. Collins is picture perfect at dropping you off into 1970 right down to the top forty on the radio Quarry listens to as he watches his intended target across the street from his surveillance point.
Since it's just about Christmas, let's just say Collins tied a big pretty bow around a nicely wrapped box just full of sex, violence, and a hit man who has a conscience, with a smart ass sense of humor. Such a nice young man. Just don't get in his way.
So it's a bit odd for a former career prosecutor to have been cheering for Quarry to pull off his job. I guess it's like that song from the Mikado, the one that goes, "I've got a little list, and none of them'd be missed." I always rooted for Wile E. Coyote, too. Hated that cocky bird.
Quarry was innocent at one time. But being a soldier in Vietnam ended that innocence. Quarry learned to kill, but it was a matter of self defense. It was them or you. Whether taking an enemy out with a sniper rifle looking through a scope or shooting back in a firefight, it was always self defense.
But when you get paid to kill people, you have to be able to put things in perspective. Quarry is a man who is able to put all those conflicts into neat compartments. All the little boxes are sealed. Nothing ever get scrambled up to make you think too hard about what you're doing if you just keep all those little boxes inside you locked up tight enough.
Quarry knows that a professional killer taking out a target isn't self-defense, but if you have the proper perspective, the target's a dead man already. Someone has already decided the target is going to die. The hit man's not even the killer.
Quarry says, "And yet, I wouldn't be the killer, not really. I'd just be the mechanism. The killer had hired the job. And if it wasn't me, it would be somebody else getting paid. And f... somebody else anyway."
Max Allan Collins introduced crime fans to a man named "Quarry" in his novel "The Broker" in 1976. Collins is no light-weight. He wrote the graphic novel which was the source of "The Road to Perdition."
"The Broker grew into a series of short stories and novels, the most recent being "Quarry's Ex," published by Hard Case Crime in 2011. Collins beat Loren Estleman' Macklin and Lawrence Block's Keller to the punch, launching the first series featuring a hired hit man.
"The First Quarry" didn't appear until 2008. In fact, Collins considered the series over and done. But Quarry resurfaced in 2006 and again with this story. Collins has said in multiple interviews he got more mail regarding Quarry than any of his other characters. Quarry was a cult classic. Reviving him was inevitable.
It is Quarry's first job. It is 1970, winter, in Iowa City. It's not the ideal way to spend Christmas, but a job's a job.
In the murder business, the killer always has a buffer between himself and the client. It's the broker who negotiates the deal. Client contacts broker. Client names the target and pays the freight. The target's already dead. As he said, Quarry's just the mechanism. Do the job. Move on.
But Quarry's first case gets complicated. Too complicated. The target is a professor of creative writing at Iowa State who has taken one too many dips into the coed pool. There's at least two daddy's who would take exception to where the professor was dipping his wick. Then the guy's married to one unhappy lady who knows all about his extracurricular activities.
Pushing the button on the professor's just not an easy job. The prof has students in and out at odd hours and the new graduate assistant who looks real cute in pink panties from Quarry's angle is just assisting her professor too much. She never leaves. Most of her assistance is provided on her knees as her mentor relaxes in an easy chair, a blissful look spreading across his face.
One thing to be said for Quarry. He doesn't like collateral damage. Only the target is already dead. Everybody around the target gets a second chance.
The broker has chosen the right man for the job. He's young enough, neat enough that he fits right into the college scene. He's not out of place at a Holiday Inn, the coffee shop or a Sambo's.
It's risky, but the only way to know the professor's schedule is to get close to that grad student with a penchant for pink panties. That's when things really get complicated because sweet Annette's daddy is a Don. The professor is milking Annette for information to write his own blockbuster about the dandy Don from down in Chicago. So Quarry has no choice but to introduce himself to Annette and pretend to be interested in literature.
Nothing's ever easy. The Don's at war with a rival enterprising narcotics distributorship. Two of the competition snatch Annette off the street outside Sambo's. Quarry has to save Annette. Now he knows the client. The client knows him. Both ends of the transaction have loose ends. Nobody's safe.
If you didn't know Quarry's already had a number of additional cases, you would figure this one would be the last. The Broker and Quarry are loose ends the Don will have to make disappear. He has the army to do it.
The Professor's wife is staying at Quarry's Motel. Dorrie's got some miles on her, but Quarry doesn't turn down the opportunity to comfort her over her grief for her dissolving marriage. Annette's exceedingly grateful for Quarry's saving her life. Quarry has enough sex he should need a prescription for testosterone supplements.
In a lean, mean, dirty little story Collins puts the reader inside the gritty logical mind of a hit man. The dialogue zips along. Collins is picture perfect at dropping you off into 1970 right down to the top forty on the radio Quarry listens to as he watches his intended target across the street from his surveillance point.
Since it's just about Christmas, let's just say Collins tied a big pretty bow around a nicely wrapped box just full of sex, violence, and a hit man who has a conscience, with a smart ass sense of humor. Such a nice young man. Just don't get in his way.
So it's a bit odd for a former career prosecutor to have been cheering for Quarry to pull off his job. I guess it's like that song from the Mikado, the one that goes, "I've got a little list, and none of them'd be missed." I always rooted for Wile E. Coyote, too. Hated that cocky bird.
July 9, 2011
Quarry gets recruited by The Broker to be a contract killer. His target: A university professor writing a tell-all book about a mobster. However, things are never as easy as they seem. Complicating matters are the professor's numerous female companions and his soon to be ex-wife. Can Quarry eliminate the professor and his manuscript without collateral damage?
The First Quarry was a good read. Maybe a shade behind The Last Quarry but still quite good. There was more violence, more sex, and more twists. Quarry's inexperience was nicely done, as was his relationship with The Broker. Some of the violence was shocking. I have to think things would have been better for Quarry had he been able to keep his pants on but I can't fault him for doing what (or whom) he did.
As far as the Hard Case Crime series goes, this one is definitely on the high end of the scale, a good way to spend a few hours.
The First Quarry was a good read. Maybe a shade behind The Last Quarry but still quite good. There was more violence, more sex, and more twists. Quarry's inexperience was nicely done, as was his relationship with The Broker. Some of the violence was shocking. I have to think things would have been better for Quarry had he been able to keep his pants on but I can't fault him for doing what (or whom) he did.
As far as the Hard Case Crime series goes, this one is definitely on the high end of the scale, a good way to spend a few hours.
May 28, 2020
The night after Christmas and all through the house, it was colder than fuck And so begins the first story about Quarry the hitman who gets recruited by the Broker. he has a simple job kill a professor and destroy his manuscript for a future book.
Quarry came back from Vietnam and found his wife under another man who died under his automobile after kicking away the jack, Quarry showed some talent. He did not get any prison but a visit from a man who offered him a job. And so begins his first job. It will not be as easy as the Broker sold it and it is the quick on his feet thinking and reacting Quarry that will save the girl and his behind.
A quick and satisfying read by Max Allan Collins, this series based in the seventies is a hoot and half and certainly not very PC in content. But I guess that was the world back then and even if Collins wrote the book around 2008 he does manage to deliver a decent working environment in the 70's. People with a sensitive disposition should not be reading this series. Its cover is already a giveaway about the content.
Quarry came back from Vietnam and found his wife under another man who died under his automobile after kicking away the jack, Quarry showed some talent. He did not get any prison but a visit from a man who offered him a job. And so begins his first job. It will not be as easy as the Broker sold it and it is the quick on his feet thinking and reacting Quarry that will save the girl and his behind.
A quick and satisfying read by Max Allan Collins, this series based in the seventies is a hoot and half and certainly not very PC in content. But I guess that was the world back then and even if Collins wrote the book around 2008 he does manage to deliver a decent working environment in the 70's. People with a sensitive disposition should not be reading this series. Its cover is already a giveaway about the content.
June 22, 2020
The First Quarry doesn’t dwell on an origin story but rather shows the young hitman being fully formed as a cold-blooded and intelligent killer as he accepts his first assignment after being recruited by The Broker - killing a college professor and destroying his manuscripts. The story takes place in Iowa in the early 1970s, the years that I came of age, and I was impressed and highly amused by all of the pop culture references from that era. Quarry is an amazingly likable anti-hero, he’s smart, funny, personable, and can be a complete smart ass. He’s also ruthless, amoral, and calculating. Loved the dialog and the plot, which throws curveball after curveball in a startling sequence of twists that make the book nearly impossible to put down. Reading the rest of the books in this remarkable series is high on my list. Recommended.
July 2, 2009
Hitman books are usually entertaining, and I liked the first Quarry book that HCC did. Even though this was recently written, it's a stone cold throwback to another era. This is the kind of crime novel that people used to buy in drug store book racks for less than a dollar. And it is seriously fun.
Collins takes us back to the dark days of 1970 to tell the story of Quarry's first assignment. Along with references to Vietnam veterans, hippies, classic rock, and beautiful coeds it also has a mafia don, a seedy private eye mixed up in a nasty divorce case, rival gangs, sex, and a bit of the old ultra-violence, and of course, Quarry stuck in the middle of the whole mess just trying to kill the college professor he was paid to hit.
Collins has apparently going to fill in more of Quarry's history with these new HCC novels and that's good news for us.
Collins takes us back to the dark days of 1970 to tell the story of Quarry's first assignment. Along with references to Vietnam veterans, hippies, classic rock, and beautiful coeds it also has a mafia don, a seedy private eye mixed up in a nasty divorce case, rival gangs, sex, and a bit of the old ultra-violence, and of course, Quarry stuck in the middle of the whole mess just trying to kill the college professor he was paid to hit.
Collins has apparently going to fill in more of Quarry's history with these new HCC novels and that's good news for us.
January 13, 2020
I guess Collins got tired of writing "They've pulled me back in for one last job" Quarry stories, and so here he takes us back to Quarry's first job. This was a really good Quarry novel, with the "one last job" and "They killed my woman and now they have to pay" tropes that have become rote in this series brushed aside to give us a straight "hitman on a not-so-simple job" tale. Plus, it was fun seeing more of the Broker again.
March 13, 2017
I picked this one up simply because I was in love with the cover. What a great find it turned out to be. This is the kind of thing book lovers like me live for. Not only is this a new series I can't wait to read more of, it turns out this is a T.V. series on Cinemax. Who knew.
Turns out this book is #8 in the series, but it goes back in time to tell the tale of Quarry's first assignment. The time is 1970 and Quarry is a contract killer.This was a wild ride I just loved. The first book in the series has been out of print and has just gone back into print because of the series. It won't be available until October! I could read it for free on Kindle Prime but I want the real book with the amazing cover damn it!!
And I want it now...
Turns out this book is #8 in the series, but it goes back in time to tell the tale of Quarry's first assignment. The time is 1970 and Quarry is a contract killer.This was a wild ride I just loved. The first book in the series has been out of print and has just gone back into print because of the series. It won't be available until October! I could read it for free on Kindle Prime but I want the real book with the amazing cover damn it!!
And I want it now...
December 8, 2008
Sometimes I lament the fact that the quick-n-dirty crime novel seems like a lost art, and that these days everyone wants to pad their opus out to 300, 350 pages, generally doing so by means of extensive romantic subplots. Then a longtime veteran like the always-reliable Max Allan Collins comes along to show me that I'm wrong, and it's oh so nice. Hard Case Crime can also be thanked for this genre's resuscitation, such as it exists at the moment (I'm hoping things are on the upswing--perhaps an economic downturn will spur public appetites for this sort of stuff), and for bringing back shorter lengths in smaller, cheaper sizes, between awesomely lurid covers. But if they didn't have a great pool of talent to draw upon, it'd all be for naught, which is why Max Allan Collins takes the vast majority of the credit for the greatness of "The First Quarry." I've been reading Collins's stuff since I was 12 years old; after reading several of his Batman comics from the late 80s simply because they were about Batman, I picked up "True Detective" from the library because I knew the author and it looked cool. It was my first adult crime novel, and I've been hooked ever since. "The First Quarry", unlike "True Detective", does not focus on a hardboiled PI but instead a Vietnam vet who has picked up a job upon his return from the war as a contract killer. Apparently Collins has a whole series of books about this character, and this tale of his first adventure is a flashback to a time before the first book in the series. I had never read anything else by him featuring this character, and it didn't hurt my ability to understand and enjoy the book in the least. In fact, for who share my ignorance of the Quarry character, this book might be the best place to start, as it goes into detail about his origin story, so to speak.
It's the actual narrative that takes up most of this short, quick read, though, and that narrative is lots of fun. Quarry is staking out a college professor in preparation for taking him out, and said professor is the sort to have lots of nubile teen coeds in and out of his house at all hours. This is proving troublesome for Quarry, since he never seems to be able to catch the professor alone long enough to do the job he was sent to do. While he's waiting, several new wrinkles that I won't spoil pop up, and before we know it, Quarry's running all over the states of Illinois and Iowa, leaving a trail of dead bodies and, uh, satisfied women in his wake. The ending gives us the sort of plot twist that novels like this often use, but it's unpredictable and packs a powerful emotional punch, so even though you can see by how many pages are left in the story that some bizarre twist is coming, it's still completely satisfying when it gets there.
This book was great. Collins has another Quarry title from Hard Case Crime that I'm going to be looking for in the very near future, and I'll be scouting used book stores for others in the series. If they're even close to this level of quality, I'm sure I'll devour them with gusto.
It's the actual narrative that takes up most of this short, quick read, though, and that narrative is lots of fun. Quarry is staking out a college professor in preparation for taking him out, and said professor is the sort to have lots of nubile teen coeds in and out of his house at all hours. This is proving troublesome for Quarry, since he never seems to be able to catch the professor alone long enough to do the job he was sent to do. While he's waiting, several new wrinkles that I won't spoil pop up, and before we know it, Quarry's running all over the states of Illinois and Iowa, leaving a trail of dead bodies and, uh, satisfied women in his wake. The ending gives us the sort of plot twist that novels like this often use, but it's unpredictable and packs a powerful emotional punch, so even though you can see by how many pages are left in the story that some bizarre twist is coming, it's still completely satisfying when it gets there.
This book was great. Collins has another Quarry title from Hard Case Crime that I'm going to be looking for in the very near future, and I'll be scouting used book stores for others in the series. If they're even close to this level of quality, I'm sure I'll devour them with gusto.
July 16, 2021
Family is down & I escaped to do some mowing. Finished The Last Quarry & went on to the next, which is this one. Yeah, doesn't make sense to me either since this really is about his first job for the Broker. Oh well, it's all in mindless fun, a snarky hitman who doesn't kill for pleasure, just for money.
The people he kills are already dead by the time he is contacted. Someone big wants them dead, so all that remains is the detail of who does it & how. He takes care of that detail & it's never as simple as he thinks it will be.
I really like the snarky references. He despises collateral damage, but he contemplates killing one guy since he was obviously trying to kill himself by driving a Corvair one of the cars featured in Unsafe at Any Speed. It was groundbreaking at the time & adds some fun to the story.
The people he kills are already dead by the time he is contacted. Someone big wants them dead, so all that remains is the detail of who does it & how. He takes care of that detail & it's never as simple as he thinks it will be.
I really like the snarky references. He despises collateral damage, but he contemplates killing one guy since he was obviously trying to kill himself by driving a Corvair one of the cars featured in Unsafe at Any Speed. It was groundbreaking at the time & adds some fun to the story.
August 4, 2015
This was published by Skyboat Media & can be found for sale at Black Stone Audio's consumer site here:
http://www.downpour.com/the-first-qua...
Read by Stefan Rudnicki, it was very well done. I really like Rudnicki's voice & wasn't surprised that he made this book even better. I was so thrilled with the job Skyboat had done on the Matt Helm novels that I emailed them my congratulations. They sent me a gift of 4 audio books & a tote bag. This was one of those titles. They were right on with my taste on this & I intend to buy the rest of the Quarry books once my book budget recovers.
As for the story itself, it's great. Quarry is a quirky hitman & this is the first chronologically. It's a very messed up way for his first hit for the Broker, but he performs in true Quarry style.
http://www.downpour.com/the-first-qua...
Read by Stefan Rudnicki, it was very well done. I really like Rudnicki's voice & wasn't surprised that he made this book even better. I was so thrilled with the job Skyboat had done on the Matt Helm novels that I emailed them my congratulations. They sent me a gift of 4 audio books & a tote bag. This was one of those titles. They were right on with my taste on this & I intend to buy the rest of the Quarry books once my book budget recovers.
As for the story itself, it's great. Quarry is a quirky hitman & this is the first chronologically. It's a very messed up way for his first hit for the Broker, but he performs in true Quarry style.
June 4, 2014
If you like hard boiled noir crime novels this is a must read. I'm a long time fan of Max Allan Collins work, from the Nate Heller series through his stand alone books and comic book efforts. The quality of his work is consistently high, which is a difficult standard to meet given how prolific a writer he is.
This novel is a fast read with a combination of violence, sex and humor. Very little fluff or filler. These are the elements that any good hard boiled novel has. It is classic example of pulp fiction that reminds me of Mickey Spillane, which is to be expected given Collins relationship with this noted hard boiled writer.
This novel is a fast read with a combination of violence, sex and humor. Very little fluff or filler. These are the elements that any good hard boiled novel has. It is classic example of pulp fiction that reminds me of Mickey Spillane, which is to be expected given Collins relationship with this noted hard boiled writer.
December 28, 2015
This was a very pleasant surprise. Fast paced with some humor & a great plot. A perfect HCC book in every way. The characters were well drawn & the action very realistic. The end was marvelous! I highly recommend it to anyone that likes this sort of book. Mickey Spillane could have gotten some lessons from this guy.
October 26, 2008
There's a humor to Max Allan Collins' writing that I find irresistible. His style of prose is simple but engaging. One very common element in hard-boiled detective novels is the descriptions of the clothing being worn. Here's an example:
"She was driving a little red Fiat and was small and fair and pretty in a Breck girl sort of way. I took her for a blond but truth be told she had on a rabbit-fur hat that looked like a beehive hairdo that had gone wacky (wackier) and I couldn't see any hair except for dark eyebrows. Her coat was a light green corduroy with a rabbit collar like the hat and she had similarly fur-trimmed tan suede boots with heels. Her legs were black, or that is, her leggings were."
This sort of descriptive writing is in every hard-boiled novel I've ever read. I sort of look on the hard-boiled genre as romance novels for dudes.
This book describes the beginnings of the Quarry character that was first first written about in (I think) "The Broker," back in 1975 (which I haven't read). This book, written in 2008, goes back to introduce the character which we know by no other name than Quarry. It's not his real name but one given to him by The Broker, the man who Quarry works for.
Max Allan Collins is a master of this genre. The movie "The Road to Perdition" is base on one of his works. Lately he's been finishing novels of the late master Mickey Spillane (with permission).
"She was driving a little red Fiat and was small and fair and pretty in a Breck girl sort of way. I took her for a blond but truth be told she had on a rabbit-fur hat that looked like a beehive hairdo that had gone wacky (wackier) and I couldn't see any hair except for dark eyebrows. Her coat was a light green corduroy with a rabbit collar like the hat and she had similarly fur-trimmed tan suede boots with heels. Her legs were black, or that is, her leggings were."
This sort of descriptive writing is in every hard-boiled novel I've ever read. I sort of look on the hard-boiled genre as romance novels for dudes.
This book describes the beginnings of the Quarry character that was first first written about in (I think) "The Broker," back in 1975 (which I haven't read). This book, written in 2008, goes back to introduce the character which we know by no other name than Quarry. It's not his real name but one given to him by The Broker, the man who Quarry works for.
Max Allan Collins is a master of this genre. The movie "The Road to Perdition" is base on one of his works. Lately he's been finishing novels of the late master Mickey Spillane (with permission).
December 3, 2015
One of the many great pleasures of reading is that moment when you realise that you have inadvertently stumbled on a wonderful writer who is so prolific that they are the source of much more potential reading enjoyment. I had just such a feeling 20 or so pages into 'The First Quarry' by Max Allan Collins. I realised at that point that I was reading a terrific crime novel. So I searched online for more information about Collins, a writer previously unknown to me. (I had bought a copy of 'The First Quarry' on the spurious grounds that I liked the illustration on its front cover, which has the air of a slightly risqué Edward Hopper painting!) And it became clear to me that Collins is an established and very highly-regarded writer who has created a number of series characters and who has written a fair few books. I can't wait to read more of his work.
'The First Quarry' is classic pulp fiction. Set in 1970, it features the very first escapade of ruthless professional assassin Jack Quarry (referred to throughout simply as Quarry). Quarry is a young Vietnam war veteran. One of his first post-war experiences was to kill the man with whom his wife was having an affair. For all sorts of reasons, he did not face trial for that crime. Having left his wife, he is invited by the Broker, a mysterious middleman, to carry out an assignment for him, namely the murder of a college professor and the recovery of a manuscript in the professor's possession. Unsurprisingly, the assignment turns out to be much less straightforward than that. The result is a very entertaining hardboiled crime novel that is beautifully written and which packs much more enjoyment into its 200 or so pages than many much longer stories of the same kind. The characterisation is excellent. Despite his amorality and his casual attitude to killing, Quarry is a very engaging personality with a dry sense of humour. He's a bit of an enigma but, such is the quality of Collins's writing, I really warmed to him. I suspect that many other readers will do so too. On the evidence of this book, Collins is a first-rate storyteller and plotter. He is much better than Raymond Chandler (whose Philip Marlowe stories are very dull) and most of the contemporary writers of his ilk. 'The First Quarry' is a superb novel. 9/10.
'The First Quarry' is classic pulp fiction. Set in 1970, it features the very first escapade of ruthless professional assassin Jack Quarry (referred to throughout simply as Quarry). Quarry is a young Vietnam war veteran. One of his first post-war experiences was to kill the man with whom his wife was having an affair. For all sorts of reasons, he did not face trial for that crime. Having left his wife, he is invited by the Broker, a mysterious middleman, to carry out an assignment for him, namely the murder of a college professor and the recovery of a manuscript in the professor's possession. Unsurprisingly, the assignment turns out to be much less straightforward than that. The result is a very entertaining hardboiled crime novel that is beautifully written and which packs much more enjoyment into its 200 or so pages than many much longer stories of the same kind. The characterisation is excellent. Despite his amorality and his casual attitude to killing, Quarry is a very engaging personality with a dry sense of humour. He's a bit of an enigma but, such is the quality of Collins's writing, I really warmed to him. I suspect that many other readers will do so too. On the evidence of this book, Collins is a first-rate storyteller and plotter. He is much better than Raymond Chandler (whose Philip Marlowe stories are very dull) and most of the contemporary writers of his ilk. 'The First Quarry' is a superb novel. 9/10.
March 6, 2017
My only experience with this author before starting this book was seeing and liking the film adaptation of his Road to Perdition (which is a really excellent film if you haven’t seen it, and a refreshingly different role for the usual good-guy-type Tom Hanks) but when I saw this book at my local used bookstore I was like “Fuck it, I’m buying that.” I was not disappointed! Quarry is about as likable as a dude who murders people for money can get. He’s witty, wonderfully angst-free (read: sociopathic) and wonderful to watch in action.
Although this was actually one of the later novels in the series, it’s chronologically the first job Quarry takes on after being contacted by the mysterious Broker. He’s been hired to take out this professor, a real douchey literary type who likes to use his position to sleep with his students. (In real life I wouldn’t consider that deserving of being murdered but this is pulp fiction so fuck it, he goes.) Although Quarry is new to the work he quickly finds the groove and gets involved with the professor’s estranged wife for good measure. I did find the graphic sexuality refreshing in this one. I hate when authors insist on hooking their protagonist up with a woman every book and then skimp on the actual boning (Lee Child is the most egregious of them all when it comes to this.) When I wanna read trash I wanna read trash, god damn it.
This is the part where I say something like “This was good, and I wanna read more of this shit” but because I’ve been so horribly lazy on writing up books lately I’ve already finished two more of these novels at this point. They’re good! If you wanna try out a series about a hitman who’s great at his job and wonderfully free of the moral hangups that plague us all in day-to-day life this is a series to check out. They present all the wonderful violence, sex, bad language, and shifty underworld details one could possibly want delivered in a witty voice and prose that’s clean as a whistle.
Although this was actually one of the later novels in the series, it’s chronologically the first job Quarry takes on after being contacted by the mysterious Broker. He’s been hired to take out this professor, a real douchey literary type who likes to use his position to sleep with his students. (In real life I wouldn’t consider that deserving of being murdered but this is pulp fiction so fuck it, he goes.) Although Quarry is new to the work he quickly finds the groove and gets involved with the professor’s estranged wife for good measure. I did find the graphic sexuality refreshing in this one. I hate when authors insist on hooking their protagonist up with a woman every book and then skimp on the actual boning (Lee Child is the most egregious of them all when it comes to this.) When I wanna read trash I wanna read trash, god damn it.
This is the part where I say something like “This was good, and I wanna read more of this shit” but because I’ve been so horribly lazy on writing up books lately I’ve already finished two more of these novels at this point. They’re good! If you wanna try out a series about a hitman who’s great at his job and wonderfully free of the moral hangups that plague us all in day-to-day life this is a series to check out. They present all the wonderful violence, sex, bad language, and shifty underworld details one could possibly want delivered in a witty voice and prose that’s clean as a whistle.
August 2, 2020
I discovered Max Allan Collins by accident. I found this book about year ago for a nickel at a garage sale. That's the best nickel I spent. Ex Vietnam Vet Quarry is the new fictional badass bad boy I want a poster of. Quarry's first assignment takes some interesting twist. A hired assassin who cares! Who would have thought. Quarry has a smart mouth and he utilizes all his weapons to perfection. Most of the characters he deals with are double dealing lowlifes and the prose packs more punches then a heavy weight bout. Plenty of great sex scenes, a story that is short and tight, elegantly paced and plotted, the novel blew me away. I'm hooked on Max Allen Collins and his highly entertaining crime stories.
February 5, 2024
It’s the first job Quarry ever does for The Broker. It is interesting that I just read the “Last Quarry” and now this book takes us back to the beginning. Basically a more fleshed out origin story.
This book was insane! On his first job, Quarry is hired to kill one guy but things go off the rails pretty quickly! Nothing goes as planned and he has to kill a slew of people. The Broker should be happy with his chosen employee by the end. Leave no loose ends.
***side note*** most of these books I’m reading them in real book form. This was a kindle read so yeah!! I have highlights!
This book was insane! On his first job, Quarry is hired to kill one guy but things go off the rails pretty quickly! Nothing goes as planned and he has to kill a slew of people. The Broker should be happy with his chosen employee by the end. Leave no loose ends.
***side note*** most of these books I’m reading them in real book form. This was a kindle read so yeah!! I have highlights!
May 21, 2019
Completely non-PC book about a smart-alec hit man and his first assignment. A bit racist and chauvinistic at certain points in the book which made me cringe, but looking at the time frame where this book was set (early 70's) and published (mid 70's) made it a little more understandable. Overall this book was an easy gun breezy delight and I would definitely read more adventures of Quarry's escapades!
April 27, 2020
About as satisfying a pulp fiction as you can find. I am totally hooked!!! Great voice, cool killer, great sex scenes, plenty of twists, nasty stains, and the villain is a pompous Iowa Writer's Workshop professor - who knew knocking off a scumbag literary luvvy could be so much fun?!
September 4, 2009
This book has strong first person narrative which is rarely done well in this genre. It was a real pageturner,great fun. The character,the ironic humour was the star of this book. Nice combo of Hardboiled coolness,violence and funny lines,funny character.
It was also surprisingly amount of sexuality that was done in a classy way.
It is easily the best modern Noir book in Hard Case Crime so far to me.
It was also surprisingly amount of sexuality that was done in a classy way.
It is easily the best modern Noir book in Hard Case Crime so far to me.
October 18, 2025
The origin story of the hitman.
For Quarry's first hit, he's given the assignment of killing an author/college professor, who sleeps around a lot.
Things quickly get complicated, Quarry has to use his brains, as well as his guns to keep himself above water.
Really good.
For Quarry's first hit, he's given the assignment of killing an author/college professor, who sleeps around a lot.
Things quickly get complicated, Quarry has to use his brains, as well as his guns to keep himself above water.
Really good.
December 21, 2016
Gonna have a hard time finding a good noir series to follow this one (when I finish it in a few days).
March 5, 2024
Loved this gritty crime drama. It felt like some others I have read that I really enjoyed. I liked the main character. He is authentic and what you see is what you get. The plot moves and there are the right elements included that keep it from being too much of any one thing. There is a wonderful balance to this genre if done properly. I recently finished 361
and while I enjoyed that book, this one I thought was better. This was a no apologies I kick ass, get the girls and manage my challenges ride.
and while I enjoyed that book, this one I thought was better. This was a no apologies I kick ass, get the girls and manage my challenges ride.
November 27, 2008
A solid modern noir tale from Collins. I remember feeling sorry when I read The Last Quarry a few months ago, as the author pinned an afterward on that book saying that he was done telling stories of the Midwestern hitman, but halfway promised a "prequel" to the character's history. That ended up being this book and from it's ridiculous opening line to it's blood soaked conclusion, The First Quarry delivers on the promise of previous Quarry stories.
Certainly moral ambiguity is de rigur for a hitman character, but I liked the way that Quarry played with his main character's attitudes about race. While you barely wince at much of the gut churning violence, you linger over the racist (or, at Quarry's insistence, non-racist) remarks in a way that really brings attention to the preconceived notions about how we approach both topics in popular culture.
I hope Collins chooses to go fill in more blanks in Quarry's history. These books are certainly not for everyone, but if you're a fan of hard boiled drama or intense action, the Quarry novels might be for you.
Certainly moral ambiguity is de rigur for a hitman character, but I liked the way that Quarry played with his main character's attitudes about race. While you barely wince at much of the gut churning violence, you linger over the racist (or, at Quarry's insistence, non-racist) remarks in a way that really brings attention to the preconceived notions about how we approach both topics in popular culture.
I hope Collins chooses to go fill in more blanks in Quarry's history. These books are certainly not for everyone, but if you're a fan of hard boiled drama or intense action, the Quarry novels might be for you.
October 18, 2025
First published in 2008, “The First Quarry” is the eighth novel to be published in the series, but as the title suggests, it is a throwback to Quarry’s first gig. An origin story if you will. Readers new to the series will likely choose this one as a place to start although these books can really be read in any order. Marking the success of the novel, Hard Case Crime has now published a second printing in 2025, in the larger trade paperback edition.
The story begins with Quarry on his very first assignment, holed up in an unoccupied house, conducting a stakeout of a libidinous professor. One at a time, several good-looking female grad students parade into the prof’s home, presumably to get additional study aid over the Christmas break, Of course, they’re really getting aid of a different kind. Soon, we are treated to a flashback sequence describing how Quarry came to be in this place, including his recent return from ‘Nam, the discovery of his wife at home in bed with another man, and his subsequent jail time for crushing that same man under a vehicle he was working on. After a shortened incarceration due to an understanding justice system, we learn how he was recruited as a hitman by a man going by the name of “The Broker”.
What should be a straightforward hit on the professor (the contract also requires the destruction of all notes and written pages of a book the professor is writing), becomes increasingly more complicated. Things become murkier when Quarry discovers that he’s not the only man staking out Byron’s house and after he meets the jealous wife, as well as one of the students who also happens to be the daughter of a Chicago mob boss, that straightforward assignment becomes dicey as Hell.
This is a terrific crime novel, as I’ve come to expect from the pen of Max Allan Collins. I’ve read several Quarry novels before, but it was great fun to see how it all began. Despite the relative violence of the book’s premise, there is a fair bit of humor laced throughout. Quarry, as always, is a fascinating character, and his worldview (shaped by his experiences in Vietnam) allows the reader to root for him, especially considering his targets are despicable people.
The story begins with Quarry on his very first assignment, holed up in an unoccupied house, conducting a stakeout of a libidinous professor. One at a time, several good-looking female grad students parade into the prof’s home, presumably to get additional study aid over the Christmas break, Of course, they’re really getting aid of a different kind. Soon, we are treated to a flashback sequence describing how Quarry came to be in this place, including his recent return from ‘Nam, the discovery of his wife at home in bed with another man, and his subsequent jail time for crushing that same man under a vehicle he was working on. After a shortened incarceration due to an understanding justice system, we learn how he was recruited as a hitman by a man going by the name of “The Broker”.
What should be a straightforward hit on the professor (the contract also requires the destruction of all notes and written pages of a book the professor is writing), becomes increasingly more complicated. Things become murkier when Quarry discovers that he’s not the only man staking out Byron’s house and after he meets the jealous wife, as well as one of the students who also happens to be the daughter of a Chicago mob boss, that straightforward assignment becomes dicey as Hell.
This is a terrific crime novel, as I’ve come to expect from the pen of Max Allan Collins. I’ve read several Quarry novels before, but it was great fun to see how it all began. Despite the relative violence of the book’s premise, there is a fair bit of humor laced throughout. Quarry, as always, is a fascinating character, and his worldview (shaped by his experiences in Vietnam) allows the reader to root for him, especially considering his targets are despicable people.
November 7, 2019
It was fun read. Easy commute book to read on the mornings.
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