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Stanley Hastings #16
Hitman
"What Mr. Hall does to the private eye formula is very funny, but it is not frivolous. His puzzles, for all their manic nonsense, are fiendish constructions of sound logic."- The New York Times Book Review Private Eye Stanley Hastings doesn't want for idiosyncrasies, as fans of this long-running "unconventional" and "very funny" (The New York Times) mystery series know. For instance, he doesn't carry a gun. So he seems a particularly improbable choice, among all of New York City's private investigators, for the cold-eyed Martin Kessler. Not that Kessler requires firepower. He's got a gun of his own-an automatic with a long, ugly silencer-although he'd like to retire it. A contract killer who wants out of the game, Kessler hires Stanley mostly to watch his back in the event that someone of similar professional skills is shadowing him. Someone is, in fact, only Stanley fails to spot him and dead bodies are soon piling messily up. There's an obligation a PI owes a client, so Stanley figures, and in the face of a situation that with more luck or diligence he might have averted, he determines to sort it out. The hapless PI thus begins an odyssey that will take him from a seedy topless bar to a plush corporate boardroom, and ultimately a Manhattan courtroom, in his attempt to uncover just what did go down, and why, during his client's last, decidedly dirty job. Edgar, Shamus, and Lefty nominee Parnell Hall is the author of the Stanley Hastings private eye novels, the Puzzle Lady crossword puzzle mysteries, and the Steve Winslow courtroom dramas. An actor, screenwriter, and former private investigator, Hall lives in New York City.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published September 18, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
December 18, 2021
Stanley Hastings is an unconventional Private Eye, who doesn't carry a gun. No wonder he has to resort to his quick wit and his wife's uncanny deductive skills and most of the time, good luck, to get out of sticky situations. After reading 2 short stories in this series, i knew what to expect and Mr. Hall didn't disappoint. The plot was merely incidental, but the writing was hilarious. Highly recommended if you are looking for light books, that don't tax your brain.
The audible narration by Allen O'Reilly was disappointing. He used the same tone for every character, I found it difficult to distinguish between the characters.
The audible narration by Allen O'Reilly was disappointing. He used the same tone for every character, I found it difficult to distinguish between the characters.
May 30, 2011
Parnell Hall writes a couple of series, one featuring Stanley Hastings, the P.I. who works for an ambulance chasing lawyer, and the Puzzle Lady series with Cora Felton who pretends to write crossword puzzles and winds up solving crimes. Both can be quite humorous, especially because of the repartee between the characters, with short, loaded sentences, that rarely fail to evoke a grin on the reader's face. As one reviewer noted the dialogue is reminiscent of Abbott and Cistello and Burns and Allen. I agree.
In Hitman, the plot is, as usual, rather zany. Stanley is asked by a local school teacher (he thinks), who happens to be a hitman (or shooter or shitter if you need to combine the terms), to watch his back as he wants to get out of the business. Stanley soon realizes that by following the man, he is preventing the man from following through on the hit, but it puts him in an awkward position that he and his friend Seargeant Macauliff, have to wiggle their way out of. The hitman gets killed and turns out not to be the teacher who turns out to be friends with another teacher with "perky breasts," who turns out to be..... Well, you'll find out.
In Hitman, the plot is, as usual, rather zany. Stanley is asked by a local school teacher (he thinks), who happens to be a hitman (or shooter or shitter if you need to combine the terms), to watch his back as he wants to get out of the business. Stanley soon realizes that by following the man, he is preventing the man from following through on the hit, but it puts him in an awkward position that he and his friend Seargeant Macauliff, have to wiggle their way out of. The hitman gets killed and turns out not to be the teacher who turns out to be friends with another teacher with "perky breasts," who turns out to be..... Well, you'll find out.
December 3, 2021
How in the world do you review a Stanley Hastings mystery? Parnell Hall may have a perfectly organized mind, but these books - and this one in particular, since I'm reviewing it - are a chaos of misunderstanding, incompetence, and happenstance.
Stanley Hastings is an actor in New York City who, as a "job-job" between acting gigs, has become a private investigator. He is about the most bumbling PI in history, but he manages to survive working trip-and-fall cases for a lawyer named Richard Rosenberg (which is, in fact, far more accurate than the murders and gunfights that fill most PI books). But he occasionally takes another client - here, a man who claims to be a contract killer who doesn't want to carry out the hit.
And here is where I despair of ever giving a coherent description of the plot. I've read the book, and I'm not sure what happened to who when or why or how. I couldn't keep track of that while I was reading. It's not that Hall's writing is poor - on the contrary, it's good. It's that what happens is such non-stop slapstick that trying to keep everything straight is a good way to tie your mind in knots.
But it's fun. That's the whole point of this series. Noir is all right - I like my John Rebus and Philip Marlowe as well as anyone. Tough guys are all right - I love the Spenser books. But sometimes in reading a mystery it's nice to unplug the mind, forget about the puzzle, and just enjoy the comedy. And this book is perfect for that.
Stanley Hastings is an actor in New York City who, as a "job-job" between acting gigs, has become a private investigator. He is about the most bumbling PI in history, but he manages to survive working trip-and-fall cases for a lawyer named Richard Rosenberg (which is, in fact, far more accurate than the murders and gunfights that fill most PI books). But he occasionally takes another client - here, a man who claims to be a contract killer who doesn't want to carry out the hit.
And here is where I despair of ever giving a coherent description of the plot. I've read the book, and I'm not sure what happened to who when or why or how. I couldn't keep track of that while I was reading. It's not that Hall's writing is poor - on the contrary, it's good. It's that what happens is such non-stop slapstick that trying to keep everything straight is a good way to tie your mind in knots.
But it's fun. That's the whole point of this series. Noir is all right - I like my John Rebus and Philip Marlowe as well as anyone. Tough guys are all right - I love the Spenser books. But sometimes in reading a mystery it's nice to unplug the mind, forget about the puzzle, and just enjoy the comedy. And this book is perfect for that.
April 3, 2012
At first, the witty banter of the protagonist Stanley Hastings, made me like this book. But quickly I discovered that witty banter does not make a story complete. The plot has to make sense and be compelling too.
Stanley Hastings is rather surprised when a hitman just shows up at his office, wanting help getting out of the business. But he's also not sure he wants to work for him. But a man's life is at stake and Stanley knows he has to take the case. He just doesn't realize how much trouble it's going to cause him. And getting involved is getting him into tons of trouble, both personally and also with the police. Going from a private investigator to a prime suspect was not in his plans. Of course, neither was getting shot at. But both things seem to happen quite a bit in this book.
I liked Stanley. He was a funny guy. Loves his wife, seems like a decent person, etc. He's a bit oblivious for a Private Investigator, and I'm not sure if the bumbling act was intentional or not. His wife Alice is an even better character. She seems to be the brains behind the operation and I enjoyed that. Although I wish she had a job of her own so she didn't have to rely on Stanley's exploits. The cops and lawyers in the book weren't as awesome as they could have been. In fact they all kind of seemed liked jerks. Of course we were seeing them through Stanley's eyes.
The plot is what disappointed me the most. For one, there was no way you could have seen the ending coming, and that just isn't quite fair when you are writing a crime mystery. Or at least a book that acts like a crime mystery. Everything skips around so much that its hard to keep track of where you are at in the book too. It seems like Stanley is always rushing around to this place or the other and sometimes with no rhyme or reason. I wish it would have slowed down a bit so I could have contemplated what was going on better. A lot of the story was implausible too, as I don't see real life people acting the way the characters did. But hey, at least the writing was funny, although a little course at sometimes. If you don't like cussing and references to sex and female anatomy you probably won't want to pick this book up. Because it has all of that.
I don't think I'd seek out another one of Hall's books, even in the same series. While I enjoyed his humorous writing style it just wasn't enough to make up for the sub par storyline.
Hitman
Copyright 2007
263 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2012
More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com
Stanley Hastings is rather surprised when a hitman just shows up at his office, wanting help getting out of the business. But he's also not sure he wants to work for him. But a man's life is at stake and Stanley knows he has to take the case. He just doesn't realize how much trouble it's going to cause him. And getting involved is getting him into tons of trouble, both personally and also with the police. Going from a private investigator to a prime suspect was not in his plans. Of course, neither was getting shot at. But both things seem to happen quite a bit in this book.
I liked Stanley. He was a funny guy. Loves his wife, seems like a decent person, etc. He's a bit oblivious for a Private Investigator, and I'm not sure if the bumbling act was intentional or not. His wife Alice is an even better character. She seems to be the brains behind the operation and I enjoyed that. Although I wish she had a job of her own so she didn't have to rely on Stanley's exploits. The cops and lawyers in the book weren't as awesome as they could have been. In fact they all kind of seemed liked jerks. Of course we were seeing them through Stanley's eyes.
The plot is what disappointed me the most. For one, there was no way you could have seen the ending coming, and that just isn't quite fair when you are writing a crime mystery. Or at least a book that acts like a crime mystery. Everything skips around so much that its hard to keep track of where you are at in the book too. It seems like Stanley is always rushing around to this place or the other and sometimes with no rhyme or reason. I wish it would have slowed down a bit so I could have contemplated what was going on better. A lot of the story was implausible too, as I don't see real life people acting the way the characters did. But hey, at least the writing was funny, although a little course at sometimes. If you don't like cussing and references to sex and female anatomy you probably won't want to pick this book up. Because it has all of that.
I don't think I'd seek out another one of Hall's books, even in the same series. While I enjoyed his humorous writing style it just wasn't enough to make up for the sub par storyline.
Hitman
Copyright 2007
263 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2012
More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com
March 14, 2015
Stanley Hastings is a rather inept New York private eye, but even to Stanley it seems odd when a contract killer asks for his help. He asks for Stanley to keep him from killing his next target. It comes as even more of a surprise to him when the hitman is himself killed. This twist makes Stanley anxious to try to figure out what is going on, because he thinks that whoever the original target is, they are still in danger. Of course, being who he is, he takes a very indirect route toward the correct solution and that is part of the charm of this novel.
Mr. Hall has written a humorous take on the detective novel. His sleuth seems to survive more due to serendipity than stealth and there are more wrong turns than smooth moves. This might be a good book for someone looking for a change of pace from the typical plot driven mystery thriller. Humor seems to be more important than mystery in HITMAN, though the mystery element is the thread that holds it all together.
Mr. Hall has written a humorous take on the detective novel. His sleuth seems to survive more due to serendipity than stealth and there are more wrong turns than smooth moves. This might be a good book for someone looking for a change of pace from the typical plot driven mystery thriller. Humor seems to be more important than mystery in HITMAN, though the mystery element is the thread that holds it all together.
April 29, 2009
What makes this book stand out is the dialog -- and the author knows it. It's well over 90% dialog, with snappy comebacks, quick asides, witty repartee, and all the stuff that has made noir detective novels and their protagonists the icons they are today.
The mystery itself isn't bad either, though there is some information withheld from the reader so that they don't solve it before the detective does. That's cheating a bit, but there are quite a few inferences as to the ultimate connections behind it all, so it's not cheating a lot. The dialog is so nicely done that I'm willing to excuse cheap parlor tricks just so that I can watch the delivery.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys good dialog, and I'll definitely be looking for more of this author's work.
The mystery itself isn't bad either, though there is some information withheld from the reader so that they don't solve it before the detective does. That's cheating a bit, but there are quite a few inferences as to the ultimate connections behind it all, so it's not cheating a lot. The dialog is so nicely done that I'm willing to excuse cheap parlor tricks just so that I can watch the delivery.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys good dialog, and I'll definitely be looking for more of this author's work.
May 24, 2009
Nice to see a return of private eye Stanley Hastings; I was not so fond of the Crossword Lady books by Hall. Hastings doesn't carry a gun, and he is continually bested by his wife in any discussion, and he enjoys a tumultuous relationship with the attorney who provides most of his caseload and with the police. But he is funny and the reader can identify with his attempts to catch up with the fast-paced plot which involves multiple hitmen and cases of mistaken identity. This is a return to a form of detective novel we used to read more frequently; I hope there are more where this came from.
December 18, 2018
Although there were several truly funny lines, it was a little too light for me.
May 25, 2019
Not as exciting as the puzzle lady books
July 12, 2013
this was a good one
a walk in client told stanly he was a hitman but didnt want to kill the person he was hired to kill as it was a family man
he wanted stanly to follow him and stop him from killing
as usually stanly messed it up. he got his friend mcgruff to run the names of both the intended victim and the hit man. only after the hitman was murdered did he find out that wasnt him, he gave stanly wrong names. the innocent man was a english high school teacher (or so stanly thought)
what really happened was stanly was the intended victim! all the bad guys got killed by the cops
stanly had signed up a slip and fall quadriplegic and taken photos of the stairs of the bldg that he fell on. it was going to trial and teh mob owners of the bldg wanted to prevent stanly from testifying.
a walk in client told stanly he was a hitman but didnt want to kill the person he was hired to kill as it was a family man
he wanted stanly to follow him and stop him from killing
as usually stanly messed it up. he got his friend mcgruff to run the names of both the intended victim and the hit man. only after the hitman was murdered did he find out that wasnt him, he gave stanly wrong names. the innocent man was a english high school teacher (or so stanly thought)
what really happened was stanly was the intended victim! all the bad guys got killed by the cops
stanly had signed up a slip and fall quadriplegic and taken photos of the stairs of the bldg that he fell on. it was going to trial and teh mob owners of the bldg wanted to prevent stanly from testifying.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2012
I've read a lot of Parnell Hall (14 books). I've read this one before (2008), but picked it up again at the library, in error, and having nothing else to read, I read it again. I found the repartee confusing.
March 15, 2008
OK light mystery. At least it's not standard "hard-boiled."
April 23, 2008
Fun detective story.
April 27, 2009
A light-weight detective story that's all about the dialogue. This is a fun read with an entertaining assortment of characters.
May 3, 2009
Pretty good twist at the end-just entertaining. Not really a murder mystery, but more just detective fiction.
April 20, 2011
This book was not only well written but funny. I loved it can't wait to read more of this series.
September 1, 2012
This is the first book I read and I discovered it on accident. This is what got me hooked on Parnell hall and his books.
Want to read
March 1, 2016to-read
April 25, 2009
A reviewer said this was as funny as a Stephanie Plum. Not so. But it was mildly entertaining.
October 11, 2009
Strictly routine, nothing special. I didn't think it was funny either.
April 7, 2010
A little vulgar at times, but the dialouge was very funny
October 4, 2010
A fast light read. Amusing characters. Interesting twists.
November 1, 2012
Clever mystery with his usual dialogue driven plot.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews