Greatest Hits: Original Stories of Assasins, Hit Men, and Hired Guns

by Robert J. Randisi (Editor/Contributor), Jeff Abbott (Contributor), Lee Child (Contributor)

Loaded with tension, charged with uncertainty, these four taut tales by NYTimes bestselling and award-winning authors bring their unsuspecting or hunted and fearful targets into the deadly sights of a hired killer's gun.

Genres: Short Stories, Crime, Mystery, Anthologies

Audio CD

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Robert Joseph Randisi was a prolific American author, editor, and screenwriter, best known for his work in detective and Western fiction. He wrote over 650 books, including The Gunsmith series under the pen name J.R. Roberts, and edited more than 30 anthologies. A co-founder of Mystery Scene magazine, the American Crime Writers League, and Western Fictioneers, he also established The Private Eye Writers of America and created the Shamus Award. Randisi collaborated on novels with Eileen Davidson and Vince Van Patten, and created memorable characters such as Miles Jacoby, Joe Keough, and The Rat Pack. He received multiple lifetime achievement awards and the John Seigenthaler Humanitarian Award.

Reviews

[Rylee Winkler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ultimately I think short stories are not for me because I am not motivated to pick up and start a new one as I would be excited to see where a novel goes. Some of these in here were fantastic while some of them were quite dull - I feel like the ones towards the end were actually pretty darn good because the ones at the beginning were all hit men with consciences which got repetitive.

[Ed [Redacted] · Rating 4 out of 5]

A themed anthology of short stories that all involve hired killers. All anthologies are uneven to some degree, this one less so than others. The vast majority of the stories range from good to very good. Standouts included stories by Lawrence Block, Ed Gorman, Barbara Seranella, Lee Child and Marcus Pelegrimas. There were a couple of ok stories and really only one clunker (Chapter and Verse, by Jeffrey Deaver). All and all a very solid and enjoyable collection.

[Candy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the short stories. Some were okay, some left me thinking "what," others I got straight from the beginning. I love the "The Greatest Trick Of All," by Lee Child. Saw the ending coming, but still enjoyed it. "Retrospective" by Kevin Wignall was okay, but I felt it miss a little something. The others stories were good.

[Dr. Death · Rating 5 out of 5]

An engaging read. A good primer f
or those who may be entertaining entering the "profession".