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John Keller #4
Hit and Run
For years now Keller's had places to go and people to kill.
But enough is enough. Just one more job—paid in advance—and he's going to retire. Waiting in Des Moines for the client's go-ahead, Keller's picking out stamps for his collection at a shop in Urbandale when somebody guns down the charismatic governor of Ohio. Back at his motel, Keller sees the killer's face broadcast on TV. A face he's seen quite often. Every morning. In the mirror.
Keller calls his associate Dot in White Plains, but there's no answer. He's stranded halfway across the country, and every cop in America has just seen his picture. His ID and credit cards are no longer good, and he just spent almost all of his cash on the stamps.
Now what?
But enough is enough. Just one more job—paid in advance—and he's going to retire. Waiting in Des Moines for the client's go-ahead, Keller's picking out stamps for his collection at a shop in Urbandale when somebody guns down the charismatic governor of Ohio. Back at his motel, Keller sees the killer's face broadcast on TV. A face he's seen quite often. Every morning. In the mirror.
Keller calls his associate Dot in White Plains, but there's no answer. He's stranded halfway across the country, and every cop in America has just seen his picture. His ID and credit cards are no longer good, and he just spent almost all of his cash on the stamps.
Now what?
308 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 24, 2008
118 people are currently reading
842 people want to read
About the author
Lawrence Block
767 books2,979 followersLawrence Block has been writing crime, mystery, and suspense fiction for more than half a century. He has published in excess (oh, wretched excess!) of 100 books, and no end of short stories.
Born in Buffalo, N.Y., LB attended Antioch College, but left before completing his studies; school authorities advised him that they felt he’d be happier elsewhere, and he thought this was remarkably perceptive of them.
His earliest work, published pseudonymously in the late 1950s, was mostly in the field of midcentury erotica, an apprenticeship he shared with Donald E. Westlake and Robert Silverberg. The first time Lawrence Block’s name appeared in print was when his short story “You Can’t Lose” was published in the February 1958 issue of Manhunt. The first book published under his own name was Mona (1961); it was reissued several times over the years, once as Sweet Slow Death. In 2005 it became the first offering from Hard Case Crime, and bore for the first time LB’s original title, Grifter’s Game.
LB is best known for his series characters, including cop-turned-private investigator Matthew Scudder, gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, globe-trotting insomniac Evan Tanner, and introspective assassin Keller.
Because one name is never enough, LB has also published under pseudonyms including Jill Emerson, John Warren Wells, Lesley Evans, and Anne Campbell Clarke.
LB’s magazine appearances include American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Linn’s Stamp News, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and The New York Times. His monthly instructional column ran in Writer’s Digest for 14 years, and led to a string of books for writers, including the classics Telling Lies for Fun & Profit and The Liar’s Bible. He has also written episodic television (Tilt!) and the Wong Kar-wai film, My Blueberry Nights.
Several of LB’s books have been filmed. The latest, A Walk Among the Tombstones, stars Liam Neeson as Matthew Scudder and is scheduled for release in September, 2014.
LB is a Grand Master of Mystery Writers of America, and a past president of MWA and the Private Eye Writers of America. He has won the Edgar and Shamus awards four times each, and the Japanese Maltese Falcon award twice, as well as the Nero Wolfe and Philip Marlowe awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Diamond Dagger for Life Achievement from the Crime Writers Association (UK). He’s also been honored with the Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award from Mystery Ink magazine and the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement in the short story. In France, he has been proclaimed a Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has twice been awarded the Societe 813 trophy. He has been a guest of honor at Bouchercon and at book fairs and mystery festivals in France, Germany, Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and Taiwan. As if that were not enough, he was also presented with the key to the city of Muncie, Indiana. (But as soon as he left, they changed the locks.)
LB and his wife Lynne are enthusiastic New Yorkers and relentless world travelers; the two are members of the Travelers Century Club, and have visited around 160 countries.
He is a modest and humble fellow, although you would never guess as much from this biographical note.
Born in Buffalo, N.Y., LB attended Antioch College, but left before completing his studies; school authorities advised him that they felt he’d be happier elsewhere, and he thought this was remarkably perceptive of them.
His earliest work, published pseudonymously in the late 1950s, was mostly in the field of midcentury erotica, an apprenticeship he shared with Donald E. Westlake and Robert Silverberg. The first time Lawrence Block’s name appeared in print was when his short story “You Can’t Lose” was published in the February 1958 issue of Manhunt. The first book published under his own name was Mona (1961); it was reissued several times over the years, once as Sweet Slow Death. In 2005 it became the first offering from Hard Case Crime, and bore for the first time LB’s original title, Grifter’s Game.
LB is best known for his series characters, including cop-turned-private investigator Matthew Scudder, gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, globe-trotting insomniac Evan Tanner, and introspective assassin Keller.
Because one name is never enough, LB has also published under pseudonyms including Jill Emerson, John Warren Wells, Lesley Evans, and Anne Campbell Clarke.
LB’s magazine appearances include American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Linn’s Stamp News, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and The New York Times. His monthly instructional column ran in Writer’s Digest for 14 years, and led to a string of books for writers, including the classics Telling Lies for Fun & Profit and The Liar’s Bible. He has also written episodic television (Tilt!) and the Wong Kar-wai film, My Blueberry Nights.
Several of LB’s books have been filmed. The latest, A Walk Among the Tombstones, stars Liam Neeson as Matthew Scudder and is scheduled for release in September, 2014.
LB is a Grand Master of Mystery Writers of America, and a past president of MWA and the Private Eye Writers of America. He has won the Edgar and Shamus awards four times each, and the Japanese Maltese Falcon award twice, as well as the Nero Wolfe and Philip Marlowe awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Diamond Dagger for Life Achievement from the Crime Writers Association (UK). He’s also been honored with the Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award from Mystery Ink magazine and the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement in the short story. In France, he has been proclaimed a Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has twice been awarded the Societe 813 trophy. He has been a guest of honor at Bouchercon and at book fairs and mystery festivals in France, Germany, Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and Taiwan. As if that were not enough, he was also presented with the key to the city of Muncie, Indiana. (But as soon as he left, they changed the locks.)
LB and his wife Lynne are enthusiastic New Yorkers and relentless world travelers; the two are members of the Travelers Century Club, and have visited around 160 countries.
He is a modest and humble fellow, although you would never guess as much from this biographical note.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 331 reviews
July 27, 2014
Keller goes to Des Moines on his last job and winds up getting framed for murdering the governor. Meanwhile, Dot's house in White Plains is torched, Dot's body found in the wreckage, and Keller is suddenly cut off from all help he could have gotten. Can Keller survive on the run long enough to find out who set him up?
Unlike the previous books in the Keller series, this one is more like a conventional novel rather than a lot of related episodes. The desperation and panic is a tangible thing. Keller assuming a new identity and a new life was good but you knew something would show up to turn it upside down. The ending was great since I was left hoping things weren't as they seemed in the beginning. While I love Keller, I hope Block doesn't write another Keller book. This one left things at a good stopping point.
To sum up, Hit and Run is a great read and a great ending to the Keller saga.
Unlike the previous books in the Keller series, this one is more like a conventional novel rather than a lot of related episodes. The desperation and panic is a tangible thing. Keller assuming a new identity and a new life was good but you knew something would show up to turn it upside down. The ending was great since I was left hoping things weren't as they seemed in the beginning. While I love Keller, I hope Block doesn't write another Keller book. This one left things at a good stopping point.
To sum up, Hit and Run is a great read and a great ending to the Keller saga.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 3, 2020
Book 4 in the John Keller series published 2008.
Every time you pick a book by Lawrence Block there are a few guarantees you can expect. One of these guarantees is that there will be no stereotypical or clichéd characters. In this case the main protagonist is John Keller. John, a hit man by calling but during his down times he is an obsessive philatelist. Killing pays the rent and a lot more besides but what would life be without his stamps?
Just your average assassin, right?
Normally, when John gets a contract it’s to top some low life who if it wasn’t John doing the killing it would be somebody else.
But John’s latest contract is to take out a nobody, a man who seems to spend his days keeping his yard neat and tidy. Why would anybody want this man dead?
The answer to that question is no one cares if this man is dead or alive. What John is about to find out is that he has been hired to be a fall guy.
As John is casing the nobodies home and making his plans the local State Governor is shot and killed. Suddenly John’s picture is all over the press, both print and electronic. Not only his photo but his name, make of car he drives and car rego. Someone has gone to great lengths to turn John into the assassin.
From this point on John’s main focus is survival. No time for pay back, no let’s get even, just survive.
The rest of the book is taken up with John quest to survive.
But the biggest kick in the guts is still to come. When John sneaks back into his apartment to rescue some of his belongings he discovers that his entire stamp collection has been take. Now this is a step too far, how dare these bastards steal his stamps.
This is a great read and given that the main character is a gun for hire there is no graphic violence to speak of. I found it hard not to sympathise with John and his missing stamps.
About twenty years ago I went through a phase of stamp collecting and during this book I found myself pulling out my old albums and admiring my collection. Not too sure what that says about me but in these days of gloom and doom it brought back some happy memories. So thank you Mr. Block for a great read and returning some lost memories.
A recommended 4 star read.
Every time you pick a book by Lawrence Block there are a few guarantees you can expect. One of these guarantees is that there will be no stereotypical or clichéd characters. In this case the main protagonist is John Keller. John, a hit man by calling but during his down times he is an obsessive philatelist. Killing pays the rent and a lot more besides but what would life be without his stamps?
Just your average assassin, right?
Normally, when John gets a contract it’s to top some low life who if it wasn’t John doing the killing it would be somebody else.
But John’s latest contract is to take out a nobody, a man who seems to spend his days keeping his yard neat and tidy. Why would anybody want this man dead?
The answer to that question is no one cares if this man is dead or alive. What John is about to find out is that he has been hired to be a fall guy.
As John is casing the nobodies home and making his plans the local State Governor is shot and killed. Suddenly John’s picture is all over the press, both print and electronic. Not only his photo but his name, make of car he drives and car rego. Someone has gone to great lengths to turn John into the assassin.
From this point on John’s main focus is survival. No time for pay back, no let’s get even, just survive.
The rest of the book is taken up with John quest to survive.
But the biggest kick in the guts is still to come. When John sneaks back into his apartment to rescue some of his belongings he discovers that his entire stamp collection has been take. Now this is a step too far, how dare these bastards steal his stamps.
This is a great read and given that the main character is a gun for hire there is no graphic violence to speak of. I found it hard not to sympathise with John and his missing stamps.
About twenty years ago I went through a phase of stamp collecting and during this book I found myself pulling out my old albums and admiring my collection. Not too sure what that says about me but in these days of gloom and doom it brought back some happy memories. So thank you Mr. Block for a great read and returning some lost memories.
A recommended 4 star read.
February 4, 2010
If you have followed my reviews of the first three Keller books you will have noticed a change in this rating compared to them. The others were good solid 4 star reads, maybe even 4.5 but I wasn't willing to give them a 5. This one crossed into the "zone" of personal enjoyment I reserve for that last fifth star. I like it, I recommend it. (even though he does take a slightly low blow attack at conservatives...which won't bother you if you aren't conservative of course. I am, and i still liked the book.)
My shock at liking a series of books about a hired killer has also been well recorded in those earlier reviews...but these books are exceptional. This one is even more so.
Someone has set Keller up for a high profile murder he didn't commit! Consider the irony. This story leaves the gate at the proverbial breakneck pace, pauses only a moment for a breath part way through and finishes up at a considerable lope. This is a really good one.
One other thing I didn't expect, given my usual and past reading habits and preferences....I intend to check out more of Block's writing.
My shock at liking a series of books about a hired killer has also been well recorded in those earlier reviews...but these books are exceptional. This one is even more so.
Someone has set Keller up for a high profile murder he didn't commit! Consider the irony. This story leaves the gate at the proverbial breakneck pace, pauses only a moment for a breath part way through and finishes up at a considerable lope. This is a really good one.
One other thing I didn't expect, given my usual and past reading habits and preferences....I intend to check out more of Block's writing.
March 29, 2010
They say that all good things must come to an end, and apparently Lawrence Block decided to follow that conventional wisdom regarding his stories about the stamp collecting and slightly lonely hit man, Keller.
Retirement has been on Keller’s mind going back to the first book, but now that his friend and booking agent, Dot, has parlayed the earnings from contract killing into big stock market gains, it looks like Keller may finally be really getting out of the hit man business. However, a job that they’ve been pre-paid for comes in just as they’re getting ready to move on so Keller is off to Iowa to eliminate one last target.
As Keller is indulging in a round of stamp buying at a shop, a prominent politician campaigning for the presidency in Iowa is assassinated, and Keller’s picture is almost instantly on CNN as the suspected gunman. Since he just spent most of his cash on stamps, Keller is broke, on the run, and Dot isn’t answering the phone. Too late, Keller realizes that a guy who spent his life killing people for money makes a pretty convenient fall guy.
You get certain expectations after you read a series for a while. Even when an author shakes up a formula for a book, you always assume that there will some kind of return to baseline in the next one. That’s why this shocked me about a quarter of the way into it when I realized that there was absolutely no way that the Keller books as I knew them would ever continue. There was an event at this point where it set in that I’d never again read about Keller taking the train to White Plains to talk with Dot about the latest job as they drank iced tea on her porch, or that there’d never be another scene where Keller would stroll down a New York street on his way back to his apartment to work on his stamp collection. And it was very disconcerting.
(I’m making an assumption here, but it’s hard to read this as anything but a swan song for Keller. I guess Block could use the same trick that Max Allen Collins used for his hit man, Quarry, and introduce a series of stories told before he retired, but I think Block is done with Keller.)
If this is the last one, then Block sent Keller out in style by once again having us root for the ‘bad guy’ as the inventive Keller scrambles to get out of Iowa and figure out how he can possibly have any kind of a life again. I hate to see the series end, but this was a great way to do it.
Retirement has been on Keller’s mind going back to the first book, but now that his friend and booking agent, Dot, has parlayed the earnings from contract killing into big stock market gains, it looks like Keller may finally be really getting out of the hit man business. However, a job that they’ve been pre-paid for comes in just as they’re getting ready to move on so Keller is off to Iowa to eliminate one last target.
As Keller is indulging in a round of stamp buying at a shop, a prominent politician campaigning for the presidency in Iowa is assassinated, and Keller’s picture is almost instantly on CNN as the suspected gunman. Since he just spent most of his cash on stamps, Keller is broke, on the run, and Dot isn’t answering the phone. Too late, Keller realizes that a guy who spent his life killing people for money makes a pretty convenient fall guy.
You get certain expectations after you read a series for a while. Even when an author shakes up a formula for a book, you always assume that there will some kind of return to baseline in the next one. That’s why this shocked me about a quarter of the way into it when I realized that there was absolutely no way that the Keller books as I knew them would ever continue. There was an event at this point where it set in that I’d never again read about Keller taking the train to White Plains to talk with Dot about the latest job as they drank iced tea on her porch, or that there’d never be another scene where Keller would stroll down a New York street on his way back to his apartment to work on his stamp collection. And it was very disconcerting.
(I’m making an assumption here, but it’s hard to read this as anything but a swan song for Keller. I guess Block could use the same trick that Max Allen Collins used for his hit man, Quarry, and introduce a series of stories told before he retired, but I think Block is done with Keller.)
If this is the last one, then Block sent Keller out in style by once again having us root for the ‘bad guy’ as the inventive Keller scrambles to get out of Iowa and figure out how he can possibly have any kind of a life again. I hate to see the series end, but this was a great way to do it.
January 30, 2018
Hit man Keller goes on one last job, and we know how those go.
Hired for a job, Keller is framed for a political assassination. His face is all over the television. He's on the run to clear his name and get revenge.
The way the novel is set up, it seems like it was supposed to be the final book in the series, but as with most popular characters, more books followed.
Still not hard boiled enough for me.
Hired for a job, Keller is framed for a political assassination. His face is all over the television. He's on the run to clear his name and get revenge.
The way the novel is set up, it seems like it was supposed to be the final book in the series, but as with most popular characters, more books followed.
Still not hard boiled enough for me.
January 2, 2017
A library book. Oooh, this is so good, better than _Sinner Man_. I stayed up until after 3:30 a.m. on New Year's Eve, devouring this story!
It seems counter-intuitive to root for a hired killer, but I guarantee you will in this book. When the killer becomes the stalked, the tale gets even more exciting. I could almost give this book five stars because it was such a quick and enjoyable read.
It seems counter-intuitive to root for a hired killer, but I guarantee you will in this book. When the killer becomes the stalked, the tale gets even more exciting. I could almost give this book five stars because it was such a quick and enjoyable read.
July 10, 2020
Keller is in Des Moines, Iowa awaiting instructions on when to complete a hit when an urgent news bulletin breaks showing the sudden assassination of the state’s governor. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem for Keller considering he had nothing to do with it but when he spots his picture on television identified as the culprit, things take a drastic turn for the worse. On the run and desperate to connect with Dot, Keller has to somehow keep under the radar while coming up with a plan.
This is a very different novel than the preceding three Keller adventures. Gone are the scenes of Keller and his taskmaster Dot jawing over iced tea, gone are the self-reflective moments wherein Keller plays with his stamps in his New York City apartment, gone are the multiple assignments with Keller jet-setting across the country. What we’re left with is a cat-and-mouse dynamic with Keller trying to stay one step ahead of the authorities while he tries to figure out what in the hell just happened.
Block takes a crowbar and smashes Keller’s world to bits and I’m just supposed to sit here and take it? What gives, man! How dare you mess with a good thing? I guess I should have given Block more credit when things go pear-shaped because he knew just exactly what he was doing. I kept trying to figure out just how Keller was going to get himself out of this mess and of the multiple scenarios in my head, Block still happened to give me one I didn’t exactly see coming.
There is a moment late in the novel that made me think a little less of one of the characters but then I quickly remembered exactly who these people are. They’re the baddies! There’s no switch they flip and all of sudden they’re upstanding members of society. I suppose Keller has been able to do that on a few occasions, but Block rarely lets his audience forget who Keller is at his core.
I know there’s another book and another novella yet to read, but if this was the end of Keller’s run, Block couldn’t have picked a better ship for Keller to sail away on. On to book five!
This is a very different novel than the preceding three Keller adventures. Gone are the scenes of Keller and his taskmaster Dot jawing over iced tea, gone are the self-reflective moments wherein Keller plays with his stamps in his New York City apartment, gone are the multiple assignments with Keller jet-setting across the country. What we’re left with is a cat-and-mouse dynamic with Keller trying to stay one step ahead of the authorities while he tries to figure out what in the hell just happened.
Block takes a crowbar and smashes Keller’s world to bits and I’m just supposed to sit here and take it? What gives, man! How dare you mess with a good thing? I guess I should have given Block more credit when things go pear-shaped because he knew just exactly what he was doing. I kept trying to figure out just how Keller was going to get himself out of this mess and of the multiple scenarios in my head, Block still happened to give me one I didn’t exactly see coming.
There is a moment late in the novel that made me think a little less of one of the characters but then I quickly remembered exactly who these people are. They’re the baddies! There’s no switch they flip and all of sudden they’re upstanding members of society. I suppose Keller has been able to do that on a few occasions, but Block rarely lets his audience forget who Keller is at his core.
I know there’s another book and another novella yet to read, but if this was the end of Keller’s run, Block couldn’t have picked a better ship for Keller to sail away on. On to book five!
October 13, 2022
After Keller is framed in the opening pages for a hit he didn’t conduct, and has his face plastered on the news, he begins a very dull and long trip to escape from Iowa and return to his home in New York City. Makes sense because nobody will recognize you in New York, which as we know is a very remote and isolated wilderness. Along the way we are subjected to a lot of old-man observations about the frustrations of modern life such as having to watch commercials on hotel room TVs.
At one point Keller jokes that if this were a movie, he’d stay in the Midwest and find the real killer. But that’s what you should have done because that is the only logical way of exonerating yourself.
At one point Keller jokes that if this were a movie, he’d stay in the Midwest and find the real killer. But that’s what you should have done because that is the only logical way of exonerating yourself.
March 19, 2017
Excellent conclusion (?) to the Keller "Hit" series. Hard not to cheer for this bad guy who is only trying to make a living, retire and focus on his stamp-collecting hobby. Drawback is the plot behind the Iowa action is tissue-thin. Still liked the book and the characters. 3 Stars
August 30, 2011
First of all, I shouldn't have read this as my first Keller book, since it's kind of like reading the last chapter in a novel before reading the beginning. I think if I had more background history of the character, I would have enjoyed the book more.
The plot is quite intriguing; A hit man on the run after being set-up for a hit he didn't commit. Since I had no connection with Keller from the previous novels, I kept thinking he should have been better prepared for the possibility of having to get the hell out of Dodge, so to speak. I mean he's a hit man, not an Amway salesman. Surely he would have though this through many times over. Why wouldn't he try to alter his appearance the moment his picture turns up on CNN? He was in a hotel room, he had a razor.. The second thing I had a big problem with is that he had a large sum of money, but no idea about where it was, and no way to get at it. It would make a lot of sense to have a safe deposit box with a good amount of cash and maybe new identity documents ala Jason Bourne? I guess if he had done those things, the drama would have been greatly reduced.
All in all, a quite readable novel, that kept me engaged (if second guessing) til the last page.
The plot is quite intriguing; A hit man on the run after being set-up for a hit he didn't commit. Since I had no connection with Keller from the previous novels, I kept thinking he should have been better prepared for the possibility of having to get the hell out of Dodge, so to speak. I mean he's a hit man, not an Amway salesman. Surely he would have though this through many times over. Why wouldn't he try to alter his appearance the moment his picture turns up on CNN? He was in a hotel room, he had a razor.. The second thing I had a big problem with is that he had a large sum of money, but no idea about where it was, and no way to get at it. It would make a lot of sense to have a safe deposit box with a good amount of cash and maybe new identity documents ala Jason Bourne? I guess if he had done those things, the drama would have been greatly reduced.
All in all, a quite readable novel, that kept me engaged (if second guessing) til the last page.
March 29, 2020
4 Stars. He's John Paul Keller, "Just Plain" Keller, JPK, or Keller. Hit man, that's his job. For years he worked exclusively for a family in New York; later his only friend Dot handled assignments along with his personal finances. We're into a chase, more than one actually, and you'll find the ways he gets lost, which he works hard at, filled with desperation and revelation. This time "Call Me Al" has retained him to take care of someone in Des Moines. He doesn't really need the job, what with a few million in the bank, but why not one more before retirement to a quiet life of stamp collecting? He has already reconnoitred his target, yet he can't seem to get the go-ahead. Then the Governor of Ohio, also visiting Des Moines, is assassinated and Keller's picture is all over TV as the suspected killer! It's a set-up. He's spent almost all of his available cash on stamps and his credit cards can be traced, but he's got to get out of town. On the run he meets the wonderful Julia who may be his first true love. As a stamp collector, I can verify that all you learn here in that field is surprisingly accurate. Are you ready to feel sympathy for a hired killer? (August 2019)
November 8, 2020
This is my second time through and it’s only aged more gracefully. What’s good about this book is what’s good about the series as a whole. Keller isn’t your typical assassin. He’s more contemplative, whimsical, and goofy. Also, I like that it’s more about the quiet moments instead of the car chases, actions sequences, and drawn-out climaxes.
All in all, even though this is the most serialized of the novels, it’s one of the best. It’s a nice change of pace and the introduction of Keller’s new life is an awesome surprise.
All in all, even though this is the most serialized of the novels, it’s one of the best. It’s a nice change of pace and the introduction of Keller’s new life is an awesome surprise.
March 11, 2021
I almost gave up on this series after the disappointing third book as it was getting very repetitive and boring.
Well good thing I didn’t: I think Hit and Run is easily the best Keller episode.
Lawrence Block has the audacity to destroy his meticulously built house of cards and in the process we get to see other facets of old characters.
Well good thing I didn’t: I think Hit and Run is easily the best Keller episode.
Lawrence Block has the audacity to destroy his meticulously built house of cards and in the process we get to see other facets of old characters.
February 5, 2013
Outstanding! 10 of 10 stars
December 8, 2024
Keller on the Run
A review of the HarperCollins eBook (June 24, 2008) released simultaneously with the original William Morrow & Co. hardcover.
Breaking the pattern from the short stories as a novel format of the first 3 Keller books, this 4th entry in the series is an actual one story novel. The neurotic hitman is sent out on a decoy job which places him in Des Moines at the same time as the real target, a high-profile State Governor is assassinated. Keller has been setup as the fall-guy and is forced to go on the run.
With his photo released to the media and no way home except for a cross country trip via stolen vehicles, Keller heads back to New York City. But it soon transpires that even his NYC identity has been revealed to the public and there is no returning to his past life. And it appears that even his handler Dot has been eliminated by the conspiracists with the house in White Plains burnt down with a body inside it.
A chance encounter gives Keller a path to a new life. But then a chance glance at an ad in a stamp catalogue suddenly awakens yet another possibility.
This was the best of the Kellers and, although it was followed by one further book in 2012, it was a good finale to go out on.
Trivia and Links
I read a considerable number of Lawrence Block books in my pre-GR and pre-reviewing days. Probably 40 or so out of the 100+ that are available. That included all of the Matt Scudder books, several of the Bernie Rhodenbarrs, several of the Evan Tanners, several of the Kellers, a dozen or so standalones and some of the memoirs. There were even a few of the earlier pulp novels which were originally published under pseudonyms. This re-read is part of an ongoing look back at some of those.
Lawrence Block (June 24, 1938 - ) considers himself retired these days, but still maintains an occasional newsletter with the latest issued in August 2024. He self-publishes some of his earlier works that have otherwise gone out of print, using his own LB Productions imprint.
A review of the HarperCollins eBook (June 24, 2008) released simultaneously with the original William Morrow & Co. hardcover.
He couldn’t be Keller anymore. Keller was over and done with—and, when he thought about it, he realized that everything in Keller’s life was already gone, so what difference could it make if the name vanished along with it?
Breaking the pattern from the short stories as a novel format of the first 3 Keller books, this 4th entry in the series is an actual one story novel. The neurotic hitman is sent out on a decoy job which places him in Des Moines at the same time as the real target, a high-profile State Governor is assassinated. Keller has been setup as the fall-guy and is forced to go on the run.
With his photo released to the media and no way home except for a cross country trip via stolen vehicles, Keller heads back to New York City. But it soon transpires that even his NYC identity has been revealed to the public and there is no returning to his past life. And it appears that even his handler Dot has been eliminated by the conspiracists with the house in White Plains burnt down with a body inside it.
A chance encounter gives Keller a path to a new life. But then a chance glance at an ad in a stamp catalogue suddenly awakens yet another possibility.
This was the best of the Kellers and, although it was followed by one further book in 2012, it was a good finale to go out on.
Trivia and Links
I read a considerable number of Lawrence Block books in my pre-GR and pre-reviewing days. Probably 40 or so out of the 100+ that are available. That included all of the Matt Scudder books, several of the Bernie Rhodenbarrs, several of the Evan Tanners, several of the Kellers, a dozen or so standalones and some of the memoirs. There were even a few of the earlier pulp novels which were originally published under pseudonyms. This re-read is part of an ongoing look back at some of those.
Lawrence Block (June 24, 1938 - ) considers himself retired these days, but still maintains an occasional newsletter with the latest issued in August 2024. He self-publishes some of his earlier works that have otherwise gone out of print, using his own LB Productions imprint.
December 10, 2013
I had read the Bernie the burglar series and enjoyed that so when I happened upon this book in our community library I picked it up. A stamp collecting professional assaassin? Since I collected stamps as a kid, I thought this might be interesting! Love the wisecracks and asides - "Can't take my tweezers on the plane? Why, are they afraid I might grab a stewardess and pluck her eyebrows?" Tough to warm up to a professional killer but it was enjoyable watching him work his way out of a prickly situation. Framed for a murder while he was in town to commit another, loses everything her loves - his assistant, his money and his stamps. Moves briskly along.
December 1, 2008
Fast-paced caper by Keller, the stamp-collecting hit man from NYC. Not overly violent and funny in places.
November 1, 2021
So, I read this one out of series, not reading the first three, and I must say this can perfectly be read as a standalone. Block writes great characters, and Keller, who is a gun-for-hire, is alot of fun to read about. Hit and Run is written in third person omniscient, so it's great to watch over Keller as he takes on a hit gone very sour, then proceeds to travel cross country from Iowa back to New York, inventing ways to remain incognito and out of the public spotlight.
Keller's main interest is his stamp collecting addiction, and whether or not one collects stamps, we all have some kind of addiction to something that keeps us sane, so this story element adds interest, and as a reader learns ya something along the way.
Only thing I fault this story over is the somewhat too easy big plot developments towards the last third of the book, but crazier things happen in real life, so it's okay Larry, ha. Looking forward to backtracking on the first three books of this series.
Keller's main interest is his stamp collecting addiction, and whether or not one collects stamps, we all have some kind of addiction to something that keeps us sane, so this story element adds interest, and as a reader learns ya something along the way.
Only thing I fault this story over is the somewhat too easy big plot developments towards the last third of the book, but crazier things happen in real life, so it's okay Larry, ha. Looking forward to backtracking on the first three books of this series.
May 8, 2022
After the first book, this is probably my favorite in the Keller series and one of my favorite Lawrence Block books ever.
Instead of sending Keller all over the country on hits, Block instead writes him as a conspiracy-inspired Lee Harvey Oswald-esque patsy, set up to take the fall for a political assassination. This was published in 2008 and I have to imagine the candidate shot was at least partially based on Barack Obama. At any rate, Keller is bouncing from place to place, trying to stay ahead of the law and figuring out who set him up (the why is never important in these books and I think that's part of what makes them so enjoyable).
I wasn't a big fan of how it ended but beyond that, I enjoyed this new installation in the series, a series I truly didn't think I'd enjoy much before I sat down to read it. Block's work is so much fun and again, this is one of his best.
Instead of sending Keller all over the country on hits, Block instead writes him as a conspiracy-inspired Lee Harvey Oswald-esque patsy, set up to take the fall for a political assassination. This was published in 2008 and I have to imagine the candidate shot was at least partially based on Barack Obama. At any rate, Keller is bouncing from place to place, trying to stay ahead of the law and figuring out who set him up (the why is never important in these books and I think that's part of what makes them so enjoyable).
I wasn't a big fan of how it ended but beyond that, I enjoyed this new installation in the series, a series I truly didn't think I'd enjoy much before I sat down to read it. Block's work is so much fun and again, this is one of his best.
May 30, 2010
PROTAGONIST: John Paul Keller, hit man
SERIES: 4 of 4
RATING: 4.25
Lawrence Block took a risk when he created the character of John Paul Keller, a hit man. Normally, a person who is an assassin isn't likely to engender much sympathy or caring on the part of the reader. Block has managed to achieve that remarkable feat by creating a man who views his job as just that. He does it well, and we as readers get to look on while he finds creative ways to eliminate his victims. Somehow, despite the necessary violence, Keller comes across as an ordinary man who would rather spend time working on his stamp collection and living a rather routine life when he isn't out on the road on a hit.
But somehow all good things have to come to an end, don't they? Although Keller had all intentions of retiring, there is one last job that he can't turn down. He's off to Des Moines, Iowa, and quickly realizes that the situation isn't what it was painted to be. Recently, he's been subject to huge bouts of paranoia and he has been taking even more care than usual to cover his tracks. But his employer has outsmarted him and managed to pin the assassination of the personable governor of Ohio on him—for once, a killing that wasn't pulled off by Keller.
His face plastered all over the media, Keller goes on the run. Even though he's a rich man, he can't access his money and travels around the country wondering if he'll be able to buy his next meal. He has to give up all that he holds dear, including his apartment in New York and the stamp collection that he has worked for years to put together. Worst of all, he has to face the loss of those that were close to him. Just when dark clouds loom over his entire life, Keller meets a woman who literally saves the day, Julia Emilie Roussard. Could it be that after all these years of solitude and doomed relationships, Keller has found true love?
Well, I'm sure not going to tell you that! Julia helps Keller rebuild his life, first through small things such as changing his appearance and then by helping him find other professional pursuits. Of course, the people who are after him aren't going to give up. And ultimately, Keller realizes that he needs to clear the slate if he is going to have any kind of future at all. So it's back on the road in an effort to untangle the plot against him.
HIT AND RUN is different from the first three books in this series in that it does not focus on the various hits that Keller is performing. Instead, the plot concentrates on how Keller was framed and what he does to clear himself. A large part of the book shows what he is doing to become an ordinary man with an ordinary life; it's a story of redemption. Although this was extremely well done, it was a bit disappointing not to participate vicariously in Keller's hit man schemes.
HIT AND RUN feels like the final book in the series. As it concludes, it doesn't seem possible that Keller could be tempted to take "one last job". But, of course, we said that at the end of the last book, so who knows? In any event, this has been a very satisfying series; and I can only wish Keller well.
SERIES: 4 of 4
RATING: 4.25
Lawrence Block took a risk when he created the character of John Paul Keller, a hit man. Normally, a person who is an assassin isn't likely to engender much sympathy or caring on the part of the reader. Block has managed to achieve that remarkable feat by creating a man who views his job as just that. He does it well, and we as readers get to look on while he finds creative ways to eliminate his victims. Somehow, despite the necessary violence, Keller comes across as an ordinary man who would rather spend time working on his stamp collection and living a rather routine life when he isn't out on the road on a hit.
But somehow all good things have to come to an end, don't they? Although Keller had all intentions of retiring, there is one last job that he can't turn down. He's off to Des Moines, Iowa, and quickly realizes that the situation isn't what it was painted to be. Recently, he's been subject to huge bouts of paranoia and he has been taking even more care than usual to cover his tracks. But his employer has outsmarted him and managed to pin the assassination of the personable governor of Ohio on him—for once, a killing that wasn't pulled off by Keller.
His face plastered all over the media, Keller goes on the run. Even though he's a rich man, he can't access his money and travels around the country wondering if he'll be able to buy his next meal. He has to give up all that he holds dear, including his apartment in New York and the stamp collection that he has worked for years to put together. Worst of all, he has to face the loss of those that were close to him. Just when dark clouds loom over his entire life, Keller meets a woman who literally saves the day, Julia Emilie Roussard. Could it be that after all these years of solitude and doomed relationships, Keller has found true love?
Well, I'm sure not going to tell you that! Julia helps Keller rebuild his life, first through small things such as changing his appearance and then by helping him find other professional pursuits. Of course, the people who are after him aren't going to give up. And ultimately, Keller realizes that he needs to clear the slate if he is going to have any kind of future at all. So it's back on the road in an effort to untangle the plot against him.
HIT AND RUN is different from the first three books in this series in that it does not focus on the various hits that Keller is performing. Instead, the plot concentrates on how Keller was framed and what he does to clear himself. A large part of the book shows what he is doing to become an ordinary man with an ordinary life; it's a story of redemption. Although this was extremely well done, it was a bit disappointing not to participate vicariously in Keller's hit man schemes.
HIT AND RUN feels like the final book in the series. As it concludes, it doesn't seem possible that Keller could be tempted to take "one last job". But, of course, we said that at the end of the last book, so who knows? In any event, this has been a very satisfying series; and I can only wish Keller well.
September 24, 2014
Once more Keller at his last job before retirement, and from the beginning it all feels wrong. When a governor gets killed and his photograph appears in the media as being the face the killer, Keller knows he made some smart choices by trusting his instincts and gradually starts moving back to the big apple where he considers his home to be. It is only when he finds out about a house fire in which a dead body is found, shot twice, with its occupant identified that Keller knows that the good old days are over. His safe haven in New York gone, his stamps gone and Dot gone means that he is out there all alone. On the run for the law, on the run for those who set him up and not sure where to go anywhere but drift along.
When Keller saves a woman in the Big Easy it seems that life owes him a little chance to change his fortune.
Not a collection of shorts making one novel, but an actual full size novel on Keller's last assumed kill, which was not him to begin with. One story line from the previous novels gets its completion and we see Keller in a far more human and vulnerable situation losing everything he considered of worth in his life. The changes he goes through are easily understandable and can be considered growth. A brilliant final chapter of Keller.
There can be said something more about the quartet of Keller novels but that would be me spoiling your reading fun.
When Keller saves a woman in the Big Easy it seems that life owes him a little chance to change his fortune.
Not a collection of shorts making one novel, but an actual full size novel on Keller's last assumed kill, which was not him to begin with. One story line from the previous novels gets its completion and we see Keller in a far more human and vulnerable situation losing everything he considered of worth in his life. The changes he goes through are easily understandable and can be considered growth. A brilliant final chapter of Keller.
There can be said something more about the quartet of Keller novels but that would be me spoiling your reading fun.
December 20, 2013
Not sure what to think about this book or how to review it. Keller is a paid assassin. He kills people without regret for money. And sometimes he kills the lowly convenience store cashier because he identified him as wanted by the police, or maybe the inconveniently timed Jahova's Witness ringing the wrong doorbell at the wrong time. But it's lucrative. He's stashed away $2.5 million and an extensive stamp collection from the proceeds of his kills.
In short, this is the guy that in 99 percent of thillers, you're waiting for the hero to kill.
The guy you hate. But Keller is basically a nice guy. Sometimes he saves people, always cleans up after himself and won't hurt a dog.
This was my first Lawrence Block novel. It won't be my last. He's an extraordinary storyteller who gets your attention on the first page and never lets your attention waiver - even when discussing the nuances of stamp collecting.
I feel a bit guilty about rooting for the guy with 20 notches or more on his belt. But somehow you do.
In short, this is the guy that in 99 percent of thillers, you're waiting for the hero to kill.
The guy you hate. But Keller is basically a nice guy. Sometimes he saves people, always cleans up after himself and won't hurt a dog.
This was my first Lawrence Block novel. It won't be my last. He's an extraordinary storyteller who gets your attention on the first page and never lets your attention waiver - even when discussing the nuances of stamp collecting.
I feel a bit guilty about rooting for the guy with 20 notches or more on his belt. But somehow you do.
May 16, 2016
Fourth and originally meant to be the last of the Hit Man series featuring our favorite stamp collecting contract killer, Keller. (There is now a book 5.) Keller has been framed for a high profile assassination of a governor/presidential candidate and realizes life as he knows it is over. With no money or support, he struggles to make his way back to New York only to realize home isn't a safe place anymore. So where does he go? You'll have to read to find out. This is my favorite of the books so far as it more than any of the previous ones demonstrates Keller's personality, who he really is. I've occasionally thought that he seemed like the Forest Gump of hit men - smart, but an everyman taking things as they come. I hesitate to call him the evil Gump as he isn't so easily defined as that. But, this cross country adventure story leading up to the happy (mostly) ending just strikes a chord for me in a dark Gump tune. Highly recommend this series!
February 6, 2012
Don't bother. John Keller, killer-for-hire, is going to do "one last job" before he retires for good, but instead gets set up in the assassination of Iowa's governor. Sounds promising, right? Almost nothing happens in this book. The first half is just a narrative of Keller's thoughts and movements as he moves around the country thinking he's being pursued by the police and/or the anonymous people who hired him and set him up. The reader never gets to know what's happening, if anything,outside Keller's head. Very monotonous and repetitive. In the second half of the story, he manages to settle down and live a fairly normal existence. In the few instances where there is action, it gets explained rather than described; very boring. There's absolutely no suspense, and the only mystery is how it got the higher ratings on this site that it did.
January 13, 2009
This latest installment of Lawrence Block's series about hitman Keller has a nice Hitchcockian twist, at least at the beginning. Keller, sent to Iowa to kill some hapless shlub, instead finds himself set up to take the fall for the assassination of the charismatic governor of Ohio (who happens to be young, black, a gifted public speaker and running for President).
Hmm - wonder where he got that from?
Anyhoo, Keller has to go on the run. The cops want him, the bad guys want him, and he can't trust anybody.
So far, so good, but then he rescues a woman from being attacked by a serial nutcase in New orleans, they fall in love, he becomes a citizen, and then his past comes back with a vengeance and...
Blah blah blah.
This novel just runs out of gas.
Hmm - wonder where he got that from?
Anyhoo, Keller has to go on the run. The cops want him, the bad guys want him, and he can't trust anybody.
So far, so good, but then he rescues a woman from being attacked by a serial nutcase in New orleans, they fall in love, he becomes a citizen, and then his past comes back with a vengeance and...
Blah blah blah.
This novel just runs out of gas.
May 18, 2009
This was the very first novel by Lawrence Block I have ever read. Based on this, I will be reading more. (Just what I need--more books to add to the to be read pile....)
The summary given above from the book jacket tells you all you really need to know. I found the idea of 'hitman as hero' a bit disturbing. However, once started I could not stop as I had to see how he get Keller out of his predicament.
I found it a quck paced read, lots of interesting asides and I liked his style of dialogue. A very well written tale with lots of suspense thought the ending was a little disappointing for me.
Definitlely worth the time of any mystery reader.
The summary given above from the book jacket tells you all you really need to know. I found the idea of 'hitman as hero' a bit disturbing. However, once started I could not stop as I had to see how he get Keller out of his predicament.
I found it a quck paced read, lots of interesting asides and I liked his style of dialogue. A very well written tale with lots of suspense thought the ending was a little disappointing for me.
Definitlely worth the time of any mystery reader.
January 7, 2015
Was beginning to wonder where this series/character could go as there are only so many ways that an assassin can do his job and the series was beginning to get a bit samey but this one takes it in a new direction. Keller becomes the hunted rather than the hunter. He also starts a new life of ordinary domesticity (for a while). This feels like it could be the last book in the series but there is one more to go so will be reading that as soon as I can get hold of a copy. Very enjoyable series although not quite touching the heights of LB's Scudder books.
August 23, 2016
Great book! It's extremely easy to follow and supremely fun to read. Only issue I had was with one of the fight scenes, it was very silly and unrealistic, I've been doing martial arts for over 15 years. So poorly scripted fight scenes bother me. Other than that, this book is basically perfect!
January 5, 2017
It's a shame Block elected to once and for all retire Keller -- or maybe not. He is a great character -- right up there with other great fictional hit men. Do read the series from the beginning. It's like one continuous story line.
August 14, 2021
The book started out extraordinarily exciting, with a likable but amoral killer as the hero—a fascinating study in psychopathy. There was one flaw toward the beginning: for a man as paranoid as Keller, he does something that any reader will instantly recognize as obviously stupid, especially given his paranoia that this is some kind of a setup. Still, it’s at the beginning where one or two stupid things to set up the story is allowed.
But about halfway through the book the bottom drops out. There isn’t any point in Keller continuing, and the excuses are less excuses for Keller than for the writer.
Block cheapens Keller’s first killing. We know that Keller would have killed the guy anyway; and most of the reasons he was worth killing are discovered post-death. That they’re clichéd is not nearly as harmful as that they exist at all: it’s obvious that the man is made worth killing solely to assuage the author’s conscience. The information doesn’t change Keller’s behavior in the slightest. It does, however, cheapen the death.
Once Keller enters New Orleans he enters a fantasy paradise; he’s paranoid enough to risk losing this paradise for no reason, which could have been a tense read; but he risks—and especially the author—never challenge him in any way. It’s almost as if this book were more a gift to the main character than an offering to readers.
Even worse, Keller acts completely helpless until handed the solution on a silver platter. But this was unnecessary, sort of. When retrieving his life from his apartment he discovered it was trashed by the antagonist, and also discovers that a very unique collection was stolen because of its worth. It never occurs to him that tracking down this unique collection should lead him to the person he’s convinced is trying to kill him.
The supporting characters also seem to be fantasies. It’s hard to square the fluffy second half of the book with its exciting beginning.
But about halfway through the book the bottom drops out. There isn’t any point in Keller continuing, and the excuses are less excuses for Keller than for the writer.
Block cheapens Keller’s first killing. We know that Keller would have killed the guy anyway; and most of the reasons he was worth killing are discovered post-death. That they’re clichéd is not nearly as harmful as that they exist at all: it’s obvious that the man is made worth killing solely to assuage the author’s conscience. The information doesn’t change Keller’s behavior in the slightest. It does, however, cheapen the death.
Once Keller enters New Orleans he enters a fantasy paradise; he’s paranoid enough to risk losing this paradise for no reason, which could have been a tense read; but he risks—and especially the author—never challenge him in any way. It’s almost as if this book were more a gift to the main character than an offering to readers.
Even worse, Keller acts completely helpless until handed the solution on a silver platter. But this was unnecessary, sort of. When retrieving his life from his apartment he discovered it was trashed by the antagonist, and also discovers that a very unique collection was stolen because of its worth. It never occurs to him that tracking down this unique collection should lead him to the person he’s convinced is trying to kill him.
The supporting characters also seem to be fantasies. It’s hard to square the fluffy second half of the book with its exciting beginning.
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