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Quarry #10
Quarry's Ex
Even the enigmatic hit man called Quarry had to start somewhere. And for him that was the day he returned stateside from Nam to find his young wife cheating. He'd killed plenty overseas, so killing her lover was no big deal.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
51 people are currently reading
413 people want to read
About the author
Max Allan Collins
802 books1,321 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 83 reviews
April 20, 2023
As detailed in the First Quarry, Quarry is a former Vietnam veteran whose real name is never disclosed to the reader. He comes back, finds his fiancé,Joanie, in bed with another guy, finds that guy working under his car and kicks the jack out, survives a murder trial, and is then recruited by a mysterious figure named the Broker to carry out hits and we don't mean hits in baseball.
In Quarry's Ex, Quarry no longer works for the Broker, who is no longer among the living. Rather, Quarry has obtained the Broker's lists of contacts and he follows the hired assassins, staking them out and figuring out who their prey is. Once he is confident in that information, he offers a deal to the targets, he will, for a price, take out their hitmen and find whoever is the responsible party. I guess everyone needs a career doing something.
Here, Quarry follows a hitman team to a small gambling town in Nevada, a town which seems to have a Western theme. The target is a Hollywood film director who is bankrolled by Mob money, protected by a phalanx of balding wannabe bikers, and married to Quarry's Ex-wife, the legendary Joanie who hasn't lost her fabulous figure in the fifteen years since he last saw her. Does he want to kill her or have sex with her, she asks. Maybe both, he answers.
The star of the show is a Playboy centerfold who is out to make her way to the top whatever it takes. Quarry offers to interview her as part of his publicity work. Of course, it doesn't help that she's the mobster's gal and she had an affair with the director.
This is a typical Quarry book filled with humor, bodies dropping left and right, and terrific writing from start to finish. Collins doesn't try to make these stories some magnum opus. Instead, he concentrates on what he does best -- telling a story.
In Quarry's Ex, Quarry no longer works for the Broker, who is no longer among the living. Rather, Quarry has obtained the Broker's lists of contacts and he follows the hired assassins, staking them out and figuring out who their prey is. Once he is confident in that information, he offers a deal to the targets, he will, for a price, take out their hitmen and find whoever is the responsible party. I guess everyone needs a career doing something.
Here, Quarry follows a hitman team to a small gambling town in Nevada, a town which seems to have a Western theme. The target is a Hollywood film director who is bankrolled by Mob money, protected by a phalanx of balding wannabe bikers, and married to Quarry's Ex-wife, the legendary Joanie who hasn't lost her fabulous figure in the fifteen years since he last saw her. Does he want to kill her or have sex with her, she asks. Maybe both, he answers.
The star of the show is a Playboy centerfold who is out to make her way to the top whatever it takes. Quarry offers to interview her as part of his publicity work. Of course, it doesn't help that she's the mobster's gal and she had an affair with the director.
This is a typical Quarry book filled with humor, bodies dropping left and right, and terrific writing from start to finish. Collins doesn't try to make these stories some magnum opus. Instead, he concentrates on what he does best -- telling a story.
July 12, 2023
a quick hitman story about forgiving the lying ex that broke your heart in two and made you a remorseless killer.
you know, stuff we all relate to.
quarry’s ex is surprisingly solid entry in the quarry series. not as good as “the last quarry” but the indie movie setting here is a fun twist that reminds me how important the milieu of any book is. the movie set angle made this extra enjoyable for me, but it’s the scenes between quarry and his ex that nudge the book over the line for me. some real nice stuff there.
i also dug how it all came together thematically at the end, which is what collins is so good at when he’s writing well.
it’s a chill recommend if you don’t need all your stories to be trying for the pulitzer. if not, you’ll be rewarded with quick, fun and pulpy bedside read, like those old slim one-time-use paperbacks of the 90s.
easy breezy neo-noir.
you know, stuff we all relate to.
quarry’s ex is surprisingly solid entry in the quarry series. not as good as “the last quarry” but the indie movie setting here is a fun twist that reminds me how important the milieu of any book is. the movie set angle made this extra enjoyable for me, but it’s the scenes between quarry and his ex that nudge the book over the line for me. some real nice stuff there.
i also dug how it all came together thematically at the end, which is what collins is so good at when he’s writing well.
it’s a chill recommend if you don’t need all your stories to be trying for the pulitzer. if not, you’ll be rewarded with quick, fun and pulpy bedside read, like those old slim one-time-use paperbacks of the 90s.
easy breezy neo-noir.
December 17, 2013
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Especially if you’re a hit man and you’ve killed several people while there.
Quarry used to just murder people for money, but he now he works a new angle. Using info he accumulated while in the business, he now tracks other hit men while they’re getting ready to kill their latest target, and then he approaches the marks with an offer to dispose of the other hit men first. For a bonus fee, he’ll try to figure out who paid for the contract.
This gig has brought Quarry to Vegas where he finds a couple of killers working on setting up an accident for a movie director working on a new film. Quarry persuades the director to engage his services, but there’s a big complication when it turns out that his ex-wife is involved with the movie production. Since Quarry’s life of crime started after he murdered the man he caught her cheating on him with, this makes the situation just a little touchy…
The Quarry series got revitalized by the Hard Case Crime line, and they’re among the most reliable of their books. They aren’t knock-outs, but they’re pretty entertaining. Since Quarry has been established as older and retired in previous books before he found new life with HCC, these are set in the past, and Collins has some funs with his ‘80s setting in this one with things like casual comments about how the rising popularity of VHS is changing the movie business.
The idea that he’s a hit man targeting other hit man allows Collins to have his cake and eat it too by making Quarry a murderous anti-hero but giving him noble enough motives that you don’t feel too bad for rooting for him since the people he kills are all ‘bad’. It’s a bit of a cop out, but done well enough that it’s not overly bothersome, and Quarry still has enough of an unsavory edge you’d expect from a hired killer.
Quarry used to just murder people for money, but he now he works a new angle. Using info he accumulated while in the business, he now tracks other hit men while they’re getting ready to kill their latest target, and then he approaches the marks with an offer to dispose of the other hit men first. For a bonus fee, he’ll try to figure out who paid for the contract.
This gig has brought Quarry to Vegas where he finds a couple of killers working on setting up an accident for a movie director working on a new film. Quarry persuades the director to engage his services, but there’s a big complication when it turns out that his ex-wife is involved with the movie production. Since Quarry’s life of crime started after he murdered the man he caught her cheating on him with, this makes the situation just a little touchy…
The Quarry series got revitalized by the Hard Case Crime line, and they’re among the most reliable of their books. They aren’t knock-outs, but they’re pretty entertaining. Since Quarry has been established as older and retired in previous books before he found new life with HCC, these are set in the past, and Collins has some funs with his ‘80s setting in this one with things like casual comments about how the rising popularity of VHS is changing the movie business.
The idea that he’s a hit man targeting other hit man allows Collins to have his cake and eat it too by making Quarry a murderous anti-hero but giving him noble enough motives that you don’t feel too bad for rooting for him since the people he kills are all ‘bad’. It’s a bit of a cop out, but done well enough that it’s not overly bothersome, and Quarry still has enough of an unsavory edge you’d expect from a hired killer.
September 26, 2011
Quarry's working with a movie director to stop the guys hired to kill him and find out who hired them. Too bad the last person Quarry expected to see again is complicating matters... his ex-wife.
The Hard Case Crime series is back and they've brought Quarry with them. Quarry is the same old methodical hitman he's been in the other Hard Case Quarry books. After reading the Perfect Crime reprints of the early Quarry books, it was nice to read one of the ones written once Max Allan Collins had a bit more seasoning. Quarry doesn't make the stupid mistakes that impared my enjoyment of the the reprints.
The plot is a pretty good one, although superficially it's a bit like Quarry's Cut. Movie man in trouble, Quarry comes in to save the day for big pile of cash. The addition of Quarry's much talked about ex-wife to the mix, while interesting, doesn't really do all that much for the story. It's like she was thrown in so the title Quarry's Ex could be used. I had a feeling I knew who was behind the hitmen gunning for Arthur Stockwell but it was still a good ending.
One thing I noticed about this one was some subtle humor. Eric Conrad is a dead ringer for Tom Cruise and I snorted when Quarry mentioned that Collateral Damage would be a good title for a move.
Any complaints? Well, for some reason I always find MAC's sex scenes a little creepy. Not sure why. Quarry's Ex is a good entry to the Hard Case Crime series. I wouldn't say it's my favorite Quarry, though.
The Hard Case Crime series is back and they've brought Quarry with them. Quarry is the same old methodical hitman he's been in the other Hard Case Quarry books. After reading the Perfect Crime reprints of the early Quarry books, it was nice to read one of the ones written once Max Allan Collins had a bit more seasoning. Quarry doesn't make the stupid mistakes that impared my enjoyment of the the reprints.
The plot is a pretty good one, although superficially it's a bit like Quarry's Cut. Movie man in trouble, Quarry comes in to save the day for big pile of cash. The addition of Quarry's much talked about ex-wife to the mix, while interesting, doesn't really do all that much for the story. It's like she was thrown in so the title Quarry's Ex could be used. I had a feeling I knew who was behind the hitmen gunning for Arthur Stockwell but it was still a good ending.
One thing I noticed about this one was some subtle humor. Eric Conrad is a dead ringer for Tom Cruise and I snorted when Quarry mentioned that Collateral Damage would be a good title for a move.
Any complaints? Well, for some reason I always find MAC's sex scenes a little creepy. Not sure why. Quarry's Ex is a good entry to the Hard Case Crime series. I wouldn't say it's my favorite Quarry, though.
July 20, 2021
Jul2021 review: Same as the last time, but I listened to this in audio. Stefan Rudnicki does a great job.
Jan2015 review: It was fun to read Quarry again, although there was a lot of back story in this one. Not sure it all meshed right with the previous books, but it was still enjoyable. It was nice meeting his ex, too. It was short without too many convolutions & typically Quarry. He's a rather strange & cold guy.
It's a shame HCC has gone to the trade size. I have all their originals & they look great together, but they no longer fit the shelf properly. I don't care for this size to carry as much, either. In keeping with their retro covers, they should have stayed properly pocket paperback. I won't fault the text of the book for that, just the publisher.
Jan2015 review: It was fun to read Quarry again, although there was a lot of back story in this one. Not sure it all meshed right with the previous books, but it was still enjoyable. It was nice meeting his ex, too. It was short without too many convolutions & typically Quarry. He's a rather strange & cold guy.
It's a shame HCC has gone to the trade size. I have all their originals & they look great together, but they no longer fit the shelf properly. I don't care for this size to carry as much, either. In keeping with their retro covers, they should have stayed properly pocket paperback. I won't fault the text of the book for that, just the publisher.
June 1, 2025
Quarry’s Ex is his wife, the one he caught cheating on him when he came back from Vietnam a day early. This betrayal and his reaction to it is part of what led “Quarry” to kill for money. Though actually it was because he’d been a sniper in the war and, as the Broker said, he should be making real money doing what he’d done for free.
A couple books ago the series kind of reset, time wise. I think this one takes place in1980. The Empire Strikes Back is on a movie theater marquee.
The former wife is back of course.
Ever since “Quarry” killed the Broker and took his List of Hitmen (& a couple Hitwomen) he’s been following these killers, identifying their target, then asking the supposed victim for double the money to protect them and kill the Hitman.
A couple books ago the series kind of reset, time wise. I think this one takes place in1980. The Empire Strikes Back is on a movie theater marquee.
The former wife is back of course.
Ever since “Quarry” killed the Broker and took his List of Hitmen (& a couple Hitwomen) he’s been following these killers, identifying their target, then asking the supposed victim for double the money to protect them and kill the Hitman.
June 7, 2018
This is book ten in the series of novels featuring hitman Quarry, but as it is set at the start of his career it doesn't require knowledge of his other adventures.
Max Allan Collins has a simple style of writing that flows beautifully. I found myself half way through the book in no time. In fact I preferred his writing style to the story itself. It's an adequate novel that passes the time well enough, but it doesn't inspire me to pick up another book by the same author.
Max Allan Collins has a simple style of writing that flows beautifully. I found myself half way through the book in no time. In fact I preferred his writing style to the story itself. It's an adequate novel that passes the time well enough, but it doesn't inspire me to pick up another book by the same author.
February 15, 2024
The first kill in this book was super gruesome but necessary. This installment is post The Broker.
We finally get to meet the original Mrs. Quarry and she was not what I expected. Quarry’s Ex wife.
This book doesn’t go how you think it will. The most obviously guilty people are innocent. Quarry is best at ferreting out the truly bad guys.
This one concludes and I’m conflicted by the ending. I know why he did it but it still was me hmmmm
🧐🧐
We finally get to meet the original Mrs. Quarry and she was not what I expected. Quarry’s Ex wife.
This book doesn’t go how you think it will. The most obviously guilty people are innocent. Quarry is best at ferreting out the truly bad guys.
This one concludes and I’m conflicted by the ending. I know why he did it but it still was me hmmmm
🧐🧐
December 3, 2017
I just finished QUARRY’S EX, an excellent entry in the QUARRY series by Max Allan Collins about an anti-hero murder-for-hire hitman. As with all the novels in the series, the first-person narration is conversational , humorous, and compelling.
There are two kinds of Quarry novels: 1. Ones where Quarry is hired to kill someone and 2. Ones where Quarry is hired to stop a another hitman from killing someone. Both types are equally great. In QUARRY’S EX, our hero follows a hit-man to the on-location filming of a movie to determine who is about to be killed and prevent the murder from happening.
Along the way, he gets entangled with a woman from his past, several Hollywood bozos, and a mobster b-movie financier. There’s plenty of sex and violence along with an actual mystery to be solved.
The books were written in both the 1970s and the 2000s with a large publication gap in the middle of the series. The publication order is not the series order. The series begins and ends respectively with The First Quarry and the Last Quarry. Beyond that, reading order doesn’t really matter. There is no discernible difference in quality between the 1970s-written installments and the 2000’s. All of them take place in the post-Vietnam 1970s and early 1980’s.
I’ve never read a bad Quarry novel, and this one doesn’t disappoint. Highly recommended for hardboiled genre fans.
There are two kinds of Quarry novels: 1. Ones where Quarry is hired to kill someone and 2. Ones where Quarry is hired to stop a another hitman from killing someone. Both types are equally great. In QUARRY’S EX, our hero follows a hit-man to the on-location filming of a movie to determine who is about to be killed and prevent the murder from happening.
Along the way, he gets entangled with a woman from his past, several Hollywood bozos, and a mobster b-movie financier. There’s plenty of sex and violence along with an actual mystery to be solved.
The books were written in both the 1970s and the 2000s with a large publication gap in the middle of the series. The publication order is not the series order. The series begins and ends respectively with The First Quarry and the Last Quarry. Beyond that, reading order doesn’t really matter. There is no discernible difference in quality between the 1970s-written installments and the 2000’s. All of them take place in the post-Vietnam 1970s and early 1980’s.
I’ve never read a bad Quarry novel, and this one doesn’t disappoint. Highly recommended for hardboiled genre fans.
July 2, 2022
Quarry’s Ex (2011) (Quarry #10) by Max Allan Collins. Quarry has long stopped being a hitman. Now he is a hitman preventer, stopping the hitters before they get their target. Quarry is an anti-hero if you will. But he is a pretty good one, if you like the stand-offish type.
Now he is in a small casino town about 70 miles from Vegas. How he got the information about the up-coming hit, I don’t know. It isn’t explained in the book but you must assume Quarry has some insider information even at this late date. Anyway, the target is a film director working in and around town. It is a B movie but it might bring the director back to the A List. But not if he’s dead.
Quarry talks the man into using his unique skills to protect him, especially easy as Quarry has killed the set-up man of the hit duo. Now Quarry just has to find and stop the kill part of the team, a man who disguises his kills by making them look like accidents. That is the easy part of the job.
Harder is finding the person who ordered the hit. Quarry tracks through the movie sets and comes up with two likely candidates. There is the Mob boss who has put the money up for the film. His motives are slim but he is a Mob boss
The other is the director’s younger wife. She might be mad at him for his carousing ways, or is looking for all the property without messing with a divorce.
Did I mention this is the lady of the book’s title?
Quarry has to stay in control of the situation without getting himself killed, and still discover who is behind it all. As usual there is some semi-graphic sex tossed in, as well as a behind the scenes look at how movies are made. In all, not the best of the series but more than adequate for a summer beach read. And again Hard Case Crime has produced another in their large series of first rate thrillers/crime novels.
Now he is in a small casino town about 70 miles from Vegas. How he got the information about the up-coming hit, I don’t know. It isn’t explained in the book but you must assume Quarry has some insider information even at this late date. Anyway, the target is a film director working in and around town. It is a B movie but it might bring the director back to the A List. But not if he’s dead.
Quarry talks the man into using his unique skills to protect him, especially easy as Quarry has killed the set-up man of the hit duo. Now Quarry just has to find and stop the kill part of the team, a man who disguises his kills by making them look like accidents. That is the easy part of the job.
Harder is finding the person who ordered the hit. Quarry tracks through the movie sets and comes up with two likely candidates. There is the Mob boss who has put the money up for the film. His motives are slim but he is a Mob boss
The other is the director’s younger wife. She might be mad at him for his carousing ways, or is looking for all the property without messing with a divorce.
Did I mention this is the lady of the book’s title?
Quarry has to stay in control of the situation without getting himself killed, and still discover who is behind it all. As usual there is some semi-graphic sex tossed in, as well as a behind the scenes look at how movies are made. In all, not the best of the series but more than adequate for a summer beach read. And again Hard Case Crime has produced another in their large series of first rate thrillers/crime novels.
September 27, 2011
Really a prequel to the other Quarry books. This one had the least plausible plot, I thought. Quarry is well into his role as hitman of hitmen, in the service of those who have become targets. Those who have read any of the other Quarry novels will have already have numerous pieces to Quarry’s back-story: how he came to be recruited by the Broker, the betrayal by his ex-wife, his time in Vietnam. That he would meet his ex-wife as the wife of a B-movie director who has been targeted for assassination *and* run into part of the team assigned to perform the hit struck me as coincidences beyond the possible.
Nevertheless, all the Quarry stories are just plain fun, and this one is no exception.
Nevertheless, all the Quarry stories are just plain fun, and this one is no exception.
June 21, 2012
I read this yesterday stuck for 3 hours in some desert airport in Yemen in Riyan on my way to east Somalia. Thankfully this was the best Quarry book I have read so far. Crisp prose,clear strong voice of Quarry who had his nasty,witty humor while he was being ice old killer. These books are short but like The first Quarry was near perfect story for this type of novel. The mystery of who put the contract on Art Stockwell had me guessing until the end.
October 13, 2019
9/10
208 pages
208 pages
April 29, 2022
Still quick & entertaining but this series gets less and less plausible the further it goes. Plot wise, this is the worst one yet.
June 28, 2014
For a 10-book series (soon to be 11), Max Allan Collins' Quarry novels have been remarkably consistent.
True, there is a predictable formula at work in each one, but this series never feels like a by-the-numbers retread like Robert Parker's Jesse Stone novels or Donald Westlake's Alan Grofield mysteries.
How does Collins do this? First, he keeps each book short (I'm a slow reader, and I can finish a Quarry adventure in less time than it takes to smoke two cigars). Second, he divided Quarry's life into three distinct phases; each book follows a more or less defined formula within its respective phase. The phases are:
1. Assassin-for-hire (The First Quarry, Quarry's Choice, Quarry)
2. Targets other assassins (Quarry's List, Quarry's Deal, Quarry's Cut, Quarry's Ex, The Wrong Quarry, Quarry in the Middle)
3. Semi-retired (Quarry's Vote, The Last Quarry)
Quarry's Ex occurs in 1980, squarely in the "Targets others assassins" phase of life, a few years after the events of Quarry's Cut and before The Wrong Quarry. Quarry finds himself on the set of a mob-financed Hollywood B-film shoot dodging hit men, thieves, and bikers while trying to save an over-the-hill movie director who, coincidentally, has married Quarry's ex-wife.
All in all, it's good fun although I was disappointed that the ex-wife was not more of a factor in the plot. Her arrival on the scene added emotional subtext and gave Quarry personal closure, but this really was a subplot, not the driving force of the story, as implied by the title and the back cover blurbs.
True, there is a predictable formula at work in each one, but this series never feels like a by-the-numbers retread like Robert Parker's Jesse Stone novels or Donald Westlake's Alan Grofield mysteries.
How does Collins do this? First, he keeps each book short (I'm a slow reader, and I can finish a Quarry adventure in less time than it takes to smoke two cigars). Second, he divided Quarry's life into three distinct phases; each book follows a more or less defined formula within its respective phase. The phases are:
1. Assassin-for-hire (The First Quarry, Quarry's Choice, Quarry)
2. Targets other assassins (Quarry's List, Quarry's Deal, Quarry's Cut, Quarry's Ex, The Wrong Quarry, Quarry in the Middle)
3. Semi-retired (Quarry's Vote, The Last Quarry)
Quarry's Ex occurs in 1980, squarely in the "Targets others assassins" phase of life, a few years after the events of Quarry's Cut and before The Wrong Quarry. Quarry finds himself on the set of a mob-financed Hollywood B-film shoot dodging hit men, thieves, and bikers while trying to save an over-the-hill movie director who, coincidentally, has married Quarry's ex-wife.
All in all, it's good fun although I was disappointed that the ex-wife was not more of a factor in the plot. Her arrival on the scene added emotional subtext and gave Quarry personal closure, but this really was a subplot, not the driving force of the story, as implied by the title and the back cover blurbs.
January 9, 2012
In 'Quarry's Ex', Max Allan Collins delves deep into the surface tension between the hitman's hitman and his former wife Joni. Well established is their bloody history, with the former flame credited with paving Quarry's bullet riddled, body bagged road, for it's her deception that leads him to the Broker and a life built on ending others.
In this latest installment, a prequel, Quarry enters the movie business having tracked a former hitman hired to knock off a b-grade director. From there he sweet talks the target into hiring his services to quash the hit and find those responsible. Aside from Joni and a snippet of Quarry's army days, the story itself was run of mill, proceeding more like a who-done-it than murder for hire hitman. While Max Allan Collins did a great job at recreating the 80's feel and replicating the pulp veneer of yesteryear in perfecting Quarry's dark and brooding past, this trek back in time lacked some of the polish of his earlier Quarry novels. A Quick Quarry to satisfy the hunger for hitmen - 3 stars.
In this latest installment, a prequel, Quarry enters the movie business having tracked a former hitman hired to knock off a b-grade director. From there he sweet talks the target into hiring his services to quash the hit and find those responsible. Aside from Joni and a snippet of Quarry's army days, the story itself was run of mill, proceeding more like a who-done-it than murder for hire hitman. While Max Allan Collins did a great job at recreating the 80's feel and replicating the pulp veneer of yesteryear in perfecting Quarry's dark and brooding past, this trek back in time lacked some of the polish of his earlier Quarry novels. A Quick Quarry to satisfy the hunger for hitmen - 3 stars.
September 21, 2011
Hard Case crime is back!. Today HCC is officially back in business. QUARRY'S EX is one of two that hit the markets today.
In his early thirties, Quarry is still up to his old tricks. Using the list he got from the Broker, he finds a hit man, follows him until he determines the target, then approaches said target offering to save his life, for a fee of course, and get rid of the hit man.
What he never expected was to run into, right in the middle of the whole mess, his ex-wife, the woman who unknowingly set his life on the course it had taken.
We had to wait an extra year for this one. But, man, it was worth the wait.
Recommended.
In his early thirties, Quarry is still up to his old tricks. Using the list he got from the Broker, he finds a hit man, follows him until he determines the target, then approaches said target offering to save his life, for a fee of course, and get rid of the hit man.
What he never expected was to run into, right in the middle of the whole mess, his ex-wife, the woman who unknowingly set his life on the course it had taken.
We had to wait an extra year for this one. But, man, it was worth the wait.
Recommended.
December 27, 2011
I don't know why I keep reading these Quarry novels, but I do. Quarry is a fairly interesting character, and the concept of a hit man who targets hit men is a good hook. However, the books are predictable, and Quarry relies on both coincidence and extreme generalizations in order to solace these mysteries. The conclusion to this book, in particular, doesn't make much sense if examined closely. It's a quick read, though.
June 23, 2016
I've read nine of the Quarry books. This was not one of his better books. If you were going to skip one of the books in the series this would be the one. I gave Quarry's Ex 3 stars.
February 17, 2021
Good story. Fast paced, as usual. Quarry gets his man, sort of. I enjoyed it.
March 4, 2025
Another great pulp action story from Max Allan Collins. This is my tenth book featuring Quarry, the hitman who targets other hitmen (and assorted bad guys). True pulp fiction here, be prepared for casual sex, drugs, and some outdated stereotypes.
Quarry is following one of his old coworkers to a small Nevada town where the target is a Hollywood movie director. The director is backed by mob money, security is provided by a biker gang, and the starlet of the film is a former Playboy bunny who is the mistress of a gangster.... what could possibly go wrong? Oh yeah, when Quarry gets there he finds out that the director is married to his ex-wife, the ex-wife who he caught in bed with a lover when he got home a day early from Vietnam, a lover whom he killed. Can Quarry find out who ordered the hit and stop the killing before his whole world comes tumbling down?
Hard, fast violence. Raunchy sex. Double-crosses and hidden motives. Just another fun outing with Quarry.
Quarry is following one of his old coworkers to a small Nevada town where the target is a Hollywood movie director. The director is backed by mob money, security is provided by a biker gang, and the starlet of the film is a former Playboy bunny who is the mistress of a gangster.... what could possibly go wrong? Oh yeah, when Quarry gets there he finds out that the director is married to his ex-wife, the ex-wife who he caught in bed with a lover when he got home a day early from Vietnam, a lover whom he killed. Can Quarry find out who ordered the hit and stop the killing before his whole world comes tumbling down?
Hard, fast violence. Raunchy sex. Double-crosses and hidden motives. Just another fun outing with Quarry.
December 23, 2024
… another fast-paced and sexy Quarry novel; this tenth instalment takes us all the way back to Quarry’s origin story. Just home from Vietnam, Quarry discovers his wife is having an affair and he kills her paramour: this whole situation sets him on the path to becoming the hitman he is today.
Now in small-town Nevada on a B-movie set, Quarry unexpectedly runs into his ex-wife, as he strives to protect her infamous director husband from the bounty on his head. Stoic but glib Quarry goes head to head with Hollywood phoneys as he kills off a few more killers in creative ways.
This one was great until the denouement, which was a little weak for such an action-packed instalment. Once again, if you’re not listening to the Audible version narrated by Stefan Rudnicki, you’re doing yourself a disservice.
Now in small-town Nevada on a B-movie set, Quarry unexpectedly runs into his ex-wife, as he strives to protect her infamous director husband from the bounty on his head. Stoic but glib Quarry goes head to head with Hollywood phoneys as he kills off a few more killers in creative ways.
This one was great until the denouement, which was a little weak for such an action-packed instalment. Once again, if you’re not listening to the Audible version narrated by Stefan Rudnicki, you’re doing yourself a disservice.
June 30, 2025
Collins, Max - Quarry’s Ex
Quarry is Collins’ gravy train, professional hitman, although by now, quasi retired.
He makes a living offering services to targets, dropping the killers and snuffing whoever hired.
Noir pulp all the way, in the vein of Mickey Spillane.
Quarry runs into his two-timing ex, Joni, now married to a director of exploitation flicks.
Joni is curvy and is still sexy. So is Tiffany, lead actress, ex-Playmate Of The Year.
So is Ginger, one of the young production team gofers. Waitresses, maids? All attractive.
Women are dolls, men vary from bikers to mobsters.
This provides a bit of a backstory, younger days, his progression into the world of contracts.
Collins writes old-fashioned, two-fisted stories for men.
If you enjoy those kind of novels, you should like this one.
Quarry is Collins’ gravy train, professional hitman, although by now, quasi retired.
He makes a living offering services to targets, dropping the killers and snuffing whoever hired.
Noir pulp all the way, in the vein of Mickey Spillane.
Quarry runs into his two-timing ex, Joni, now married to a director of exploitation flicks.
Joni is curvy and is still sexy. So is Tiffany, lead actress, ex-Playmate Of The Year.
So is Ginger, one of the young production team gofers. Waitresses, maids? All attractive.
Women are dolls, men vary from bikers to mobsters.
This provides a bit of a backstory, younger days, his progression into the world of contracts.
Collins writes old-fashioned, two-fisted stories for men.
If you enjoy those kind of novels, you should like this one.
Read
June 2, 2025@therealhardcasecrime 102 finished #quarrysex by #maxallancollins published in 2011. The hitman of hitmen #quarry is back and this time he encounters his ex wife while he is on a job. The second chapter provides a good recap of quarry’s origin. As usual this is a fine pulp novel. Short and quick. Brutal in places. Gratuitous sex. Slightly less humour than some of the entries in the series. Quarry takes direct action throughout most of the book but he meanders a little in the middle when he could have just got on with the job. The scenes between him and his ex-wife were probably the best part. Interesting to see that side of him.
February 23, 2018
This is the third Quary book I've read in the
series, and even though the premise would
seem to make the whole series formulaic,
the author does manage to change it up
so each story does not sound like the one
before it.
This time, Quarry is preventing a killing as
the author's curve ball plot. It works. Still
nice and pulp-y, and of course Quarry has
his way with a couple of women.
A quick entertaining read.
series, and even though the premise would
seem to make the whole series formulaic,
the author does manage to change it up
so each story does not sound like the one
before it.
This time, Quarry is preventing a killing as
the author's curve ball plot. It works. Still
nice and pulp-y, and of course Quarry has
his way with a couple of women.
A quick entertaining read.
October 14, 2017
The story slows down a bit when the nigh-mandatory recitation of Quarry's backstory begins )an even longer section than usual since a major piece of the backstory is a player in the fore-story as well, as the title implies). The location so far from the Mississippi is also an outlier for the series. Both of these quibbles are overcome by the brisk pace, expected action and obligatory sex.
December 12, 2022
Max Allan Collins did not write this.
ghost written rubbish.
hey ghost writer at least do your research and check if this story had been done before.
its called Quarry's Cut you big fake. in the other fake books hes lip reading ?why hes never done that and so racist.
Max Allan Collins why did you allow this.
ghost written rubbish.
hey ghost writer at least do your research and check if this story had been done before.
its called Quarry's Cut you big fake. in the other fake books hes lip reading ?why hes never done that and so racist.
Max Allan Collins why did you allow this.
November 29, 2023
I'm ADDICTED! First of all...the narrator's voice is just the SEXIEST (*fan girl screams*AHHHHHHHHHHH!) His voice sounds exactly like what I would imagine Quarry's voice to sound like. Deep, sexy, sweet and dangerous. Quarry's personality is also appealing. i love the story line and can't wait to read AWLL the books in this series.
May 27, 2024
Ugh, I really didn't like anything about this book. It felt like a paint-by-numbers exercise without tension or any reason to care about any of the two-dimensional characters. The main character, Quarry, is crass, foul mouthed, juvenile, hypocritical, and no better than the people he glibly and remorselessly kills.
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