The Hired Gun

by Matthew Branton

THE STATESMAN'S YEARBOOK 2014 is a Core Collections Star Title, as awarded by EBSCO. This classic reference work presents a political, economic and social account of every country of the world... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1932112030
• ISBN13: 9781932112030
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Justin, Charles and Company
• Length: 213 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.5" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

Literary hitmen

John Decker is a contract killer. The best, in fact. He's also getting older. And someone is out to take his place. He waits for this Contender to seek him out, but is instead confronted with Olsen, a fast-talking, brash hitman in his twenties who insists he's not the Contender and only wants to work for Decker. Decker is unsure, but both men have lost their Postmen and are now adrift without jobs or protection, so reluctantly he agrees to team up and teach Olsen some tricks in exchange for a second pair of eyes as they track down the force trying to destroy them.The first third of THE HIRED GUN reads like a noir/action film, complete with the killers in their racy black cars and wraparound shades meeting out in the desert with their guns in hand and the blood red sun setting in the background. But as soon as Decker and Olsen get hooked up, the story shifts into an almost literary tale of crooked relationships. I grew so attached to both men that the ending left me feeling hollow inside. I wanted them, hitmen though they are, to succeed. Normally, I'd have a good laugh at scenes where two contract killers sit around in a car on a stakeout discussing the hardships of the Life, but THE HIRED GUN is so well written that instead I was touched and saddened. The plot seems haphazard (I did not even understand all of it), but the characters are convincing enough I hardly noticed. What THE HIRED GUN lacks, for its genre, is the usual flying blood and spilling guts. The one torture scene is hilarious, not painful. The author's attempt to turn a potboiler into a literary work may not satisfy the genre's fans, but as someone who usually winces her way through the violence of the typical noir tale, I enjoyed this variation of the same old theme.If you're into hardcore noir, steer clear. But if you think you'd like a book about contract killers with hearts, I recommend giving THE HIRED GUN a try.Anna Klein