QUARRY’S CHOICE
By Max Allan Collins
Hard Case Crime
227 pages
If you’re a fan of hard-hitting crime novels, a new Quarry book is always a case for celebration. “Quarry’s Choice,” is no exception. In this one, Collins takes us back in time to the early 70s when our Vietnam vet hero was establishing himself as a killer for hire. When someone tries to shoot the Broker, the man who employs him, Quarry is sent south to Biloxi, Mississippi to repay the favor in kind. Finding himself in land of the notorious Dixie Mafia, he must thread carefully, finding himself very much a stranger in a strange land.
At the same time Quarry is saddled a young stripper/prostitute named Luann who manages to wiggle her way through his pragmatic, hard-shelled exterior and do what few people have ever done, reach his heart. Thus, while attempting to complete a difficult job, discern who his real enemies are and survive a savage ambush, Quarry must also grapple with his own feelings towards this naïve blond beauty. Is she a liability he can ill afford? And if so, in the end, will he be forced to see her as just another target?
“Quarry’s Choice,” moves at a speed just slightly over the limit like a smooth oiled literary machine with enough pick up and power to carry the reader to a damn satisfying finale. Trust me, like his hero, Collins never misses.
