Quarry's Ex

July 11, 2011
Set in 1980, Collins's lean, sardonic 10th noir featuring the killer-for-hire who uses the pseudonym Quarry (after Quarry in the Middle) finds Quarry in Boot Hill, Nev., earning his keep in an unusual way. Drawing on his knowledge of the hit-man world derived from his years of working for a murder middleman known as the Broker, Quarry identifies intended targets of hits, then charges a hefty fee to eliminate the hired guns out to kill them. When he learns of a plot against B-movie director Arthur Stockwell, Quarry discovers that Stockwell's wife is all too familiarâhis ex-wife, Joni, whose betrayal led the Vietnam vet to use his murderous talents in civilian life. Leary of coincidence, Quarry works to understand how he can fulfill his professional obligation to Stockwell without Joni getting caught in the middle, even as he wonders whether she's behind the contract. Collins amply leavens the violence with wit.

August 2, 2010
The ninth Quarry novel (after Quarry in the Middle) finds Jack Quarry, hit man with a difference, still going down a list of planned hits from his former boss, the Broker. He tracks down the Broker's targets and offers to remove the threat... for a fee. This time out it's 1980 and Quarry's in Boot Heel, Nev., a small gambling town where the latest target, director Arthur Stockwell, is filming an action movie. Quarry knows who the hit men are, but he doesn't know who ordered the hit. Suspects abound: Stockwell's betrayed wife, a spurned starlet, the mob boss financing the film. Quarry is discreet and up to the task, even when his own hated ex-wife turns out to be married to Stockwell. Fans will enjoy the violence, sex, and glimpses into Quarry's past in this perfect piece of sardonic pulp noir.