A slow death for John Keller
Lawrence Block is one of my favorite writers. And I greatly enjoyed his previous John Keller stories and books. For instance, I have read "Hit Man" twice already. And I will read it again. Block's latest Keller novel, "Hit and Run", however, has been a huge disappointment for me. It's very slow, overlong, and somewhat repetitive. A few years back, Block would have wrapped exactly the same plot into a sharp, witty short story. In fact, that's what it seems to me: An average short story blown up to novel size. I'd say Block was right when he said that he may be "turning into a wordy old bastard" (Lawrence Block, foreword of "Enough Rope").

Who would like "Hit and Run"? I'll tell you...
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1XBW6P4DPB0P4 Would you like Lawrence Block's Hit and Run? Would it make a good gift? In this video review I do not give away the story, but I do tell you who would like this book. Frank Derfler, author of "A Glint in Time"

The latest in a nice series
The second " Keller " novel I've read; looking forward to completing the series. Keller is an interesting hit man who is resourceful and likable even though his profession is killing people. Nice resolution to this novel; interesting minor characters. Very readable.

Well, add another half-star for old times' sake...
This appears to be the final novel we will get from Larry Block about the world's nicest hit man, John Paul Keller. It must have been tough for the author to lead Keller into retirement. Here he gives it a great try, but the final result seems just a little flat, compared to the sustained excitement of the other Keller entries. Block, over the years, made us care for this hired assassin, and not just care, but root for him. Keller took the lives of strangers, but for the most part, they were "bad" people. In each novel, Keller goes on a dishonorable mission and somehow behaves only honorably, or at worst, when he dispatches a person who does not seem to deserve it, we understand the necessity for him to do the act. In this one, we learn a lot about cross-country escapes on a budget, and Keller finds someone to love and love him back, and we grieve for Keller's only friend until an unexpected possible happy ending shows up. Yet the happy ending does seem contrived, and the dispatching of Keller's new arch-enemy is undramatic. If you loved the prior entries in this series, you will want to read this one. If you are not familiar with this character, go back and read the earlier volumes first.

The finale of the Keller books?
Any reader who is unfamiliar with the previous books in the Keller series will be puzzled by the latest entry. Rather than tracking down his latest victim, our hero is almost immediately on the run from at least two groups of pursuers. This goes on for about half of the novel, before Keller settles in again to do what he does best.

The plot will certainly keep Block fans reading late. It did me. But it would appear that there are a couple of loose ends, and I wanted those tied up. They are: (1) Why was the governor of Ohio assassinated? For political reasons? Racial reasons? I realize that in the vast scheme of things it doesn't matter--but I wanted to know. (2) Why was it necessary to try to lay the blame on Keller? The real perps go to considerable lengths and expense to do that, but to what end? After all, the governor was killed and the real killer had escaped.

The characters are excellent, as usual in Block books, but I can't go into all of that without giving away an essential part of the plot. Ditto for the dialogue. Those who have read the book will know why immediately. And the atmosphere is also first rate.

But somehow I still feel that I wanted clarification with respect to the motives for setting up Keller. And I wanted a better come-uppance at the end. Maybe it's just me.

Whither Keller from here? Perhaps Mr. Block will now return to the Burglar, Tanner or some other series. I can't quite imagine Keller taking up assassination again, after the pleasure of nailing up sheet rock in rehab jobs.