Quarry is a wonderful character -- a hit man. One of the best in the Hardcase Crime series. This was the first Quarry published by them but is not the first Quarry story. Since then, others have been published. If you like hit-man stories, these are some of the best. ( )

The Last Quarry is among the best of the titles in the entire Hard Case Crime line. Despite the title, this is the First Quarry novel published in the series--The First Quarry was published later and Quarry in the Middle is forthcoming in 2009.

The blend of a serious plot with darkly comedic moments is nearly perfect. Quarry's characterization is fascinating, as he copes with emotional attachment to his assassination target. He's an undeniable anachronism in the world, including non-PC opinions. The fact that the final showdown happens in such an un-Quarrylike manner shows how emotionally involved he becomes, no matter what he actually says in the narration.

Most crime novels end in revenge, a double-cross, or just run out of characters to kill. With the Last Quarry, I found the ending, where we see a hardened assassin returning to retirement slightly different from the one he originally left, very satisfying. ( )

silly hard-boiled story, but fun subway reading ( )

My kind of book -- hit the ground running and don't stop. ( )

A fine book and I wasn't expecting it. The last Colins I read, Deadly beloved, lacked and when I picked up this one, I figured it would be more of the same. Thankfully, it wasn't.

The main character is interesting and believable (except when he calls a Marine a "soldier"), and the story was well paced and interesting. Everything about this book (except for the noted slur above) was worthwhile.

Shoot, I liked it so much, I'm going to tear into Two for the money next.

We're still not judging books by their covers, but it must be said that this one has a great cover and it includes, yes, another scantily clad woman. ( )