Review: The First Quarry

The First Quarry by Max Allan Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The First Quarry doesn’t dwell on an origin story but rather shows the young hitman being fully formed as a cold-blooded and intelligent killer as he accepts his first assignment after being recruited by The Broker - killing a college professor and destroying his manuscripts. The story takes place in Iowa in the early 1970s, the years that I came of age, and I was impressed and highly amused by all of the pop culture references from that era. Quarry is an amazingly likable anti-hero, he’s smart, funny, personable, and can be a complete smart ass. He’s also ruthless, amoral, and calculating. Loved the dialog and the plot, which throws curveball after curveball in a startling sequence of twists that make the book nearly impossible to put down. Reading the rest of the books in this remarkable series is high on my list. Recommended.

Available in print or ebook