The Exterminators: An Assassin Bug Thriller [Hardcover]

Bill Fitzhugh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 3, 2012 | Series: Assassin Bug

All Bob Dillon ever wanted was a truck with a big fiberglass bug on the  roof.  All he had to do was survive a half dozen assassination attempts,  pull a ten million dollar con on a Bolivian drug lord, and then fall off the  face of the earth with his family and his new best friend, Klaus.  Six years  later, in The Exterminators, they surface in Oregon where they continue Bob's  work creating an all-natural means of pest control.  But now, instead of  cross-breeding different strains of assassin bugs, they're using advanced  gene sequencers to consolidate the perfect insect-killing-traits into one  deadly bug.  Only one problem: all this serious DNA tampering is expensive  and they're running low on funds.  The venture capital outfit that wants to  invest turns out to be a front for DARPA (the Department of Defense agency  charged with R&D for exotic weapons).  It seems the U.S. Government wants to  enlist Bob, Klaus, and the bugs in the War on Terror.  Oh, and did we  mention unlimited funding?  An offer too good to refuse, they move to Los  Angeles and get to work.  Things go swimmingly until that Bolivian drug lord  discovers he was conned out of his ten million.  Vowing revenge, he offers  twenty million to whoever kills Bob and Klaus.  Some of the world's best  assassins descend on Hollywood and, before you can say "It's an honor just  to be nominated," the weirdness level reaches Apocalyptic levels.  It's a  battle pitting the far right against the far left with Bob stuck in the  middle and subjected to some serious post-9/11 thinking.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“With…characters who make us laugh pretty much whenever they open their mouths, this book is a real winner.”—Booklist

"Millennial religious fanatics, the film industry, the environment, both mainstream and right-wing media, all play a part in this delightful romp."—Publishers Weekly of The Exterminators

"A lighthearted spin on a desperate tale--just like the best country songs." -- Entertainment Weekly (A-) of Fender Benders

"A satisfying murder mystery and spoof of life in the industry, FENDER BENDERS has a delightfully vicious spirit." -- USA Today of Fender Benders

"Finger-pickin’ good!" -- People of Fender Benders

"In FENDER BENDERS Fitzhugh pens a tale worthy of the Grand Ole Opry." -- Pittsburgh Tribune of Fender Benders

"Sharp, sassy, read-in-one-sitting, laugh-out-loud literature." -- Publishers Weekly of Fender Benders

Fitzhugh applies his school-of-Carl-Hiaasen technique to the capital of country music. -- Kirkus Reviews of Fender Benders

Fitzhugh is a strange and deadly amalgam of screenwriter and comic novelist...in league with Carl Hiaasen and Elmore Leonard. -- The New York Times Book Review of Fender Benders

 

About the Author

Bill Fitzhugh is the award winning author of eight satiric crime novels. The New York Times called him "a strange and deadly amalgam of screenwriter and comic novelist. His facility and wit, and his taste for the perverse, put him in a league with Carl Hiaasen and Elmore Leonard." Fitzhugh's debut novel, Pest Control, was one of Amazon's Top 50 mysteries in 1997; it has been translated into half a dozen languages, produced as a stage musical, and a German radio show. Warner Brothers owns the film rights. Since 2005, Fitzhugh has also written, produced, and hosted "Fitzhugh's All Hand Mixed Vinyl" on Sirius XM Satellite Radio's Deep Tracks channel. He is one of only three outside hosts on Deep Tracks. The other two are Tom Petty and Bob Dylan.

 

Product Details

• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press; 1 edition (January 3, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590585402
• ISBN-13: 978-1590585405
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #283,928 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly entertaining!, February 6, 2012

By 

James Alan Saway - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Exterminators: An Assassin Bug Thriller (Assassin Bug Thrillers) (Paperback)

I read Pest Control and The Exterminators back-to-back and only wish there was a third book to keep the story going! Funny, engaging and entertaining all at the same time. You will not be disappointed by either book! I am a recent Fitzhugh fan (read Fender Benders back in December...another 5 star novel if you haven't picked it up yet!) and it looks like I will be reading everything he has written (or will write, for that matter.) I am hooked! Would love to see these stories on the big screen!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars They're back and I couldn't be happier., January 23, 2012

By 

Janine Smith (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Exterminators: An Assassin Bug Thriller (Assassin Bug Thrillers) (Paperback)

Nothing makes me laugh out loud in public like a Bill Fitzhugh book. Pest Control was a revelation--a smart, funny, rollicking romp. Well, Bob and Klaus are back and in ever-more-hilarious trouble. Just when you think things can't possibly get any worse...oh yes, they can and will.

The story's a riot, the characters are unforgettable, but as always it's Fitzhugh's commentary on the whole mess that makes this book a complete delight. Would someone please bring out his books on audio, with him reading?

You don't need to read Pest Control first to enjoy this one. But let's face it, you're going to want to read it when you're done, so why not buy them both at once?

I know it just came out two weeks ago. Is it too soon to hope he's working on the next one?

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fast-paced zany thriller, January 3, 2012

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Exterminators: An Assassin Bug Thriller (Assassin Bug Thrillers) (Paperback)

Six years ago Bob Dillon and his horde survived hit men, assassins and murderers to abscond with several million from a Bolivian drug lord (see Pest Control). He used his loot to obtain a truck with a bug on the roof.

In Oregon, Bob and his partner Klaus Müller the assassin experiment with a `green' solution to chemical pest control. They genetically reengineer the assassin bug into a killer species but this is expensive and they are running out of money. Bob and Klaus contact a venture capitalist to obtain seed loot, but their sponsor works for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency' who want to apply their experiments on terrorists. They accept the terms and relocate to Los Angeles where a Bolivian drug lord out ten million dollars puts a Pest Control bounty of twenty million on the heads of the Bug Guys.

The second Assassin Bug Thriller is a fast-paced zany thriller that amusingly is over the top of the Hollywood Hills sign. Filled with action, spins and a horde of the assassins, fans will appreciate this jocular satire that skewers the right and left, celebrity worship, and the losing war on bugs.

Harriet Klausner