The Shot [Paperback]

Phil Kerr (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 456 pages
• Publisher: McArthur & Company (2000)
• ISBN-10: 1552781666
• ISBN-13: 978-1552781661
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,189,162 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Philip Kerr was born in Edinburgh in 1956 and read Law at university. Having learned nothing as an undergraduate lawyer he stayed on as postgraduate and read Law and Philosophy, most of this German, which was when and where he first became interested in German twentieth century history and, in particular, the Nazis. Following university he worked as a copywriter at a number of advertising agencies, including Saatchi & Saatchi, during which time he wrote no advertising slogans of any note. He spent most of his time in advertising researching an idea he'd had for a novel about a Berlin-based policeman, in 1936. And following several trips to Germany - and a great deal of walking around the mean streets of Berlin - his first novel, March Violets, was published in 1989 and introduced the world to Bernie Gunther.
"I loved Berlin before the wall came down; I'm pretty fond of the place now, but back then it was perhaps the most atmospheric city on earth. Having a dark, not to say black sense of humour myself, it's always been somewhere I feel very comfortable."
Having left advertising behind, Kerr worked for the London Evening Standard and produced two more novels featuring Bernie Gunther: The Pale Criminal (1990) and A German Requiem (1991). These were published as an omnibus edition, Berlin Noir in 1992.
Thinking he might like to write something else, he did and published a host of other novels before returning to Bernie Gunther after a gap of sixteen years, with The One from the Other (2007).
Says Kerr, "I never intended to leave such a large gap between Book 3 and Book 4; a lot of other stuff just got in the way; and I feel kind of lucky that people are still as interested in this guy as I am. If anything I'm more interested in him now than I was back in the day."
Two more novels followed, A Quiet Flame (2008) and If the Dead Rise Not (2009).
Field Gray (2010) is perhaps his most ambitious novel yet that features Bernie Gunther. Crossing a span of more than twenty years, it takes Bernie from Cuba, to New York, to Landsberg Prison in Germany where he vividly describes a story that covers his time in Paris, Toulouse, Minsk, Konigsberg, and his life as a German POW in Soviet Russia.
Kerr is already working on an eighth title in the series.
"I don't know how long I can keep doing them; I'll probably write one too many; but I don't feel that's happened yet."
As P.B.Kerr Kerr is also the author of the popular 'Children of the Lamp' series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars About average for Kerr; he can do better, June 5, 2000

By 

Tung Yin (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Shot (Hardcover)

At this point, I have read all of Philip Kerr's in-print works with the exception of the Berlin Noir trilogy (which I have but have not yet read). "The Shot" ranks about average among those works; it's pretty good but doesn't have either the deepness of thought exhibited by "A Philosophical Investigation" or the sheer energetic violence of "The Grid."

The plot, such as can be described in a short review, has been adequately set forth in other reviews: essentially, the anti-hero, Tom Jefferson, is a former U.S. marine turned hitman who in 1960 accepts a contract from the Mob and the CIA to kill Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro. That is, until he learns that President-elect Kennedy slept with his wife. All of a sudden, Jefferson is off to kill Kennedy, and the Mob is in the strange position of having to work to protect Kennedy, whom they helped to elect by rigging the election in exchange for calling off the government dogs.

The fact that we know that Kennedy wasn't assassinated in 1960 actually doesn't affect one's enjoyment of the book, because Kerr does a good job of moving the plot along, and because his (for the most part) meticulous research about events in 1960 creates a feeling of verisimilitude. [Someone should tell Kerr that it's the Second Amendment, not the First Amendment, that allegedly guarantees the right to bear arms.]

One gets the feeling that Kerr's spark for writing his novels is something along the lines of "What if . . ." So, we have: (1) What if we could identify a physical characteristic linked to serial killers ("A Philosophical Investigation"); (2) What if there was a building run by a psychopathic supercomputer ("The Grid"); (3) What if there was a supercontagious blood-borne virus for which there was a cure, but the rich purposefully rationed the cure ("The Second Angel"); (4) What if I [Philip Kerr] tried to write a novel like Elmore Leonard ("A Five-Year Plan"); and (5) What if I [Kerr] tried to write a novel like Michael Crichton ("Esau")?

Along those lines, "The Shot" seems to have been inspired by two separate lines of thought: What if I [Kerr] tried to write a novel about an anti-hero like Patricia Highsmith's Tom Ripley; and what if I [Kerr] tried to write a Kennedy conspiracy novel?

"The Shot" was compelling enough that I read the last 150 pages in a single sitting. But if you haven't read Kerr before, I would suggest starting with "A Philosophical Investigation" or "The Grid," depending on your sensibilities.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Phony as a three-dollar-bill, February 12, 2003

By 

M. Dog (Everywhere and Nowhere) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Shot (Hardcover)

I had high hopes for this work because I really enjoyed Kerr's "Berlin Noir" trilogy, but I was very disappointed with "The Shot." The concept was interesting: A paid assassin is contracted to kill Castro, but changes targets when a pre-presidential JFK sleeps with his wife, who happens to be a campaign worker for JFK. The dialogue in the book, particularly the conversations of the gangsters, rings horribly false - more like privileged writers concepts of how gangsters talk. Page after page has that over-writerly feel, if you know what I mean. When a book is really good, you are not really conscious of the writer. In this book, you can practically sense Mr. Kerr patting himself on the back for another great line. The main character, a hit man named "Thomas Jefferson" comes off as an extremely labored, mannered creation. Compare this character with "The Jackal" in Fredrick Forsyth's book, and you will see what I mean. One seems extremely believable and real, one seems like a writer's concept of a killer. I don't normally pick details, but the whole book turned silly for me when the author had a character "thumb back the safety" on a Smith & Wesson .38 revolver. This is kind of a classic writer's blunder that I didn't think any writer could make anymore, what with the advent of quick Internet research, but apparently it still happens. Revolvers do not have safeties. This alone would not have tanked the book for me, though. It was just kind of indicative of the essential falseness of the work.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not real thrilling, April 30, 2000

By 

Konrad Kern (OFallon, MO United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Shot (Hardcover)

Philip Kerr's latest involves Americas deadliest assassin Tom Jefferson. Jefferson is hired by the mob to kill Castro. After accepting money for the job, he happens across a secret recording of JFK having a go at his wife (who happens to work on JFK's campaign). This causes Jefferson to change targets. Due to his failure to follow through with the Castro assassination, the Mob now targets him.

The novel takes place in 1960 and '61 and has been researched real well. From the songs that were popular to the talk shows and movies (Psycho). The novel lacks suspense. We know no assassination takes place in '60 or '61. It also lacks a protagonist to cheer for. Most characters in the novel are crooked and corrupt. The reading was dry.

Philip Kerr's previous novels 'Esau' and 'A five year plan' were, in my opinion, much better books. As a thriller writer, I feel Philip Kerr has slipped a notch with this latest effort.

Recommendation...Library