Something Borrowed, Something Black (Peter Macklin, The Nine-to-Five Killer, Book 4) [Hardcover]

Loren D. Estleman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 20, 2002

Peter Macklin, contract killer--retired--has found himself the perfect woman. He's convinced young, beautiful, innocent Laurie that he is simply a salesman from Detroit, and they're passionately honeymooning in Los Angeles. . . . until the phone call. Peter tells Laurie he has to go to Sacramento to take care of business, and he'll be back in a day. After a day passes, though, a man called Abilene shows up with a note from Peter saying Abilene will take care of her until his return.

Macklin's retirement seems to have been premature, and Laurie's innocence is about to end . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Peter Macklin is a truly compelling antihero and not the kind who's secretly saving the world. This is the real thing: a man who kills much too easily and who knows an enormous amount, but not necessarily right from wrong. Macklin (last seen in 1991's Kill Zone) has retired from the hit-man business and married Laurie, a young woman who knows nothing of his former career. They're on their honeymoon in Los Angeles when Macklin is forced back into his old calling by a Midwestern crime lord who's interested in expanding his territory. Traveling to San Antonio, Tex., to finish somebody else's botched hit, Macklin must remember how to read every inadvertent message from his contacts, his target and his potential enemies. He's a former master at the unspoken and the unintentional, despite being a little rusty on the fine points. Back in L.A., Laurie is being held hostage. At first she thinks the lanky cowboy named Abilene is just keeping her company while her husband is away "on business," but a fist in the face changes her take on things. Fortunately, Laurie is as resourceful as Abilene is ruthless, and she saves herself from his everpresent knife more than once. The story vibrates with letter-perfect details, and the plot, with changing locations and changing points of view, is deftly handled. Each character, major or minor, is fresh and real, and this creates a terrific energy throughout the book, demonstrating once again why Estleman has won so many awards.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Peter Macklin is a professional killer. He likes to think of himself as retired, but assassination isn't a field that lends itself to an inscribed watch and a retirement party. Still, he's found himself a smart, sexy, and sensible young woman to marry (she thinks he's a retired salesman) and is enjoying a passionate honeymoon in Los Angeles. Then Macklin's past pulls him to San Antonio for some unfinished business. As soon as he leaves, a Rodeo Drive cowboy named Abilene shows up on Laurie Macklin's door, claiming that Peter asked him to squire her around Hollywood while her husband is away. When Macklin's one-day trip stretches to three with no word, Laurie feels more like a prisoner than a guest. She's right. In a new series, genre veteran Estleman converges three plot lines--Laurie's dilemma, Macklin's unfinished business, and a San Antonio cop's investigation of unlikely Mob hits--into a stunning conclusion. Macklin is a creation of surprising depth and intelligence, and he and Laurie make a good match. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; First Edition edition (April 20, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031287863X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312878634
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,643,906 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Since the appearance of his first novel in 1976, Loren D. Estleman has written more than 65 books and hundreds of short stories and articles. Alone (Dec 2009, Forge Books) is the second in a new series about L.A. film detective Valentino, and features Greta Garbo.

To kick off the new decade, Estleman's The Book of Murdock (eighth in the U.S. Deputy Marshal Page Murdock series) will appear in March and, to celebrate the 30 year anniversary of Private Detective Amos Walker, The Left-Handed Dollar will publish in December. It's the 20th novel in the award-winning series.

An authority on both criminal history and the American West, Estleman has been called the most critically acclaimed author of his generation. He has been nominated for the National Book Award and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award.

He has received seventeen national writing awards: four Shamuses from the Private Eye Writers of America, five Spurs from the Western Writers of America, two American Mystery Awards from Mystery Scene Magazine, two Outstanding Mystery Writer of the Year awards from Popular Fiction Monthly, two Stirrup Awards for outstanding articles in the Western Writers of America magazine, The Roundup, and three Western Heritage Awards from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. In 1987, the Michigan Foundation of the Arts presented him with its award for literature. In 1997, the Michigan Library Association named him the recipient of the Michigan Author's Award. In 2007, Nicotine Kiss was named a Notable Book by the Library of Michigan.

Estleman graduated from Eastern Michigan University in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature and Journalism. On April 27, 2002, EMU presented him with an honorary doctorate in letters. He left the job market in 1980 to write full time. He lives in Michigan and is married to writer Deborah Morgan. For more information, please visit his website: www.lorenestleman.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hopefully, It Won't Be Another 10 Years Before The Next One!, May 2, 2002

By 

Craig Larson (Maple Grove, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Something Borrowed, Something Black (Peter Macklin, The Nine-to-Five Killer, Book 4) (Hardcover)

This book chronicles the welcome and overdue return of Estleman's character Peter Macklin, here a retired hitman for the Detroit mob. A newlywed on his honeymoon, Macklin is spotted by an associate of Carlo Maggiore, "Carl Major", an old acquaintance and onetime target, who presses him into doing one more job. Macklin's young bride is monitored by Abilene, a pseudo-cowboy associate of Maggiore's and during the course of his duties, he lets slip who Macklin is and also shows off his own psycho tendencies, leading Laurie Macklin to attempt to slip his clutches.

The book switches back and forth from San Antonio, the site of Macklin's hit, to Los Angeles, and is very effective in building suspense, and supplying the viewpoints of several characters, including a detective transplanted to Texas from the Midwest and concerned about becoming too much of a Texan.

Macklin is a hard, tough character who previously appeared in Estleman's _Kill Zone_, _Any Man's Death_, and _Roses Are Dead_. He's reminiscent of Richard Stark's tough guy, Parker, though Parker is a thief who only kills when he has to, while Macklin is a killer, first and foremost. Hopefully, we won't have to wait another 10 years or more for the next Macklin book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars exciting crime thriller, April 11, 2002

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Something Borrowed, Something Black (Peter Macklin, The Nine-to-Five Killer, Book 4) (Hardcover)

In his mid forties, Peter Macklin retired several years ago as a hit man and recently married the much younger Laurie. They are enjoying their honeymoon in Los Angeles when crime boss Carlo Maggiore spots Peter. Though Macklin tried to kill Carlo years ago, business is business so the mobster "hires" Peter to complete a hit that one of his thugs messed up. The fee is fifty large ones plus the safe return of his wife if he kills San Antonio bookie Johns Davis.

Peter hides what he is doing from Laurie, insisting he is going to Sacramento on business. Instead Peter goes to Texas to complete the job. Though out of practice, a hit feels like riding a bike to the retired professional. As Peter works on the details of how he will execute the assignment, Laurie realizes that her "baby-sitter" is no friend of her spouse. She knows that she must depend on herself to remain safe from this goon, while patiently waiting until Peter returns to force the truth from him.

The latest Macklin tale is an exciting crime thriller that showcases the talent of award-winning Loren D. Estleman and demonstrates why the antihero is so popular. The story line is loaded with action whether Peter is the focus or Laurie takes center stage. Though the tale fails to provide Laurie's reactions to Peter's former profession (stay tuned for that in the next novel), fans of the author, especially of Macklin, will appreciate this gratifying thriller.

Harriet Klausner

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best thrillers ever. Couldn't put it down., September 22, 2009

By 

ida mae poopsnatch "[e-mail]" (CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Something Borrowed, Something Black: A Peter Macklin Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

I loved this book it was just perfect. I went and searched out all the "Peter Macklin" books even buying a ,"Kill Zone (Peter Macklin, The Nine-to-Five Killer, Book 1" for $10 for a torn up paperback, worth every penny.

I am not a heavy reader but I love a book that you can not put down. You read with a flashlight so your wife will not tell you to go to sleep. All of the Peter Macklin novels are like this. As good as "Black Sunday" by Thomas Harris (The Silence of the Lambs etc. )or Stephen Kings at his best.

I just wish he would write more of them. "Little Black dress" is a Macklin novel which is easy to find.

Loren D. Estleman is one of the most under appreciated writers of our times.