Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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

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.

I picked up this wispy-thin hardcover out of the bargain bin at Books-A-Million just because the title sounded unbelievably cheesy. I had no expectations from it. The story started out dumb, then got interesting, then ended up dumb again. In a nutshell: A retired mafia hit man from Detroit marries a sexy young woman. On their honeymoon in LA he is spotted by an old mob boss who forces him back into the business for one more job: Kill a bookie in San Antonio. To insure that the hit man does the job, the mobster sends one of his own pet psychopaths to keep an eye on the pretty young wife. The story jumps between California and Texas from one chapter to the next. Also, something about the hit is not quite right; it could be a setup ... but if you want to find out more, read the book. It won't take you very long to finish.

Only two things stood out for me: Number one, lots of Texas-bashing, which I approve of. Having lived in Texas for about 6 years, I know what kind of lousy place it is. Number two, lots of unnecessary Midwestern vulgarity. Having never read anything by Loren Estelman, or even heard of him, I could tell right away that he was from one of the Great Lakes states. There's a certain reflexive crudity, a gleefully indiscriminate use of degrading slurs and profanity that Midwesterners seem to find endearing, but makes people from other parts of the country think they are either crazy or mildly retarded. Its presence throughout this book was a major turn-off for me.

To sum up, this book is worth reading if you can find it for cheap. It's the kind of thing to read at an airport or train station while waiting for something else to happen. Disposable entertainment, not fine literature. It has a purpose, which it fills adequately, but it's not a "keeper."

this story revives the character Peter Macklin-detroit hitman. Pete Macklin now lives in Los Angeles California and has married a young lady in her twenties,he is now 44 years old. He has given up the world of organized crime and is attempting to lead a clean Married life. Charles Maggiore former acting head of Detroit's Mafia has been released from prison and warned to stay out of detroit but he has scoped out a new potential base of operation in San Antonio Texas which has a weak mafia. He has tracked Pete Macklin to California and knows of his marriage,and laid out an elaborate plan to use Macklin in helping him set up his texas base. He invites Macklin to a meal and at the same time has his wife held hostage and forces Macklin who hates his guts to Asassinate two key San Antonio racketeers setting the stage for a hostile takeover in San Antonio. Macklin's wife begins to question who he is due to the fact that he was private about his past,the kidnapper attempts to rape her,she escapes and attempts to find him. Pete Macklin tried to kill Maggiore by shooting him in his chest in [anyman,s death] but could not kill him because his heart was in the hump on his shoulder,Maggiore tried to kill him at the same time but only wounded him[this was in detroit] Charles Maggiore had turned Macklin's son into a hitman in the three prior books to kill Macklin's spirit. Charles Maggiore kept up to date about Macklin's targets in texas and was ready to move in when Macklin is finally able to cut his ambitions short with a knife across his throat. Pete macklin's wife was able to kill her kidnapper and Pete finds her safe at an agreed rendesvous.