The Killing Kind

by Chris Holm

Overview

Michael Hendricks kills people for money. That aside, he's not so bad a guy.

Once a covert operative for a false-flag unit of the US military, Hendricks was presumed dead after a mission in Afghanistan went sideways. He left behind his old life — and beloved fiancée — and set out on a path of redemption...or perhaps one of willful self-destruction.

Now Hendricks makes his living as a hitman entrepreneur of sorts — he only hits other hitmen. For ten times the price on your head, he'll make sure whoever's coming to kill you winds up in the ground instead. Not a bad way for a guy with his skill-set to make a living — but a great way to make himself a target.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316259521
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	08/02/2016
Series:	A Michael Hendricks Novel , #1
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Chris Holm is the author of the Collector trilogy, which blends crime and fantasy, and the Michael Hendricks thrillers. His Hendricks novel, The Killing Kind, was named a New York Times Editors' Choice and won the Anthony Award for Best Novel. His second Hendricks novel, Red Right Hand, was nominated for the Anthony Award for Best Novel. Holm lives in Portland, Maine.

Editorial Reviews

"Chris Holm's The Killing Kind is my favorite thriller of the fall lineup. Here's a solid gold premise: an assassin who only kills other assassins. . . . The cat-and-mouse game that follows is pure joy. . . . This novel is so fast-moving, so expertly arranged, every piece fitting together with a well-oiled snap, that it feels weaponized. Read it. Or else."—Benjamin Percy, New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice)

"Pure thriller with a smart, vicious twist . . . What makes this book sing [is] its lean action, breakneck execution, and a nervy concept that's almost too perfect. . . . The book has plenty of sly humor, sharp dialogue, and even the occasional yanked heartstring. And there's a rhythm to it, relentless and breathtaking."—Jason Heller, National Public Radio

"The writing is tight and tense . . . This is a fun spin on crime fiction."—Jeff Ayers, Associated Press

"With The Killing Kind, Chris Holm has created a story of rare, compelling brilliance, with a concept so high you'll need oxygen to finish it. Hit man against hit man, one pure silk and evil, the other not exactly good, but we root for him anyway as the classic antihero. This is a one-sitting, extravagant, mind-blowing reading pleasure with a stable of characters who come across as all flesh, bone and folly. You will never look at men hired to kill other humans the same way. You won't merely read this book, you will inhale it."—David Baldacci, bestselling author of The Guilty

"Chris Holm loads an ingenious premise-an assassin who kills only other assassins-into a high-powered story that goes off like a rocket. His protagonist, Mike Hendricks, is an all-American anti-hero with his own code of justice, living on stolen time. The Killing Kind is sleek and smart, and will stay with you long after you've finished reading."—Joseph Finder, New York Times bestselling author of The Fixer

From the Publisher

…Chris Holm's The Killing Kind is my favorite thriller of the fall lineup. Here's the solid gold premise: an assassin who kills only other assassins…The cat-and-mouse game that follows is pure joy…The deadly blur of movement that comes when a soldier field strips, cleans and reassembles a rifle reminds me of the way Holm puts together a plot. This novel is so fast-moving, so expertly arranged, every piece fitting together with a well-oiled snap, that it feels weaponized. Read it. Or else.

The New York Times Book Review - Benjamin Percy

07/13/2015
Former U.S. special operations soldier Michael Hendricks, the hero of Holm’s inventive thriller, was presumed killed in a horrifying attack in Afghanistan that left his unit destroyed. Informing neither the government nor his ex-girlfriend, Hendricks returns to the U.S., where he contacts the intended victims of organized crime hit contracts and, if they meet his standards for decency, offers to take out their killer, for a fee 10 times what the hit man was paid in the first place. A shadowy cartel of organized crime groups hires sadistic but effective hit man Alexander Engelman to deal with Hendricks. Engelman learns Hendricks’s background through devious means, which sets up a final showdown of hit man versus hit man. Holm (Dead Harvest and two other novels in his Collector fantasy series) carries off a preposterous plot with brazen aplomb, creating a diverting, action-packed story interspersed with excellent character vignettes. Agent: David Gernert, Gernert Company. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

04/15/2015
Once a covert operative for a false-flag unit of the U.S. military, Michael Hendricks was presumed dead on a mission in Afghanistan gone wrong and slipped away to a new life: he's a hit man who only zaps other hit men. Holm's award-winning stories have appeared in places like Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, and his celebrated fantasy-pulp "Collector" trilogy has shown up on over 40 Best Books lists in the last few years.

Library Journal

Narrator Will Collyer's no-nonsense voice is a great choice for this mystery about people who lurk in the shadows. At the heart of the story is Michael Hendricks, a former off-the-books, special-ops soldier who is thought to be dead. But Hendricks is alive and seeks to atone for his many sins by killing other assassins and saving those he deems worthy—for a price. Soon he finds himself a target as well. Collyer's gruff, straightforward approach fits a story of lost souls who inhabit both sides in this violent world. Some of his civilians, especially females, don't come across as fully credible, but most are tangential to the story. Time and action fly by in this riveting production. D.E.M. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

OCTOBER 2015 - AudioFile

Narrator Will Collyer's no-nonsense voice is a great choice for this mystery about people who lurk in the shadows. At the heart of the story is Michael Hendricks, a former off-the-books, special-ops soldier who is thought to be dead. But Hendricks is alive and seeks to atone for his many sins by killing other assassins and saving those he deems worthy—for a price. Soon he finds himself a target as well. Collyer's gruff, straightforward approach fits a story of lost souls who inhabit both sides in this violent world. Some of his civilians, especially females, don't come across as fully credible, but most are tangential to the story. Time and action fly by in this riveting production. D.E.M. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

OCTOBER 2015 - AudioFile

★ 2015-06-28
A fast-moving thriller with a clever premise. Edgar Morales is about to get whacked by a button man for an international crime syndicate called the Corporation. When the fatal shot rings out, though, it's said button man's head that explodes. His executioner is Michael Hendricks, who has an odd specialty: he's a "hitman killing hitmen." So the Council—a group of major American crime families—hires Engelmann, "one of the most gifted contract killers in the world," to blot out Hendricks, "a pest in need of exterminating." Hendricks is a killer with not just a conscience, but business sense. If there's a price on your head, he'll take out the hired killer for 10 times that price. And if he calls you, it means that "someone, somewhere, want[s] you dead." The plot weaves the storylines of both killers in with that of FBI Special Agent Charlotte "Charlie" Thompson, who wants to catch the two men. Hendricks is the most complex of the characters, hence the most interesting. He's a Special Forces veteran thought by most people, including his former girlfriend, to have been killed in Afghanistan. His code prevents him from killing innocents, unlike Engelmann, the flat-out evildoer who relishes the pain and suffering of others. Hendricks' worldview comes out of his crucible of pain, while Engelmann just grew up bad; he will happily kill you and have a good night's sleep. Meanwhile, Charlie and her partner try to track both men down. The three main characters play their roles well—Charlie is appealing, Hendricks is the semisympathetic antihero, Engelmann is just plain vile, and they're all smart. Who will best whom is by no means obvious in this fast-moving, witty tale of good guy versus bad guy versus worse guy.

Kirkus Reviews