'These Guns for Hire' is a collection of short stories centered around hitmen, assassins, and killers for hire. The stories vary in genres from mystery to horror, with some blending elements of humor and supernatural themes. The book features a diverse range of authors contributing stories that explore the dark and intriguing world of hitmen, providing a mix of spine-chilling scares, suspenseful twists, and unexpected humor.

The writing style of 'These Guns for Hire' is described as high octane, heart-pumping, and pulse-pounding, offering readers a variety of stories that can be considered pulp, noir, supernatural, humorous, or unclassifiable. The book showcases the talents of both established mystery writers and horror authors, bringing together a collection of 31 gripping tales that cater to fans of horror, mystery, and suspense alike.

Characters:

Characters include a diverse array of hitmen and assassins, exploring different psychological profiles with both humorous and competent portrayals.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is engaging and varied, combining humor and seriousness, with an overall quality above average.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot revolves around a collection of hitman stories, blending humor, horror, and supernatural elements, with varying tones and unexpected twists.

Setting:

The setting is diverse, encompassing various locations and elements that cater to the stories' themes, including contemporary and supernatural aspects.

Pacing:

The pacing is quick, with short stories that allow for easy reading and the flexibility to dip in and out.

It took me a second. Rusty parts of my brain creaked into motion, reached back twenty years. Yeah, I recognized the voice. I told him so. No emotion in my tone. Let’s see what this long lost voice wan...

Notes:

The book 'These Guns for Hire' is an anthology of hitman stories.

It includes a mix of genres: mystery, horror, and suspense.

Authors from different genres contribute, blending fiction styles.

One story is about a woman tricked into a murder assignment via a suicide hotline.

Another story features a hitman who hilariously fails at his job due to a lemur escaping.

Jeff Strand, known for horror, wrote a comedic hitman story in the collection.

The anthology contains 31 stories, all centered around hitmen.

Lawrence Block's Keller character is included in the collection with a baseball-themed story.

Stories range from humorous to philosophical, with trick endings in some.

The collection offers a high average quality of writing.

It’s a good read for fans of short stories and hitman narratives.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

There are themes of violence and moral ambiguity, which may be distressing to some readers.

From The Publisher:

They have a combined total of 500 million book sales, and have won every possible award in the mystery, thriller, and dark fiction genres.

Thirty original hitman stories by today's modern masters. Noir. Wise guys. Sex. Freelance assassins. Humor. Violence. Femme fatales. Amateurs. Horror. Surprise twists. Hardboiled.

Get ready for some wet work!

October 2006

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492 pages

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These Guns for Hire

J.A. Konrath

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