Houston Chronicle
“BLOCK HAS A WHOLE ROGUES’ GALLERY
OF AMIABLE, BENT CHARACTERS . . .
When he introduced his existential hit man,
John Keller, I thought he had gone too far.
But now I am a believer.”
Toronto Globe and Mail
“BLOCK IS A SUPERB CRAFTSMAN,
one of those increasingly rare writers who
knows how to make every word, every nuance,
meaningful . . . Block keeps us all on the edge
of our chairs, or worse, perhaps scared
to even try to sit down.”
Muncie Star Press
“HILARIOUS . . . AN ENJOYABLE READ . . .
Keller is a likable creation . . . Block’s casual,
meandering approach to telling his story
may jar or entertain, according to taste.”
London Observer (UK)
“ONE OF THE VERY BEST WRITERS
NOW WORKING THE BEAT.”
Wall Street Journal
“A SUPERIOR STORYTELLER . . .
Block has an awareness of the pain
and the pleasure of living. It is a gift
that not all authors have.”
“QUITE ENTERTAINING . . .
Block’s strength has always been the manner
in which he makes his characters talk . . .
In [Hit List] he is at his best.”
Irish Times
Block’s settings and plot contrivances very much
exist in a world we recognize from our own day-
to-day lives, and all the characters ring true.”
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
“I LOVED [THIS] BOOK.”
Book Magazine
“ONE OF THE GENRE’S
FINEST PRACTITIONERS.”
Chicago Tribune
“BLOCK WRITES BETTER
THAN ALL OF THEM . . .
He gets better and better all the time.”
The Village Voice
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
HIT LIST. Copyright © 2000 by Lawrence Block. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition © MAY 2003 ISBN: 9780061802331
First HarperTorch paperback printing: February 2002
First William Morrow hardcover printing: November 2000
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
25 Ryde Road (PO Box 321)
Pymble, NSW 2073, Australia
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
55 Avenue Road, Suite 2900
Toronto, ON, M5R, 3L2, Canada
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.ca
New Zealand
HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Limited
P.O. Box 1
Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
77-85 Fulham Palace Road
London, W6 8JB, UK
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Praise for Lawrence Block
Copyright
About the Publisher