Quarry’s Greatest Hits

An icon of anti-heroes. Max Allan Collins’s taciturn hit man known only as Quarry made his mark in more than a dozen novels in the 1970s and ’80s. Along the way he gained a popular following and appeared in a few short stories as well, mostly after his retirement from the contract killing game. Five Star is pleased to present, collected together for the first time, every Quarry short story ever written, along with the novel the paid assassin’s last novel-length appearance.

In “A Matter of Principal,” Quarry is enjoying his well-deserved retirement on the lake — or he would be if he could just get some sleep. A late night jaunt down to the local convenience store leads to a brush with two old enemies, a chance for some long-overdue payback, and a very lucrative night out.

The full-length novel, finds Quarry married and living the good life in the Wisconsin resort country. Specters from his past arrive, however, and want him to undertake one last job — the assassination of a leading presidential candidate. Quarry, however, turns the offer down, knowing all too well the adage about a fool’s walking where angels fear to tread, especially with him being neither one. But when the backers make a move to rub Quarry out, they soon learn the mistake of tangling with this particular retiree.

In the 1970s, living was large, and the dying was easy. In “Quarry’s Luck,” Quarry is contacted by his mentor, the Broker, who has a rush job for Quarry to execute. And if that wasn’t bad enough, he’s got to baby-sit a wet-behind-the-ears nit man at the same time. With his usual efficiency, Quarry manages both tasks at once, and lives to tell about it.

Out of the hit-man business and on the run, Quarry is found by an old Vietnam buddy who gives him a second chance at life as a director of a vacation resort in the Wisconsin woods. When an obnoxious guest makes life hell for his wife, Quarry takes a personal interest in the man’s health and well being and ends up providing the very best in “Guest Services” for the couple.

With an introduction by noted mystery author Ed Gorman and an author’s note on Quarry’s creation and life by Collins himself, this is the one and only Quarry collection.