The Exterminators: An Assassin Bug Thriller

Fitzhugh’s second comic thriller featuring bug-killer Bob Dillon (after 1996’s Pest Control) has more twists and turns than a cockroach eluding a slipper. Bob and his sidekick, assassin Klaus Müller, are working in Oregon on developing “a ‘green’ alternative to chemical pest control” in the form of a genetically engineered insect from the assassin bug family. Short of cash, they turn for funding to a murky agency with a venture capitalist front that’s really connected to the Department of Defense, whose representative wants their help “in the war on terror.” Bob and Klaus wind up in Hollywood, where they become targets of a Bolivian drug lord who puts a $20 million price tag on their heads. Along the way, the protagonist’s name, as in singer Bob Dylan, is good for a few yucks. Millennial religious fanatics, the film industry, the environment, both mainstream and right-wing media, all play a part in this delightful romp. (Jan.)