Keller’s Fedora

A fresh contract to kill takes MWA Grand Master Block’s stamp-collecting hit man, Keller, last seen in 2013’s Hit Me, from his home in New Orleans via Amtrak to Chicago. Keller reluctantly tells his daughter that the trip is philatelic in nature. In Chicago, Keller needs to act like a private eye and ID the mark himself. The client wants his wife’s mystery lover found and eliminated, and the first order of business is the stakeout and the shadowing. Fortunately, Keller just bought his first fedora and is feeling like Humphrey Bogart. Block amuses as always with Keller’s light internal banter, making even the assassination somewhat droll. The hit is never the end, however. Keller has been seen in town and decides he needs to return to the scene of the crime and tie up loose ends before they unravel and jeopardize his shadowy career. This novella is sure to delight the author’s many fans. (Apr.)