20 Reasons to read Killer

[Dave Zeltserman]

Here are 20 reasons to read Killer if you love crime fiction:

1) "Spare prose and assured pacing place this above most other contemporary noirs." Publisher's Weekly

2) "Dave Zeltserman is at it again writing about ex-con antiheroes with the kind of panache that would make Jim Thompson, king of the psycho killer novels, proud." Boston Globe

3) "With graphic imagery and exciting twists, this novel is impossible to put down and has a surprising ending. A brilliant read." Aberdeen Press & Journal

4) "This novel is everything hard-boiled fiction should be - compact, direct and disciplined, and concerned with humans rather than stereotypes. It is also, for all its violent subject matter, a quietly told story, which makes its tension all the more intense" Mat Coward, Morning Star

5) "Written in a spare, terse style, and with chapters alternating between past and present, we slowly learn more about March. But even then the closing chapters present a devastating twist and shocking conclusion."
Sunday Tribune

6) "In his latest novel about a man just out of prison, following "Small Crimes" and "Pariah," Dave Zeltserman displays a genius for capturing the brute facts of survival "on the outside." Leonard is disarmingly sympathetic, which makes the novel's surprise conclusion even more disturbing." Howard County Times

7) "Finishing off his men-out-of-prison trilogy, Dave Zeltserman delivers KILLER, which does nothing else but prove to readers that he is truly the king of Boston crime. This is not some overwrought, long-winded attempt at noir, but streamlined, punch-to-the-gut writing." Bookgasm

8) "Killer is a major novel of crime." Ed Gorman

9) "this is vintage Zeltserman, and that means there's always a tail. With a sting. Be warned." Roger Smith

10) "Dave Zeltserman's Killer is simply one of the best crime novels I've read. Not in a long time, not in ages, not this year, but ever." Juri Nummelin, Pulpetti

11) "This excellent tale moves along at a great pace as March tries to redefine himself after prison and reconnect with his children. The chapters alternate between present day and flashbacks to his days as a hitman. There are twist and turns in this novel that will keep you guessing until the last page. If crime fiction is at all for you, you should check this book out because Zeltserman is a new master." 410Media

12) "In a Nutshell: Superbly written with a real twist in the tale, Killer is a novel which will appeal to lovers of crime fiction and the general readers alike. As a reader who usually ‘crosses the road’ to get away from crime fiction, Zeltserman has single-handedly convinced me that I should rethink my long-established custom of shying away from the genre." RobAroundBooks

13) "To put it simply, Killer is a brilliant character study that will rip the literary rug right out from under the reader's tightly-curled toes." Corey Wilde, The Drowning Pool

14) "Here at the Bookbag, we've been very impressed with Dave Zeltserman's work thus far. He uses a wonderful noirish narrative that takes you straight to the heart of the story. His story telling is very straightforward, not weighing down the story with too much style, but sticking to the substance and delivering a hard-hitting work every time.With Killer, he has done the same again." Iain Wear, thebookgag.co.uk

15) "This short, sharp blast of a novel continues Zeltserman’s fearless exploration of criminal psychopathy with a strong narrative, a unique voice and a willingness to present the reader with protagonists who may not be inspirational or necessarily sympathetic, but are endlessly complex, fascinating and terrifying." Crime Scene Scotland

16) "The whole book is told in tightly controlled prose that's perfectly suited to the subject matter. Killer
is another bang-up job from Zeltserman, and a noir novel in the grand tradition. Don't miss it." Bill Crider

17) "Read the book, amici. It’s a very good one that will rock you in the last few pages." Charlie Stella

18) "Highly recommended ... Zeltserman’s choices and the way he links them feel exactly right. He times the revelations and the peeling away of the past to enhance events happening in the present." NextRead

19) "And it’s a voice that tugs at the reader’s emotions in subtle, contradictory ways, which makes it seem convincing and credible. In addition, the structure of the book, with chapters alternating between the present and past events, enables the reader to get a rounded grasp of March’s persona and his history of violence." Rob Kitchin, The ViewFromTheBlueHouse

20) "Right off the bat let me tell you that Killer is the best of the ‘Man out of prison’ trilogy. Don’t get me wrong, the casual psychopathic meanderings of Joe Denton in Small Crimes was a sinister treat and the over the top violence and subtle social satire of Pariah was out-and-out brilliant. But with Leonard March, Zeltserman has found a wholly empathic narrator. Readers will connect with March and feel for his struggle to assimilate into a society that he was never really apart of and will be enthralled with how Zeltserman craftily alternates the story lines between March’s dismal present and the chapters which detail his evolution as a hired killer." Spinetingler
Magazine