Bleeding hearts : a novel

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Title:

Bleeding hearts : a novel

Author:

Rankin, Ian.

ISBN:

9780316009126

Edition:

1st American ed.

Publication Information:

New York : Little, Brown, 2006.

Physical Description:

378 p. ; 25 cm.

General Note:

Originally published: London : Headline, 1994.

Subject Term:

Assassins -- Fiction.

Television journalists -- Crimes against -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

London (England) -- Fiction.

Genre:

Mystery fiction.

Summary:

Michael Weston is a gun for hire. He's paid well to do his job and ask no questions. But after successfully assassinating a TV reporter, the cops are quickly on his tail. How did they know how to find him? And who is his anonymous employer? Why did he or she want the reporter dead in the first place? Was he set up to be caught and thrown in jail? The answers may lie with Hoffer, a private detective who has been hunting him for years--ever since Michael dispatched a bullet and accidentally hit an innocent young American girl. Her grieving father has kept Hoffer on retainer and on a mission to bring Weston to justice no matter what the cost. Could Hoffer have finally trapped him? The only way Michael can stay ahead of the police is to find his mysterious employer and figure out who has been playing him like a puppet on strings--or he may find himself on the other end of the rifle.

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Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)	MYSTERY RAN	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Stillwater Public Library	MYSTERY RAN	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

A master of modern mystery and the award-winning author of Resurrection Manpens a page-turning novel of assassins and double-crossing.

Author Notes

Ian Rankin lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, with his wife and their two sons.

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

First published in the U.K. in 1994 under the pseudonym Jack Harvey, this routine thriller from Edgar-winner Rankin tells the story of Michael Weston, a fastidious British assassin whose life gets complicated when Hoffer, an American PI, starts to close in on him. The novel opens with Weston's carefully choreographed hit on London TV journalist Eleanor Ricks, but Hoffer is chasing Weston for another assassination, in which the antihero mistakenly shot a young girl. The plot takes a convoluted journey to the United States, to a weapons dealer in Texas and on to a quasireligious cult near Seattle. The nonstop action, copious violence and arcane details about weaponry and forensics will please thriller junkies, but fans of Rankin's masterful John Rebus series (Fleshmarket Alley, etc.) may not find this pre-Rebus book to their taste. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Booklist Review

Like Witch Hunt0 (2004) and Blood Hunt0 (2006), the latest Rankin is not an installment of his stellar Inspector Rebus series but a first U.S. edition of a stand-alone originally published in the U.K. under the name Jack Harvey (in this case, in 1994). The hero here is Michael Weston, a highly paid assassin whose specialty is the long-distance shot, always through the heart. He's dubbed the "Demolition Man" because he always sets off a diversionary explosion nearby. At the book's start, he makes a kill but barely escapes the police: he has been set up. But by whom? First he needs to find out who hired him. His journey takes him north to Yorkshire, then to the U.S. He's accompanied by love-interest Bel, daughter of his armorer, and dogged by Leo Hoffer, a publicity-hungry PI intent on bagging the "D-Man"--and there's a mysterious U.S. government agent, too. Though this is more standard thriller fare than the Rebus series, it's smart and inventive. Weston's a hemophiliac, for example, and he is no action hero--he is decidedly uncomfortable with death. And a nice twist at the end adds a surprising piece of political relevance. Bleeding Hearts0 loses a bit of its sparkle once the stalking is over and the fighting starts, but it's still plenty good. --Keir Graff Copyright 2006 Booklist

Library Journal Review

Excerpts

A shot rings out, the woman dies instantly. But she was not alone on the steps of the London hotel. A number of other people could also have been the intended target of the invisible sniper. But the assassin, Michael Weston, knows he has carried out his assignment successfully. One mistake was enough, a long time ago, when a young American girl had accidentally received the fatal bullet. After all those years, the father of the dead girl still had a private eye named Hoffer on a permanent retainer to track him down. Every time Weston completed a job, he knew Hoffer would not be far behind. But why had the police been on the scene so quickly? Weston has to find out--even if it means coming face to face with Hoffer... Excerpted from Bleeding Hearts by Ian Rankin All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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Bound With These Titles

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Booklist Review

Library Journal Review

Excerpts

Excerpts

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