Hard Case Crime
Published April 15, 2025 (reissue)
Reviewed by Mary-Jane Oltarzewski
The Last Quarry, contrary to its title, is not the last of Max Allan Collins’s novels narrated by Quarry, the Vietnam veteran and hitman-for hire who’s so no-nonsense and hardboiled, he doesn’t even bother with a first name; it’s a re-release of a book originally published in 2006, featuring some brilliant midcentury-style cover art by Robert McGinniss. In the early aughties, Quarry is trying to leave his violent past behind, and lead a quiet life managing a lakeside resort on Sylvan Lake, somewhere in Minnesota, “only it’s not called Sylvan Lake and maybe it’s not Minnesota, either.” After a few decades in the contract killer business, he doesn’t like to divulge a lot of details about his private life. Quarry, in fact, is probably not his real name, but it’s how we come to know him.
Of course, the tale of a guy leading a quiet life, running a rural lakeside resort is hardly the basis for a pulpy crime novel, so it’s no surprise that trouble finds Quarry early on. During a late-night run to the local convenience store he recognizes Henry and Louis, a couple of goons from the old days: “Mob muscle who worked as a pair.” Based on the provisions Harry’s buying (“cookies and chips and Tampax,”) Quarry correctly surmises that these goons, still in the same line of work, have kidnapped a young woman and are holding her for ransom. He also knows, from his previous experience with them, that they are likely planning to take the ransom money and murder the hostage – a spoiled 19-year-old heiress named Julie Green – rather than leave any loose ends to trip over.