Title: Quarry's Ex
Release: September 20, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8576-8286-4
Publisher: Hard Case Crime
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BECAUSE HOMICIDE
BEGINS AT HOME

Even the enigmatic hit man called Quarry had to start somewhere. And for him that was the day he returned stateside from Nam to find his young wife cheating. He'd killed plenty overseas, so killing her lover was no big deal. And when he was recruited to use his skills as a contract killer, that transition was easy, too. He survived in this jungle as he had in that other one—by expecting trouble.

What he didn't expect was ever running into her again...

2012 Shamus Award Nominee: Best Paperback PI Novel

Booklist: "Collins remains the quintessential modern-day pulp writer."

Publisher's Weekly: "a perfect piece of sardonic pulp noir." "Collins amply leavens the violence with wit."

Pulp Fiction Reviews: "[Collins's] prose falls into place with the deft touch of a contemporary poet, each line awakening a new possibility in how we see the world. Reading Quarry is an education in human psychology taught from the barrel of a silenced automatic."

Somebody Dies: "Quarry's Ex feels as if it were written in 2 or 3 fevered sessions. That's how fast it moves."

Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine: "Of all the good things Hard Case Crime has done, reviving this series ranks right up there near the top....[Quarry's Ex] is a pleasure to read. Highly recommended."

Bookgeeks: "a tearing slice of sleazy hardboiled fun from one of the masters of the craft."

MostlyFiction: "In [the late 70s], mysteries, thrillers and noir usually came in very small, tightly wound packages that could explode in your hands and were finished at around 200 hundred pages.... For [Collins], this kind of writing in neither nostalgic nor retro, it's what he trained himself to do."

I've Been Reading Lately: "Collins is at his best when writing about Quarry, whose character is perfectly suited for Collins's tight mix of violence, quips, and social observation."

Bookreporter: "Quarry's Ex is pure hard-boiled noir." "extremely satisfying"

Bibliodiscoteque: "a perfect entry into the Quarry series full of irony, sarcasm, and violence."

The Playlist: "solid pulp with enough intrigue, sex and grit to keep page-turners happy."

Blogcritics: "Collins has a knack for capturing period with a few succinct details; he also has a pithy way with violence that at times reminds me of Robert Bloch at his nasty punchline best."

Mike Dennis Noir: "top-notch" "I certainly hope [Collins] finds time in the future to continue this riveting series..."

Pulp Serenade: "Quarry’s Ex was my first step into the series, and it certainly won’t be my last." "While he may be a bit of a smartass, there’s a humility—and humanity—to Quarry that makes him a well-rounded character and more than just a one-dimensional archetype."

BookHound: "a gem of a book."

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