For the Dogs: A Novel

From Publishers Weekly In this slim, fast-paced page-turner, Wignall returns to one of the themes of his well-received first novel, People Die— the sympathetic hit man who has, if not exactly a conscience, extended internal considerations of the moral implications of his trade. Stephen Lucas, a recently retired, emotionally stunted hit man, emerges from his Swiss hideaway as a favor to old friend Londoner Mark Hatto, who hires Lucas to surreptitiously guard his daughter, bright, extroverted Ella, while she's vacationing in Italy with her boyfriend. After Ella's entire family is murdered, Lucas foils several serious attempts on Ella's life, and the two of them form an odd, almost familial relationship. The boyfriend soon drops out of the picture as the hit man reluctantly helps Ella exact revenge on those who killed her family. There's plenty of action, but it's the twisting, turning, complicated relationship between Ella and Lucas that forms the core of this compelling novel. Most popular genre writers allow and even encourage the category elements—action, adventure, suspense—to subsume the literary ones, but Wignall concentrates instead on the questions of character and motivation that make for a deeper reading experience. The names le Carré, Simenon and recent British mystery author Mark Billingham come to mind, making this a blend of old and new masters wrapped up in an original, finely hewn effort. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist This deliciously nasty little thriller considers what might happen if the young innocent under a hitman's protection turned out not to be so innocent after all. The contract killer in question, Stephen Lucas, comes out of retirement to watch over Ella Hatto, an English college student on holiday with her beau. As a favor to Ella's shady businessman father, Lucas starts gunning down machine-pistol-toting maniacs all over Italy. But Ella's parents and younger brother don't enjoy such competent protection, so she's soon left with only a paternal uncle and a vast corporate empire for support. Her subsequent quest for revenge leads to a droll examination of the immoral code by which Lucas and his colleagues live--and mete out death. The novel finds its unexpected heart in the enigmatic Lucas, who is coldly professional on the job but can be downright sentimental when it comes to love. An odd role model indeed, but the type of justice Ella will secure hinges on how successful she is at striking a similar balance. Fans of Prizzi's Honor will have a blast with this one. Frank Sennett Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved