This week’s notable new releases, ready for you to read!

HIT PARADE by Lawrence Block – John Keller is the hit man’s hit man. The inconvenient wife, the aging sports star, the business partner, the retiree with a substantial legacy. He’s taken care of them all, quietly and efficiently. Keller’s got a code of honor, though he’d never call it that. And he keeps the job strictly business. But while Keller might be a pragmatic and crack assassin, he’s also prone to doubts and loneliness just like everybody else. There was a psychotherapist once. A dog. Even a woman. And though he’s got Dot, his wisecracking contact and sometimes confidante, and his precious stamp collection, these days, it doesn’t seem to be enough. Keller’s been at this business a long while. Just maybe it’s time to pack it in and find a nice little house in the desert. Only problem is, retirement takes money. And to get money, he’s got to go to work…

TWISTED by Jay Bonansinga – In the heart of New Orleans, a serial killer is at work. While the city struggles to rebuild, he seeks only to destroy. His victims are offerings, surrounded by objects as mysterious as the French Quarter itself. For Special Agent Ulysses Grove the case is personal. The latest victim, a respected Tulane professor, was also a dear friend whose death holds startling clues to this madness. As Grove and journalist Maura County pore through cold cases and the dead man’s half-destroyed notes, a terrifying truth begins to unfold: a Mayan expedition gone wrong, an ancient civilization, ritual human sacrifices, and a serial killer who has tapped the secrets of indestructible power. Now, as a storm season threatens the Gulf Coast, Grove is on the hunt for a twisted psychopath with a deep connection to his own past—one who sees Grove as the ultimate trophy…

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