The Shot
by Philip Kerr
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Pub Date Aug 06 2020 | Archive Date Aug 17 2020
Quercus Books | Quercus
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Description
'Riveting... as shocking as it is brilliant' Daily Mail
'A cleverly contrived reworking of the Kennedy assassination myth' The Times
'A really terrific read' Literary Review
Darkly imaginative alternative history thriller from the global bestseller and author of the Bernie Gunther thrillers.
America, 1960. In Washington, DC, John F Kennedy has just been elected President. In Havana, Fidel Castro has been in office for a year, and with Cold War tensions rapidly heating up and the Soviets leading the space race, the thought of a Communist leader so close to home is already raising American blood pressure.
Anti-communist fever is rampant in the USA, with a paranoid establishment seeing reds under every bed. Nevertheless, the decision to snuff out the threat of Castro by hiring Tom Jefferson, America's best assassin, to kill him comes from an unusual quarter: the Mafia.
But Jefferson's very skillset that makes him the perfect man for this job also ensures he has no qualms in double crossing his criminal paymasters. Jefferson has no issue with Castro: his preferred target is someone much closer to home...
'Mind boggling ... keeps you guessing until the end' Sunday Express
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781529404166 |
| PRICE | £8.99 (GBP) |
| PAGES | 480 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Rachel B, Reviewer
Thanks to Quercus Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I know I am not alone in being a huge admirer of the late, great, Philip Kerr's legendary Bernie Gunther series of books. If you haven't read them, I would urge you to do so NOW. Kerr was unparalleled in his ability to give his thrillers a certain cerebral edge - recasting your typical thriller in new and innovative ways. It was his impeccable sense of time and place - the 'historicization' of the mystery genre, where he displayed his talents most emphatically. That certain blending of fact and fiction' - or 'faction' as we now call it, was Kerr's uncontested territory. In the Bernie Gunther series of novels we see our anti-hero rubbing shoulders with the likes of Joseph Goebbels, Arthur Nebe, and more frequently, his bête noire, Reinhard Heydrich. I was hesitant about reading 'The Shot' in the expectation that I would not find them the least comparable, in terms of quality, with this series. I shouldn't have worried, 'The Shot' displays all the ingenuity, verve and style, I would expect from Kerr. In this book we are transported to the events of 1960/1961, and the escalating tensions between Soviet-backed Cuba and the USA. Historians of this period will be familiar with the 'true' outcome of The Bay of Pigs invasion that provides much of the context for this book, but in Kerr's hands history does not necessary follow in an unambiguous, linear fashion. There is an element of what-if? about this book, and the result is exquisite. The cast of characters are familiar, but the intrusion of a fictional character - assassin Tom Jefferson , unbinds history from its traditional moorings. He was supposed to have Fidel Castro literally in his sights, but the killing of the Cuban leader is averted by Jefferson's choice of a preferred target. Who? Why? I'll let you find out for yourself.
Tautly-plotted, stunningly realised and unique. An apt exemplar of the late Philip Kerr's prodigious talent.
Sara M, Bookseller
I love counterfactuals and Phillip Kerr pulls it off really well here. I was gripped from the first few pages and read this well written book in a couple of nights. I am really happy to have been introduced to this author and will be seeking out his other books
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