Like a Sniper Lining Up His Shot

Like many of the greatest noir thrillers, Like a Sniper Lining Up His Shotbegins with a classic, even clich#xC3;#xA9;d set-up: Martin Terrier, the hired killer, needsjust one more big job so that he can turn in his guns, return to his native villageto find and marry his childhood sweetheart, and retire. But nothing goes as expected, his #xE2;#xAC;Slast job#xE2;#xAC; turns out to be a set-up thatresults in a bloody shoot-out from which Terrier barely escapes with his life, andsoon he#xE2;#xAC;"s on the run from not only the authorities and his treacherous ex-bossesbut also the members of a crime syndicate still seeking revenge for an earlier hiton one of theirs. (We won#xE2;#xAC;"t even mention what they do to his cat.) With Like a Sniper Lining Up His Shot, Tardi, at the top of his form, onceagain puts his lushly efficient neo-clear-line style in the service of Manchette#xE2;#xAC;"sgleefully briskprose for a spectacularly dark, violent and fast-pacedcrime thriller that will delight fans of their previous collaboration, West Coast Blues. (NOTE: Manchette#xE2;#xAC;"s original 1981 novel, La Positiondu tireur couch#xC3;#xA9;, was released in English under the title The Prone Gunman by City Lights in 2001.)