Quarry’s Climax

Max Allan Collins's fourteenth Quarry novel is set in the world of 1970s pornography, as the eponymous hit man tries to prevent the owner of a famous porn magazine (Climax) from getting killed by a rival contractor. The book is well-plotted and Quarry remains a witty protagonist, but too many of its secondary characters — especially the females, most of whom hook up with Quarry — are flat and undeveloped.