Hitman Anders and the Meaning of It All

Anders is a hitman who stumbled into his line of work. Upon his latest release from prison, he finds a curious pair of allies: a down-on-his-luck hotel receptionist and an atheist con-woman who used to be a vicar. Although all Anders wants is to drink wine, his cohorts build a very successful hitman/legbreaker-for-hire business around him. That is, until Anders finds religion and their plan falls apart. How will the plotting duo deal with gangsters who want them dead and a hitman who shall not kill?

Hitman Anders and the Meaning of It All is a curiously comic look at what motivates us, from money and wine to sex and religion, and honestly, the best thing about it is that it feels strangely realistic in its pacing. It’s less of a traditional narrative arc and more an ever-growing pile of events.

Although the book is not as funny as it thinks it is, the madcap spirit informs all the best moments; whether it’s people finding love while discovering they hate all the same things or the awkwardness of criminal life post-betrayal, there’s a lot of comedic situations here, even if the book isn’t laugh-out-loud funny.