The Shot: Darkly imaginative alternative history thriller re-imagines the Kennedy assassination myth

Totally engrossing and very readable. Great characters and a very well drawn world . The paralleled with ‘real’ history were all neat and the links to the Zapruder film, sublime.

A well-written and absorbing novel from Philip Kerr. Tom Jefferson is a professional hit man, and we meet him at the start of the book about to take down his latest target. The story develops and unfolds around unrest in Cuba in 1960, Kennedy's upcoming inauguration as President, and the role of the mob, the CIA and the FBI in matters of the state. Quickly, Jefferson goes from the hunter to being hunted for his apparent involvement in a plot to kill Kennedy. As usual with Kerr's stories, there is a strong sense of atmosphere, and a good knowledge about the politics of the time. He perhaps ladles the brand names on a bit too much, but even this gives a nice sense of the sleazy sophistication of America as it entered the decade of rampant consumerism. The plot feels to fall away a little bit towards the end, but it's sharply written book that captures all the sense of conspiracy and "what if" that continues to swirl around this particular period in time.

As well as the "Bernie Books", and the children's books. Mr kerr also wrote several stand alone novels, most of them OK, some good (Gridiron springs to mind) and others that really needed a very good editor. This is one of those. Too long, too many named brands, no hero worth mentioning, in fact no hero at all and all in all just a bit of a mess. It could have been pruned by 70 pages and been a 20% better book. Unless you want to collect all of Mr Kerr's writing best to avoid this one.

Like all Kerr writing this failry licked along. The characters were totally beleivable as was the fundamental plot. The detail in some sections was above and beyond the call of duty and many authors would have skimmed over stuff that Kerr tackles head on and with panache. Anyone who thinks this couldn't have happened has never met a real marksman. What a loss that Philip Kerr is no more.

An alternative take on the chaotic political and criminal currents swirling about in the USA on the cusp of the 1960’s. All of Phillip Kerr’s literary excellence as a story teller are fully present. As there will be no new books (RIP PK) I was most pleased to discover this title as I browsed through Amazon & enjoyed it immensely.

First class narrative, well constructed, suspending disbelief with clever mix of fictional characters with those who really existed at the time. The best book I have read for a long time.

A professional assassin (presidentially named Tom Jefferson) is hired by mobster Sam Giancana (who famously shared a girlfriend with JFK) to murder Fidel Castro, so that Cuba can revert to its previous Mob-dominated money-spinning status. But there are other pressures on Jefferson, and he diverts his attention to a plot to remove Kennedy before the inauguration.“Georgetown lay on his soul like a dead weight.” Philip Kerr, as we know from his WW2 and Cold War novels, has a neat way with words. His extended dialogue scenes reminded me of Robert Ludlum at his most prolix, but the assassination theme pulls the reader through the occasional slow patch. As with THE DAY OF THE JACKAL, you think the end won’t spring any surprises – but it does!Most conspiracy buffs believe that Cosa Nostra did play a key role in the events in Dallas in 1963; Oliver Stone’s movie JFK included this and several of the other scenarios in a mash-up of the conspiracy to end all conspiracies. THE SHOT offers one more tense, imaginative chapter to the Mythology of “Camelot”.

I've been a fan of Kerr since the Berlin Noir trilogy and came across this book as a kindle deal.The book is wordy. Half the Mafia is name-checked in it and the descriptions are flowery with a lot of smartass. The treatment/description of women veers towards the misogynistic.The plot itself is good but it's wrapped around with too many other subplots and distractions.

I enjoyed it thoroughly. I don't know if it happened but very plausible plot and very well written.

What I have read from P. Kerr is really good and attractive. But The Shot is bored and whithout a good structure.... also it has too many dialogues that only serve to lengthen the book ... I do not recommend it!

This was actually the first “non Bernie” book by Kerr I read. Well written, with some good background to set the time and era. And leaving you with a bitter taste in your mouth.

Inside the heads of the mob, the CIA, the Feds, the Cuban nationalists, and within the capabilities of assassin Tom Jefferson: it’s just a shot away.

It’s fertile terrain: Anti-commie phobia, the Mafia and US political scheming when Castro seizes power in Cuba. Brilliantly exploiting these ingredients is the author who writes Nazi thrillers about Bernie Gunther (this isn’t one).The revelations are intriguing in a work classed as fiction, and where private agendas fuel a plot inspired by history. Kerr’s dialogue and his character sketches expose not only mobsters of note but the dark side of the FBI, CIA and the Secret Service. The professional hitman, in contrast, has higher morals than them all. And this includes the Kennedy clan!The end twist disappointed me (I won’t reveal it). After lovely double-cross and deadly deceit throughout, I found the reader was also taken for a ride. An enjoyable ride no less, but by tradition a literary no-no.