Killshot was published by Arbor House in 1989. Armand Degas, a half-Ojibway, half-French Canadian professional killer (nicknamed “the Blackbird”), and Richie Nix, a reckless young criminal, attempt to extort a real estate company. Carmen and Wayne Colson, an ironworker couple, witness the encounter and are placed in witness protection. But the program fails — it always fails, in Leonard’s world — and the Colsons must face the killers themselves.
The novel is Leonard’s most sustained exercise in suspense: two ordinary people against two killers, with the institutional protections of the justice system proving inadequate.
The Blackbird
Armand “the Blackbird” Degas is one of Leonard’s most complex antagonists. Half-Ojibway from Walpole Island, Ontario, he is a professional killer who operates with cold precision — a stark contrast to his partner Richie Nix, who is impulsive, violent, and stupid. The dynamic between them — the experienced professional increasingly exasperated by his reckless partner — provides much of the novel’s dark comedy. Leonard portrays Armand with genuine depth: his Ojibway heritage, his professionalism, his contempt for Richie’s chaos are all rendered without condescension.
Carmen Colson
Carmen is the novel’s moral centre and one of Leonard’s strongest female characters. As the couple’s marriage deteriorates under the stress of witness protection — the boredom, the isolation, the loss of identity — Carmen emerges as the tougher of the two. She refuses to be a passive victim, and the novel’s climax depends on her resourcefulness rather than institutional rescue.
Critical Reception
Killshot was well reviewed but overshadowed commercially by the success of Get Shorty the following year. A film adaptation, directed by John Madden and starring Mickey Rourke, Diane Lane, and Thomas Jane, was completed in 2008 but barely released, going straight to DVD in 2009 after extensive re-editing. It is one of the more frustrating missed opportunities in Leonard adaptations.
Collecting Killshot
First edition (1989, Arbor House, New York): Boards with dust jacket.
Approximate market values:
- Fine/Fine in dust jacket: $50–$150
- Signed first edition: $100–$300
- Without jacket: $10–$20
Value trajectory (2016–2026): Minimal. A middle-tier Leonard title.
Projected values (2026–2036): Modest. Signed copies should reach $200–$500.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the film adaptation so rare? The 2008 film was caught in distribution problems and went through multiple re-edits. Despite a strong cast, it was dumped to DVD with almost no marketing. Fans of the novel consider it a significant missed opportunity.
Is this Leonard’s most suspenseful novel? It is certainly his most conventionally structured thriller — the hunter-hunted dynamic drives the plot more directly than the caper structures of Get Shorty or Rum Punch. Readers who find Leonard’s usual digressive style frustrating may find Killshot his most satisfying page-turner.