2.0
Hit #29
ByPublisher Description
The New York Times–bestselling author of Killer: The Autobiography of a Mafia Hit Man reveals the true story of his most harrowing contract murder.
“Joey the Hit Man” was a Bronx-born hired assassin who achieved widespread notoriety after writing a bestselling memoir and appearing on the David Susskind show. In this “down-to-earth realistic account,” Joey tells the riveting story behind the strangest of his thirty-eight kills (Los Angeles Free Press).
In the fall of 1969, a public execution in an Italian restaurant in Brooklyn earned Joey a mention in the New York Daily News and a twenty-grand payout from the mob. On the surface, his next job seemed just as routine: The bosses suspected their trusted numbers controller, Joe Squillante, was skimming the nightly bets to settle personal debts. Joey gave Squillante two weeks to live.
But there was one problem: Squillante once had a hit out on Joey too. No clueless patsy, #29 was an unpredictable bull’s-eye, and the contract holder was a dangerous mobster with a personal grudge against Joey. Taking the job meant entering into a game of predator and prey as nerve-racking as the cock of a .38 hammer.
From first tail to all-night stakeouts to the intricate planning of the final confrontation, this is the shockingly detailed first-person account of a professional hit. Full of twists, turns, and double crosses, Hit #29 “tells it like it is” and delivers an unforgettable insider’s view of the mob (Kirkus Reviews).
“Joey the Hit Man” was a Bronx-born hired assassin who achieved widespread notoriety after writing a bestselling memoir and appearing on the David Susskind show. In this “down-to-earth realistic account,” Joey tells the riveting story behind the strangest of his thirty-eight kills (Los Angeles Free Press).
In the fall of 1969, a public execution in an Italian restaurant in Brooklyn earned Joey a mention in the New York Daily News and a twenty-grand payout from the mob. On the surface, his next job seemed just as routine: The bosses suspected their trusted numbers controller, Joe Squillante, was skimming the nightly bets to settle personal debts. Joey gave Squillante two weeks to live.
But there was one problem: Squillante once had a hit out on Joey too. No clueless patsy, #29 was an unpredictable bull’s-eye, and the contract holder was a dangerous mobster with a personal grudge against Joey. Taking the job meant entering into a game of predator and prey as nerve-racking as the cock of a .38 hammer.
From first tail to all-night stakeouts to the intricate planning of the final confrontation, this is the shockingly detailed first-person account of a professional hit. Full of twists, turns, and double crosses, Hit #29 “tells it like it is” and delivers an unforgettable insider’s view of the mob (Kirkus Reviews).
Download the free Fable app

Stay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.
Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool
Rate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags
Curate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities1 Review
2.0

Jessica White
Created over 5 years agoShare
Report
“NetGalley approved me for a copy of Hit #29 written by a supposed hit man.
Joey the Hit Man has killed 28 people, soon to be 29.
He liked doing the "heavyweight" work, just not too often. He was a numbers man, a controller. More or less, he was a bookie that took bets and was responsible for collecting losses and paying winners. He was guaranteed an upwards of $10,000 a week in bets and cigarettes. So why was he taking heavyweight work to kill people when he was earning the same amount from one hit?
I think it was the adrenaline for him. He enjoyed taking the lives of other people because it put him in control. He was calling the shots. He was playing God. The rush he felt from the killing was far more ecstatic for him than just running numbers.
Now I had several problems with this book.
1) Since it is based on the killer's own account, I found some of it to be a tad far fetched.
2) He speaks of the Bronx as his home, never leaving, always there.
3) In regards to the statement above, over halfway through the book he throws out that he was in the Army and served in the Korean War. But previously mentioned never leaving the Bronx?
4) He knew how to run numbers, bets were his specialty. Cigarettes were an added income. So why become a hitman?
5) He was so cautious but often let his ego shine through his words.
I do want to thank NetGalley for approving me for this book, but I would not recommend this to anyone that enjoys true crime books like me.
This review and more can be found at A Reader's Diary!”
Start a Book Club
Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!FAQ
Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?
Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?
How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?
Do you sell physical books too?
Are book clubs free to join on Fable?
How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?