Counted With the Dead - by Peter O'Keefe (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Jack Killeen is done killing. The Detroit hitman has grown disgusted with his job and wants to turn his life around. Unfortunately for him, it's too late: A mad surgeon has created a monster from the bodies of Killeen's victims and the creature is animated by the damaged brain of Jack's final target, Victor Moravian.

Now the Mob wants him dead, the cops want a piece of him, and his hard-nosed parish priest refuses to grant him absolution until he atones for his crimes. Complicating matters, Jack is in love with Marlene, Moravian's widow, who wants him to use his particular set of skills to find her "missing" husband.

Jack's only ally is his closeted factory worker brother Marty, whose homosexuality has strained their once close relationship and complicated the hitman's relationship with his Mob bosses. Together they navigate the city's underbelly and bitter racial divisions as they track the beast through the post-apocalyptic ruins of late '90s Detroit.

It's remorseless killing machine vs. ruthless professional killer as Jack struggles to protect his family, destroy the monster, and somehow achieve absolution for his crimes.