MY DAD IS A HITMAN

A hapless father becomes an accidental hit man, much to his son’s chagrin, in Hix’s debut YA novel.

Fourteen-year-old Luke Wimms’ life is turned upside down after he starts joining his father on lucrative assassination operations. As a single dad, Larry Wimms has done his best to be a good parent to Luke after his wife’s abandonment of the family a decade ago. All the boy knows of his father is that he has a goofy sense of humor, loves to tell stories, and is an out-of-work meat department manager for a grocery store chain. Out of financial desperation, Luke and Larry decide to relocate from central Colorado to Los Angeles. While staying at a hotel on the way, Larry discovers a dead man in an adjoining room filled with automatic weapons, bundles of cash, drones, disguises, and a computer with detailed mission instructions. Dismissing his son’s reasonable objections, Larry capitalizes on his resemblance to the dead man, and an ensuing comedy of errors finds him assuming the hired killer’s identity. A series of calamitous murder missions involving a Russian tycoon, a pharmaceutical kingpin, and a Korean general yields huge payouts, but as Larry gets greedy, other operatives close in. Hix displays a knack for characterization in this entertaining romp, and his choice to tell the story from a teenager’s perspective makes it uniquely satisfying. Hix sketches both main characters creatively and authentically: Luke is an outspoken young man who seeks to protect his clueless dad, while Larry makes a series of reckless decisions despite his son’s best efforts. Luke’s earnest first impressions of contemporary LA’s big-city smells are both believable and hilarious: “I was used to clean, crisp mountain air, but this smelled like a mixture of rotten eggs and a big wet dog. It slapped me across the cheek like I had been back talking to some adult.” Although the book is geared toward YA readers, there’s enough action, intrigue, and humor to engage a wide audience. Hix cleverly leaves the novel’s surprising ending open for further adventures.

A dynamic thriller featuring a compelling father-and-son spy team.