The Revenger #03 - Vendetta Contract

Jon Messmann authored six volumes of a vigilante series titled The Revenger beginning in 1973. I really enjoy this character and Messmann's gritty delivery, an admiration that I conveyed in my Afterword for the series debut, The Revenger, reprinted by Brash Books in a brand new edition. All six books were originally published in paperback by Signet and all are available now in new physical and digital editions HERE. 

Vendetta Contract, originally published in 1973, finds protagonist Ben Martin in a small town 15 miles south of Indianapolis. It is here that he uses the name “Ben Bruzzi” to work as an industrial painter. He frequents a small diner where his girlfriend, Bianca Lanza, works the day shift as a waitress. He's hopeful that his prior tragedy – the murder of his family by mobsters – can finally become blurred after his triumphant hits on the mob in New York (The Revenger) and Chicago (Fire in the Streets). He's wanting a new life and this town and Bianca seem to have sparked the next chapter. 

Bianca, who knows Ben's past life, confesses that her brother is now involved with the Syndicate. He's gone missing and the mob is now sniffing after Bianca in a quest to locate him. She knows Ben can help but doesn't want to risk is life and their budding new relationship. Meanwhile, while Ben and Bianca are debating the next steps to help her brother, a think-tank meeting takes place between some of the Syndicate's Kingpins. Based on the recent Mob destruction in Chicago, the heavy hitters are wanting to hire an outside assassin to hunt and kill Ben. They choose a professional assassin named Corbet and pay him $300,000 to kill Ben and bring back his hand so they can match fingerprints. 

Vendetta Contract isn't just the best installment of The Revenger series. This could be one of the best men's action-adventure paperbacks I've ever read. Messmann's high-octane style delivers a mesmerizing cat-and-mouse chase across the country as Corbet hunts Ben. After explosive successful hits on mobsters in Indianapolis, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh, Ben takes to the streets as running prey. Messmann's writing provides thoughtful perspectives from both Ben and Corbet, including a sleazy foray into some really dark sexual places that only the 1970s could produce. 

If you enjoy point-of-impact assassin-thrillers by the likes of Robert Ludlum and Stephen Hunter then Vendetta Contract is an absolute must-read. The smooth calculated chase across America provides high-speed car chases, urban warfare, precise planning, and a emotional investment into the Ben Martin character that is nearly unmatched in terms of paperback heroes. This is the one to read.

Get it HERE.