THE GOOD KILLER

Sean Tennant and Molly Winter are living quietly and cautiously in Houston when a troubled, obsessive stranger shatters the safety they have carefully constructed for themselves. Sean is at a shopping mall when Henry Alan Keen, scorned by a woman he’s been dating, pulls out a gun at the store where she works and begins shooting everyone in sight. A former soldier, Sean rushes toward Keen and ends the slaughter with two well-placed shots — becoming a hero with his face plastered across the news.

But Sean’s newfound notoriety exposes him to the wrath of two men he thought he had left safely in his past. One of them blames Sean for his brother’s death. The other wants to recover a treasure that Sean and Molly stole from him. Both men are deadly and relentless enemies, and Sean and Molly will need to draw on all their strength and devotion to each other if they hope to elude them. Thus begins a cross-country chase that leads from Texas to Montana, from Tennessee to New York to Michigan, as the hunters and their prey grow ever closer and, in a heart-stopping moment, converge.

​A wickedly clever and exhilarating thriller, The Good Killer offers a sophisticated, breathtaking look at the extremes people will reach for love, greed, and survival.

​> Read an excerpt

REVIEWS OF THE GOOD KILLER

> The Wall Street Journal (January 31, 2020):

"Houston resident Sean Tennant, the title character in Harry Dolan’s slick and twisty THE GOOD KILLER, grew up in Detroit as Sean Garrety. His life partner, Molly Winter, was once known as Molly Bowen. The two have fled their old home and established new identities. They've set rules for themselves to ensure their mutual safety: 'They've left the people they used to know behind. They don't see them or talk to them, ever.' And they 'stay clear of where they used to live. The state of Michigan is off-limits.'

          "All rules get broken in the wake of Sean's quick action one afternoon at a Houston shopping mall. An ex-soldier who served in Iraq, Sean sometimes carries a pistol; when a disturbed citizen, also armed, begins killing people, he springs into action—shooting the assailant dead and aiding the surviving injured. He then leaves the scene without identifying himself—but cellphone photos of the anonymous hero are instantly all over the internet. Sean and Molly must flee once again.

          "What caused the pair to assume new identities and move to a different state to begin with? The answers are revealed through well-timed flashbacks within a propulsive narrative. The couple at the center of the story, for all the perils they face, are always good company, both likable and resourceful. . . .

          "Mr. Dolan's great gifts for storytelling, well displayed in his four previous books, are in even fuller evidence in THE GOOD KILLER, a story somewhat larger in scope, thus allowing for yet more tension, suspense and surprising resolutions."

-- Tom Nolan

> Associated Press (February 4, 2020):

"Living off the grid may sound inviting - keep your head down, don’t get friendly with strangers, avoid social media and never allow yourself to stand out in public. Sometimes that sounds inviting, especially when daily life and social media become overwhelming.

          "But the reality is that one false move can put you right back in the thick of life as author Harry Dolan shows in his highly gratifying THE GOOD KILLER.

          "Iraq vet Sean Tennant and Molly Winter have been happily living an anonymous life in a Houston suburb, following a specific set of rules to keep them incognito. Then Molly travels to Montana for a yoga retreat and Sean goes to the mall to buy shoes the same day that unstable Henry Keen, angry over being rejected by a woman, begins shooting people. Sean’s training kicks in and he shoots Henry, saving countless lives.

          "Sean, 'the good guy with a gun,' tries to slip away unnoticed but his actions were captured by many cellphones. His actions make national news and he's hailed a hero, attracting attention he cannot afford. . . .

          "In just five novels, Dolan has garnered a reputation for intelligent plots that gently weave in action with his well-sculpted characters’ believable motives and a soupcon of humor.

          "THE GOOD KILLER expertly delves into each character’s psyche, showing the humanity in each. . . . An especially heartfelt — and unexpected — finale elevates THE GOOD KILLER."

-- Oline Cogdill

> The Daily Mail (February 6, 2020):

"It is not exactly common to describe thrillers as fun and entertaining, but it's fair to say this one most certainly is.

          "Former soldier Sean Tennant is living quietly in Houston, Texas, with his girlfriend Molly, when his life is thrown into chaos. A troubled loner goes on a shooting spree in a shopping mall. Tennant is there and ends the slaughter with two deadly shots, becoming a hero with his name all over the news.

          "The trouble is this brings him to the attention of two men he thought he'd left in his past, and he and Molly are forced to flee.

          "So begins a Bonnie and Clyde-style chase across the U.S., from Montana to Tennessee, New York to Michigan, with the pair only just ahead of their psychopathic pursuers.

          "Written in Dolan's characteristically sophisticated prose, the action never stops, and the longer the chase goes on the more you sympathise with Sean and Molly."

-- Geoffrey Wansell

> Publishers Weekly (December 2019):

"When Iraq vet Sean Tennant, the hero of this satisfying crime novel from Dolan (The Man in the Crooked Hat), stops a shooting spree in a Houston mall by fatally shooting unstable Henry Keen, he draws unwanted attention to himself. Sean is actually Sean Garrety, and he and his wife, Molly Winter, have been in hiding from small-time crook Jimmy Harper, whose brother died while committing a robbery with Sean, and from Adam Khadduri, the dodgy art dealer they robbed. Sean speeds to rural Montana to join Molly, who’s lying low at a retreat, and the couple flee across the country, with Jimmy and Adam’s men in hot pursuit. Despite the many players, Dolan gives each of them their own believable motivations and emotions. The action concludes, not with a shoot-out, but with one of Keen’s victims as she deals with the aftermath of the tragedy, providing a calm coda after the relentless chase. Both action junkies and readers who like their thrillers on the cerebral side will find something to enjoy."

​> BookPage (February 2020):

"If you’re up for a first-rate page turner, look no further than Harry Dolan’s The Good Killer (Mysterious Press). Iraq vet Sean and his partner, Molly, have been living under the radar for years, harboring a virtually priceless secret and trying to remain invisible to a pair of dangerous enemies. Then, by sheer unfortunate happenstance, Sean uses his military training to take down a spree killer in a Houston mall. Sean makes a fairly clean getaway, but his face and license plate number are captured by mall security cams, and he becomes something of a reluctant celebrity. Meanwhile, Molly is attending a yoga seminar in Montana, where she is required to surrender her cell phone and renounce all contact with the outside world. Sean has no choice but to drive there and collect her before anyone else can. He heads north in an aging Camry with a faulty alternator, woefully under-armored vis-à-vis the opposing teams. The rest of the book is basically one long and harrowing chase scene, right up to the explosive climax. Block out sufficient time to read The Good Killer in one sitting. It’ll be hard to stop once you get started." 

-- Bruce Tierney

> Bookreporter (February 7, 2020):

"It is only February, but there have been some excellent books published so far this year. Chief among them is THE GOOD KILLER by Harry Dolan. You should file him at the top of your reading list under 'Should be a household name.' I say that based not only on the strength of this new novel, which is perfect in every way, but also on the previous four that Dolan has written. . . .

          "Once you start reading THE GOOD KILLER, there is no good place to stop, other than the end. Comparisons of Dolan’s novels to the work of Elmore Leonard are inevitable and not entirely inaccurate, but ultimately are unfair to both authors. Pick up the book, give yourself a few hours to read it, and then carve out a block of time to check out Dolan’s impressive backlist on its own terms. You’ll see what I mean."

-- Joe Hartlaub

> Lansing City Pulse (February 13, 2020):

"Dolan's writing is superb. . . . In his latest book, THE GOOD KILLER, he’s crossed over from a sublime, often-ethereal mystery writer to a well-honed thriller writer."

> CriminalElement.com (February 26, 2020):

"Pick up Harry Dolan’s The Good Killer and strap in for a wild and satisfying ride."

-- Ray Palen

> PromotingCrime (April 2020):

"A whirlwind game of cat and mouse. . . . The dialogue is easy on the ear, the prose is original and never falters to capture the essence of the helter-skelter, and the ending is satisfyingly and ably wrapped up.  Highly recommended."

-- Serena Fairfax

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> BookBitch.com (February 2020):

"The pace of the novel keeps the reader glued to the book with every incentive to finish it in one splendid read. And a very good read it is, supplying every reason to pick up Harry Dolan’s future books."

-- Paul Lane

> Florida Times-Union (November 29, 2020):

"Dolan, who has been compared to Elmore Leonard, brings the reader into his adventure by alternately telling the story from each character’s viewpoint. Fast-paced and readable with loads of geographic detail, the chase will have you hanging on until the very end."

-- C. F. Foster