New York City, 1946. No one knows his real name, but when the job is too dirty, too dangerous, they call Kissyman.
Once an elite Nazi SS commando, an honorable soldier, a taker of lives. When he was assigned to Dachau and saw what he was actually fighting for, he went AWOL and ran as far away as he could – to America. He still makes his living with a gun, but he no longer kills for his country. Now, he kills for cash.
A dashing, high-profile bodyguard known as “The Gentleman” is hired to protect Beth Copenhaver, an up-and-coming Hollywood starlet. When a man named Mathis Wrenn surfaces from Beth’s past and threatens her life, the Gentleman hires Kissyman to make Mr. Wrenn see the error of his ways.
It should be a simple job, but there is far more to the connection between Wrenn and Beth than the bombshell lets on. She’s starring in a new movie with John Wayne called Western Dawn. As the premier approaches, Kissyman has to get to Wrenn before Wrenn can get to Beth.
Kissyman & the Gentleman is two-fisted, nonstop noir action that draws you deep into the murderous world of this most unlikely hero.
Kissyman and the Gentleman by Scott Sigler. Two novellas or short stories combined in one new audio, narrated by Ray Porter. Published by Empty Set Entertainment, April 2019. Unabridged audiobook, 3 hours and 47 mins.
A new Scott Sigler audiobook narrated by Ray Porter? Well, yes please! How can I say no to that?? And it’s two stories in one audio? Nice! I really like Sigler’s style and I have loved everything Ray Porter has narrated. So of course I was on board with this one!
The Kissyman stories are very interesting, with an unorthodox main character. He is kinda… well… crazy, I think. But mostly a…nice….guy…? Definitely not your typical hero (or even anti-hero), that is for sure. I enjoyed the uniqueness of this character. I mean, a main character that is a little bit unhinged is just a lot of fun. It was definitely not the same old story you’ve seen before. I don’t really know how to classify the Kissyman stories… not exactly a detective, but there is a little bit of mystery to solve. Maybe pulp fiction? Definitely gritty enough for pulp. Scott’s wit always makes for a fun story, no matter what kind of crazy premise is going on.
The first story was a little bit too short. It was just enough to give you a little taste of what you are in store for with the Kissyman stories. Like dipping your toe in to a pool. The second story, which the title of the audio comes from, felt longer and had more depth to the story. A lot more was going on with it. Both stories were very entertaining, but I’ve gotta give the nod to the second story for being just a little bit better. I would have loved for either story to be a full length book. I was bummed that the audiobook was over so quickly!
Ray Porter, once again, shines in his performance. He did a great job with voices. He really has a lot of range with his work and it was pretty cool getting to listen to him doing a lot of accents. And there are a ton of accents. All kinds of New York accents, ethnic accents, foreign accents. Another amazing job by Porter.
Kissyman and the Gentleman was a very quick audiobook that had lots of punch. Very entertaining plots and characters. Would love to see a full length book set in this world. Ray is an amazing narrator and really shows how talented he is with this audio. I would gladly listen to another Kissyman story.
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