BECAUSE IN 1961, NO ONE WOULD HAVE CALLED FIDEL CASTRO THE RETIRING TYPE.

"There were five of them, each prepared to kill, each with his own reasons for accepting what might well be a suicide mission. The pay? $20,000 apiece. The mission? Find a way into Cuba and kill Castro.

"This breathtaking thriller, originally published the year before the Cuban Missile Crisis under a pen name Lawrence Block never used before or since, is the rarest of Block's books – and still a work of chilling relevance all these years later, with Castro and Cuba once again commanding headlines."

The book was universally ignored when it first appeared, but Hard Case Crime's reprint was very well received. Publishers Weekly, in a starred review: "Passages discussing Castro's life and times add depth to this intense, taut thriller, just as good now as it was in 1961. Booklist: "As a kind of alternate pulp history, the novel works just fine, with plenty of blood and bullets and, as always with Block, a fine feel for character. A curiosity, yes, but also an entertaining thriller."

This Classic Crime Library ebook edition of Killing Castro includes as a bonus the opening chapter of the next book in the series, A Diet of Treacle.