# Pest Control

By Bill Fitzhugh · Assassin Bugs, book 1

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/pest-control-36585ae4/

Bob Dillon wants to make a living killing insects without poisoning the environment. His advertisement reaches a man hiring for an altogether different sort of extermination, and the Queens pest controller acquires a reputation among professional assassins. Bob has to survive the business everyone thinks he is in.

## What makes it funny?

Even turning down a murder assignment fails to clear things up. Someone dies by accident, and Bob gets the credit. The people paying him interpret his complete lack of involvement as evidence of unusual skill.

### The comedy at work

Fitzhugh keeps two meanings of extermination in circulation. Bob thinks in terms of insects and pest-control methods; the criminals hear a fellow professional discussing murder. Each new misunderstanding makes the supposed hit man more interesting to people he needs to avoid.

### Try this if…

An elaborate mistaken-identity plot gives this crime comedy its momentum. It suits readers who enjoy watching an ordinary worker bewilder professional killers while trying to keep his own plans alive.

### Good to know

Murder and hired killers are central to the story, despite the comic treatment. Bob’s alternative to chemical pest control supplies much of the setup.

## What to expect

- Genre: Crime & thriller
- Kind of humor: Farce · Situational comedy · Wordplay
- Format: Novel

## Sources & further reading

- Review: [Kirkus review](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/bill-fitzhugh/pest-control)
- Publisher: [Publisher](https://farragobooks.com/book/pest-control)