Iron House -- John Hart

John Hart's already won a couple of Edgars, and this is only is fourth book. So you probably know about him already. If you don't, this might be as good a place as any to start, since all his books are standalones.

The Iron House of the title is an orphanage, not the kind you want to be in, and two brothers, Michael and Julian find themselves there. That's the backstory. In the present, Michael's a mob hit man who's seen the light and is going to get out of the mob life. He thinks. It's never that easy. What follows is a plot that twists and turns and moves between the present and the past. You won't get lost, though. Hart's too good for that.

If you're faint of heart, be warned that there's a lot of violence. And be warned if you have trouble accepting a killer as a sympathetic character, you might want to go elsewhere. All others are in for an exciting ride.