Any suggestions?
I am thinking of series like
Butcher Boy series by Thomas Perry
Keller series by Lawrence Block
Quarry series by Max Allan Collins
Andrew Vachss’ Burke series?
I’ve quite enjoyed several of the John Rain books by Barry Eisler: John Rain Series by Barry Eisler
You’re excluding James Bond as a hitman? Because he kind of was (license to kill and all that sort of thing). ETA: okay, not having read the Fleming novels, I don’t know if Bond was ever actually dispatched to go kill someone; I was just assuming that he was.
Burke’s not a hitman, is he? He kills people sometimes, sure, but it’s more of a side effect.
Brett Battles’s Jonathan Quinn series is good, it’s about the guy who cleans up after hitmen.
Haven’t read any of the series on the OP, but I’m a big fan of Lawrence Block, so I’d start with him.
Since I hadn’t heard of this Block series, I just ordered the first one for my Kindle. I’ll let you know what I think of it.
Similar to Quarry and Keller, I like Parker.
Donald E. Westlake, writing as Richard Stark, wrote the Parker novels. I’ve read twenty of them, I’ll bet there are more.
But Parker isn’t a hit man either. He’s a professional criminal, and he kills without hesitation or remorse, but it’s not his job.
Great series, though.
Huh, I guess you are technically correct, but when I think of Parker I describe him as a hit-man.
Indeed, from the LA Times:
It’s been a long time since I’ve read the novels, but I don’t recall that Parker was hired as a killer in any of them. He seemed to specialize in strong-arm robbery. And revenge, of course.
Also he didn’t kill unless necessary for his safety, and didn’t want to work with people who were too trigger happy. Not that he disliked killing, but he knew that the law would look longer and harder for a killer.
Keller is awesome. I came in the thread to recommend that series, only to find it in the OP.
I went ahead and ordered the first Butcher’s Boy of the series too. I’ll report back.
Please do - I’ve never read that one, and it looks good.
Keller’s Fedora is a new Kindle Single released recently.
Holy shit. I never knew this existed.
Thanks!
A nice little reward for reading this thread. 
The Peter Brownbooks by Josh Bazell
Repairman Jack isn’t a hit man, but he is a certified bad ass.
I’m half way through the first of the Keller series. It’s really off-beat, and I really like it. I brought it to work today to sneaks in some brief reading while no one was looking.
Keller is transitioning to a whole different person through this book. I’m looking forward to finding out the nature and scope of the changes.