Customer Reviews

The Butcher's Boy

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Thomas Perry's first novel is a Killer-Thriller! I had read "Sleeping Dogs"(the sequal) before I read "The Butchers Boy". Both books are great. I am glad they re-printed "The Butchers Boy" because it explains a lot I missed when reading
"Sleeping Dogs". However, each book can stand alone without the other. The "Butchers Boy" is about a hitman that is double crossed by the mob after he completed some contract(killing) work for them. It also tells the story of the Department of Justice Field Agent that is trying to tie all the killings together. It is a race to the end to find the missing link that will tie the knot to this killer-thriller. Also don't miss the few chapters that introduces us to the much loved "jane whitefield series" the lady that can make you disappear. I hope Perry brings that series back-it was one of his best. "Butchers Boy is a good read!

Butcher's Boy grabs you from the start and keeps you going. The thing that makes this book so compelling is that you end up rooting for the "bad" guy.

The protagonist of this book is a ruthless professional killer who has earned the nickname that is the book's title. Nonetheless, you end up hoping he'll get away from the even more awful people who hire him, and the police (remember they're supposed to be the "good" guys).

Perry's descriptions of settings and characters in this, and all of his books, are excellent. This one is embellished by a tight plot and a point of view that is different from other novels.

I wish I hadn't given my copy away as the book is now hard to find. Perhaps a publisher will re-issue it; or it'll be made into a movie (hopefully a good one) that will bring it back on the shelves.

Thomas Perry introduces the unpredictable Butcher's Boy in this book and continues the story years later in the novel Sleeping Dogs. Both books are great. This one won an Edgar award. Read everything you can by Perry. He's the best thriller writer going. Unlike some more popular writers in this genre, he can actually write.

This is one of the greatest books I've ever read in the last twenty years! Find it anyway you could and after finished it, try to find the sequal SLEEPING DOGS, kill both with one shot, please! This book almost became a bible to modern day thriller writers and it's plots and scenario had been sneakly if not consciously copied by many recent writers such J. Finder(the Zero Hour) and B. Branon(Devils hole). Thomas Perry is one of the great treasures in American literature(although I don't like this serious word). Mr. Perry is a most talented but sometimes with weird writing directions. If you enjoyed his BUTCHER'S BOY/SLEEPING DOGS, then please try to read his new DISAPPEARING ACT series, you will be so happy to find a great writer who obviously never lost his MUSE to find a different Hero or Heroine to entertain himself and us. A MUST READ ALL WRITER!

If you like compelling thrillers, Thomas Perry is your man- at least with this book and the sequel- Sleeping Dogs. I discovered this book when it was first pulished, and spent a number of years trying to find it after it went out of print. Now it is back, and I no longer have my copy because I loaned it to a thriller loving friend. Shouldn't really like the book- the "hero" is a hit man who is truly amoral, and yet somehow you still get engaged with him. The writing is lean and moves the story at a perfect pace. I love deep books about complex charcters, but for relaxation give me a well written page turner anytime. And this book is just that. I recommend reading both books, as I think the story becomes fully fleshed only in Sleeping Dogs. Then move on to the Jane Whitfield novels- great plotting and writing and the heroine is truly that.

I read SLEEPING DOGS and really enjoyed it. Then I spent two years trying to find THE BUTCHER'S BOY in used bookstores (before I owned a computer). Stumbled across it at a yard sale for 50 cents. Couldn't put it down after I started reading it. Stayed up until daybreak to finish it. This is one of the best books I've ever read (and I've read a lot)! The other reviews are all accurate. If you like mystery/action/suspense, buy it. But don't start reading it until you have the time to finish it. You won't put it down. SLEEPING DOGS is great too, but a sequel is a sequel is a sequel. METZGER'S DOG (not a sequel) is also quite good--it's more of a comedy and not on the same level as THE BUTCHER'S BOY.

The anti-hero of Thomas Perry's first novel is known only as "The Butcher's Boy." For almost seven years, he has been a hit man who is handsomely paid for his specialized services. After he assassinates a high profile target in a particularly clever manner, he expects to receive his payment and go about his business. Instead, more dead bodies begin to pile up and what should have been a straightforward job turns out to be anything but. Who is behind the unexpected bloodbath and what will it take for the butcher's boy to escape unscathed?

The female protagonist is Elizabeth Waring, a highly intelligent and determined woman who has worked for over a year as a data analyst for the Justice Department. Her job is to go through lists of computer printouts, looking "for a pattern that will lead ... to a professional killer...." She also helps keep track of the whereabouts and activities of known organized crime figures. When Elizabeth comes across an account of the murder of a thirty-five year old machinist in Ventura, California, she notices that the deceased, Albert Veasy, was a union activist. He died in a monumental explosion that occurred after he turned the key in the ignition of his pickup truck. Who would want this average blue-collar worker, who had no known enemies, dead?

Although Elizabeth and the butcher's boy appear to have nothing in common, their interests are destined to intersect. Her boss sends Elizabeth to California to look into Veasy's death, even though she is not an experienced investigator. She and the butcher's boy subsequently spend a great deal of time and energy trying to figure out why so many additional people are being slaughtered, especially in Las Vegas. When the butcher's boy himself becomes a target, he will need all of his survival skills to escape his tenacious pursuers. The hunter has become the hunted.

Perry's intricate debut novel has the same brisk style that has served him well throughout his career. He never indulges in purple prose or overstatement. The plot is original and suspenseful. The author captures settings, characters, and moods perfectly with his precise and carefully crafted descriptive writing. Although it may not be politically correct to admire a cold-blooded killer, we cannot help but root for the daring, resilient and ingenious butcher's boy, who takes such pride in his work and is meticulous in his attention to detail. He uses his acting ability, familiarity with surveillance techniques, knowledge of weaponry, and more than a bit of luck to stay alive. This is a fitting introduction to an author who consistently comes up with compelling and original stories about unusual people caught up in forces that they cannot easily control. Perry's world is ambiguous and quirky. It is a place with no explicit set of values, where justice is meted out capriciously, loose ends are left dangling, and there is no clear-cut line between good and evil.

The Butcher's Boy is not lyrical or beautifully written, it gets straight to the point--action and suspense. It is dark but lightened with sarcastic humor, and it is an intense, page turning thriller: a Female detective desperate to catch the killer, and a killer so well defined that you keep finding yourself rooting for him too. This book has a very satisfying ending no matter which one you were rooting for.

And I totally disagree with the reviewer who wanted to leave the last two pages out--they were the perfect, satisfying ending.

One of my other favorite books is Ludlum's The Bourne Identity (the movie was NOT based on the book!!! so read the book.) The Bourne Identity and the next two in the series were similar to The Butcher's Boy in that they were page turners that have a certain humor that showed itself just when you needed the relief.

This guy is great! The writing, the plotting, the twists and turns are terrific. Fresh ways of looking at people's actions & their feelings. Sense of humor is welcome too. I sometimes find 20 or 30 year old books sort of dated but this wasn't at all. Now reading Dead Aim by Perry and finding that just as entertaining. Will be collecting this one.
No need to discuss the meat of the book, but I highly recommend this author.

My library branch head boss likes to recommend the classics of a genre. Before this, she recommended Ken Follett's "Eye of the Needle". Then she thrust this one into my hands after my coworker's son returned it, who had read it in four hours.

Although I must admit my more deliberate pace, I will say this is a quick read.

This book is similar to Ken Follett's "Eye of the Needle" in several ways. Both are fast paced thrillers that feature main characters who are methodical professionals, but professions (spy, hit-man) that require ruthlessness--both characters are kind of like evil MacGyvers.

While their characters are flat, their pursuers have a human side. The storytelling switches between killer and pursuer, which paces nicely.

While "Eye of the Needle" ends with a dramatic clash between two characters, "Butcher's Boy" side-steps the collision of killer and pursuer with a bit of the deus ex machina (the killer just happens to run into the person who has the 2 separate pieces of information he needs, an insane amount of money, and the means to frame his pursuers).

Despite this flaw, the real joy comes from watching the Butcher's Boy achieve impossible objectives and extricating himself from certain demise by preparing for multiple situations while simultaneously improvising solutions.

Therefore, I highly recommend this to any business school student, aspiring lawyer, or wannabe evil MacGyvers.