Nightlife: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

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Key Phrases: homicide office, charcoal starter, Catherine Hobbes, Hugo Poole, Joe Pitt (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Serial killer Charlene Buckner—aka Tanya Starling, Rachel Sturbridge, Nancy Mills, and several other monikers—changes her identity each time she commits a murder. By the end of Perry's mesmerizing novel (Pursuit; The Butcher's Boy), Charlene has racked up an impressive body count and her own personal Rolodex of bogus names. Yes, as a child she had a slutty mom, and yes, she was abandoned in her late teens, but her life story is hardly the horror show of most fictional serial killers. Perry patiently shows that it doesn't necessarily take child molestation and brutality to create a murderer. "She was just a regular person who had always wanted what everybody else wanted—to be happy." Portland police detective Sgt. Catherine Hobbes investigates Charlene's first kill, Dennis Poole, and follows close behind her, always just a little too late to catch Charlene or save her latest victim, as Charlene moves on to San Francisco, L.A., Las Vegas and other locales, where she pauses just long enough to commit another murder. Hobbes has her own issues, and by the end the two women have grown close not only in proximity but in identity as well. Reinterpreting conventions and confounding readers' expectations with fascinating characters, this is Perry at his best. (Mar. 14)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Bookmarks Magazine

Thomas Perry, author of the Edgar Award?winning The Butcher's Boy, the five-volume Jane Whitefield series, and other best-selling novels, has taken typical elements of an ordinary crime thriller and given them an unusual, erotic twist. The New York Times compares Nightlife's psychological impact to that of The Silence of the Lambs and Mystic River: we're not dealing with a stock killer but a rather ordinary young woman turned bad. Critics agree that Perry successfully delves deep inside the female psyche with chapters narrated from both Hobbes's and the murderer's perspectives. A little haphazard storytelling, with characters flitting in and out of chapters, confused some critics, but overall, Nightlife is a smart, engaging read.

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (May 29, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345496000
• ISBN-13: 978-0345496003
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #487,684 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Thomas Perry's best work, March 27, 2006

By	Larry Gandle (Tampa, Florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Nightlife: A Novel (Hardcover)

Thomas Perry has written some modern classic suspense novels such as the Edgar Award winning THE BUTCHER'S BOY. He has created some interesting and strong female protagonists. His latest effort, NIGHTLIFE, features again some very strong female protagonists- one a serial killer and the other the cop pursuing her.
Hugo Poole is a major crime figure living in LA. When a cousin of his is found murdered in his Oregon home, Poole hires retired detective Joe Pitt to find his cousin's killer. Catherine Hobbes is the Portland homicide detective assigned to the case. As Catherine looks into the killing, she discovers that the killer is a female who has established a relationship with her victim. In fact, the killer is a woman of many identities who has made a habit of dating then killing men. Catherine publicly begins to pursue the killer. Unfortunately, the killer begins to feel boxed in by Catherine and decides to murder her pursuer.
Thomas Perry knows how to weave a compelling tale. Unfortunately, in this latest work, he lacked a certain focus. The plot meandered and quite often his story would wander off on tangents that might lead a reader to wonder about the editing. For example, he describes a minor character with great care and detail over the span of several pages only to kill them off ten pages later. The ending comes so suddenly with virtually no denouement that the reader might be left scratching their head. This is not Thomas Perry's best effort. I would recommend some of his earlier works such as PURSUIT or DEAD AIM which were just republished in attractive trade paperbacks.

41 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Potentially a terrific book, but it went sideways, March 16, 2006

By	Brian Baker (Santa Clarita, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Nightlife: A Novel (Hardcover)

I won't summarize the entire novel, as you can see that in the publishing reviews.

A new Thomas Perry book has always been a long-anticipated treat, from "Butcher's Boy" through the Jane Whitfield series and right up to the present, usually made all the more welcome due to the sporadic timing of his works; Perry doesn't follow the usual one-per-year schedule of most popular fiction writers.

From the start, "Nightlife" is a grabber, introducing one of the best female villains ever in his central antagonist (who goes by many names throughout the story), and very effectively portraying her as a total sociopath - it's an absolutely riveting depiction.

He also introduces a couple of other fascinating characters: Hugo Poole (in what has to be one of the best character intros in contemporary fiction) and Joe Pitt. Both of these characters are fascinating: unique, compelling, memorable. Poole is a shady underworld character with a strong set of values, a take-no-prisoners attitude, and the stones to carry it all off. Pitt is a retired DA's investigator, ex-cop, lady's man, the kind of guy you want at your back in a dark alley.

Perry's third protagonist is Catherine Hobbes, a Portland PD detective trying to track down the murderous antagonist. Another well-delineated character, though not nearly as interesting as either Poole or Pitt.

The story moves along briskly at first, as the antagonist moves from city to city ( and identity to identity ) in her efforts to stay ahead of the law, killing her victims along the way.

But for me, it all goes sideways about two thirds of the way through. Earlier in the book, we'd seen Poole fall very far into the background of the story ( a terrible waste of a fascinating character ). Suddenly Pitt ( a love interest for Catherine, among other things in the story ) does the same, all but disappearing from the remainder of the story. The action grinds down to a snail's-pace ( I hate to say it, but I almost gave up on this book at that point ) as the antagonist kind of flails around with juggling identities and Catherine seems to be noodling around Portland contemplating her navel.

We finally reach the final confrontation in the climax, but it was very unsatisfying, almost perfunctory. It certainly did a disservice to a book that started out so well. In my opinion this book would have been much better if Pitt, and especially Poole, had been more central to the story with Catherine being a peripheral character.

Oh, well. Three stars.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great suspense story, March 11, 2006

By	Mariana Chaffee "always reading" (Kirkland, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Nightlife: A Novel (Hardcover)

I always read a new Thomas Perry novel as soon as possible, then, over time, I re-read them. He's that good. I loved this one -- the serial killer is both fascinating and frighteningly banal. That's quite a trick. I liked the heroine, Catherine Hobbs, and I liked watching her mind work. She is intelligent and observant, logical and dedicated. Good characters, and wonderful writing. Go buy it, read it, then try his other books. I'm particularly partial to "Metzger's Dog", but really, I've enjoyed them all. Perry does not repeat himself, and he is always excellent. Read him.