The Butcher's Boy (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: precision tooling, Little Norman, Las Vegas, Miss Waring (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A stunning debut . . . a brilliantly plotted thriller.” —The Washington Post

“A shrewdly planned and executed thriller.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Thomas Perry has hit the mark.” —Houston Chronicle

“Totally enthralling.” —The New Yorker --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Description

The Edgar Award–winning novel by the “master of nail-biting suspense”(Los Angeles Times)

Thomas Perry exploded onto the literary scene with The Butcher’s Boy. Back in print by popular demand, this spectacular debut, from a writer of “infernal ingenuity” (The New York Times Book Review), includes a new Introduction by bestselling author Michael Connelly.

Murder has always been easy for the Butcher’s Boy—it’s what he was raised to do. But when he kills the senior senator from Colorado and arrives in Las Vegas to pick up his fee, he learns that he has become a liability to his shadowy employers. His actions attract the attention of police specialists who watch the world of organized crime, but though everyone knows that something big is going on, only Elizabeth Waring, a bright young analyst in the Justice Department, works her way closer to the truth, and to the frightening man behind it. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Ace Books (January 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441089542
• ISBN-13: 978-0441089543
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 3.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,341,945 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The book is a Killer-Thriller, June 21, 2003

By	montralatrice "montralatrice" (CORPUS CHRISTI, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Butcher's Boy (Paperback)

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!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Unusual Thriller, March 29, 2002

By	D. Wolf "wolfd" (Fairfax, VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Butcher's Boy (Paperback)

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.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A mile stone of new era of Thriller.A MUST READ!, June 10, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Butcher's Boy (Hardcover)

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!