Sleeping Dogs (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "On August 14 at three in the afternoon, Michael Schaeffer noticed a small poster on a board inside the front window of a small teahouse..." (more)
Key Phrases: Butcher's Boy, Little Norman, Carl Bala (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Much of the action in Perry's disappointing follow-up to The Butcher's Boy remains jumpy and disjointed as former hitman Michael Schaeffer, aka Charles Frederick Ackerman, William Wolf or Butcher's Boy, is brought out of hiding in England. Ten years have passed since Schaeffer foiled the attempt of mob employer Carlo Balacontano to have him killed in lieu of payment and then framed the Mafia boss for a particularly grisly murder. As this story opens, Schaeffer avoids an assassination attempt at the Brighton racetrack and realizes his cover has been blown. He returns to New York to find out who ordered the hit and how many bad guys may still be after him. Despite the lurid fascination of the characters' pasts, the plot seems more to congeal than thicken as Schaeffer tries to dispose of or evade all who might be on his trail, including Justice Department lawyer Elizabeth Waring, so that he can retire again to the English countryside. With heroes and villains so easily interchangeable, readers may wonder who they should root for, and why. 50,000 first printing.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Perry is the author of four previous novels: Island ( LJ 1/88), Big Fish ( LJ 3/15/85), The Butcher's Boy ( LJ 8/82), and Metzger's Dog ( LJ 9/15/83). His new work brings Charles Ackerman--a.k.a., the Butcher's Boy, a killing-machine-for-hire--out of retirement in England and back to the United States to silence those people he mistakenly thinks have discovered his whereabouts. The story follows Ackerman as he travels coast to coast slaughtering one crime family's head honchos. Perry's book is well written, moves rapidly, and thankfully keeps the gore minimal. But reading it is an uneasy experience--a vicious hitman is not attractive as a main character. Buy where the author's earlier works are popular. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 12/91.
- A.J. Wright, Univ. of Alabama, Birmingham
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Ivy Books (April 24, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080411160X
• ISBN-13: 978-0804111607
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #209,874 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Action And Suspense, May 17, 2000

By	N. Sausser "pucksau" (California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The specialist (from "The Butcher's Boy") is back. He's been laying low in England for the past ten years, when he is rudely thrust back into his old life. What follows is all based on one wrong assumption he makes. I was reminded of the time in the movie theater when the man in front of me got so caught up in the movie, he actually shouted at the screen, "Hey! You've got it all wrong. Wake up!". I was about to shout that that at this book, but I didn't want to startle the dog sleeping at my feet. I found the main character appealing even though he is an assassin. He is, after all, taking out the bad guys. There is lots of action and it's fun to see how he gets out of one scrape after another. I like the way Thomas Perry writes. As with his Jane Whitefield stories (she is a specialist too. She helps people disappear) he is clever, witty, sometimes even humorous, and he doesn't waste my time with unnecessary dialogue or endless descriptions. The ending was spectacular. You really got me with this one Mr. Perry.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Butcher's Boy revisited..., March 3, 2003

By	Laurie Fletcher "Laurie Fletcher" (Casper, Wyoming, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the much-anticipated (by me) follow-up to "Butcher's Boy". It is a good but not wonderful sequel, as so many are, but still worth the read. But be forewarned: this also has a pretty implausible and coincidental ending. As in "Butcher's Boy", Perry has made our protagonist (here he is named Michael Shaeffer) a just-sympathetic-enough sociopath for us to be rooting for him without compromising our true sense of right or wrong. By accident, he is flushed out of hiding in England and instead of continuing to flee, he returns to the United States to meet his ghosts head-on. The will to survive in this killer is so strong, that it is possible to admire that element and distance oneself from the horror of what he does - but only just. It is never a comfortable choice and requires a full complement of justification. In telling this story, Perry takes us from England back to the States and on a grand tour of characters, locations, and techniques and the journey is never dull. One scene that is fixed in my mind is Michael's character-establishing encounter with a New York street tough. It is icily well written.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Flawless, September 7, 2003

By A Customer

Sleeping Dogs, I admit, was the first book I read by Thomas Perry. I have since read and enjoyed, to varying degrees, all his other works. I always come back to Sleeping Dogs though. It is definitely my favorite book, and when ever I read it, it's as if I've come home again. I realize it's almost scary to have a person sympathize with the Butcher's Boy as much as I do, but I constantly admire, appreciate, and understand his ruthless and logical approach to solving problems. I also felt that the "villains" in the book were incredibly fun, and provided a good balance. it's difficult to pick favorites, but Fratelli, the one who is infuriated more and more while trying to escape the Butcher's Boy, and shake off the clingy paranoid bank manager, as well As Bala himself with his unbelievable losing streak against his Gin partner in prison are definite stand outs to me. Also Jack Hamp, I felt, was a wonderful addition as the flip side of the coin to the Butcher's Boy. And of course, I fell in love with the Honourable Meg as well. Overall, I just feel this book is exciting, amusing, ironic, and just thoroughly enjoyable. The only fault I can find is that Perry's Mafia structure doesn't quite jive with reality, but it really doesn't matter. I keep trying to figure out if certain people are from New York, or if they're Chicago, but in Perry's world it seems like Mafia is Mafia, with no real seperation. And that doesn't ultimately matter. To sum up, I feel this book is flawless, and will probably continue to read it once a month until my eyes go.