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cjazzlee's review against another edition
4.0
Ok, the Butcher's Boy is back.
The whole time I was reading this book, I felt snippets of Michael Mann's film, Heat, playing in the back of my mind. You know, where the good guy and bad guy had this unique connection throughout their encounters. In this book, Elizabeth Waring from the Justice Dept is back, and solving mafia-related murders which are linked to the unknown and never-before-apprehended killer who she encountered over 10 years ago, in Perry's other Butcher's Boy books.
I love the pace, dialogue and characterization in this novel, more than some of his other recent ones. I esp liked the thoughts in the mind of the killer, who, after all, is just trying to live out the rest of his days peacefully in rural England, finally married to a semi-aristocrat he hooked up with in the previous book, until the dang mafia showed up again, in his world, to attempt to kill him.
This is a good stand alone, but is a far richer reading experience if you've read the earlier 2 novels as well.
The whole time I was reading this book, I felt snippets of Michael Mann's film, Heat, playing in the back of my mind. You know, where the good guy and bad guy had this unique connection throughout their encounters. In this book, Elizabeth Waring from the Justice Dept is back, and solving mafia-related murders which are linked to the unknown and never-before-apprehended killer who she encountered over 10 years ago, in Perry's other Butcher's Boy books.
I love the pace, dialogue and characterization in this novel, more than some of his other recent ones. I esp liked the thoughts in the mind of the killer, who, after all, is just trying to live out the rest of his days peacefully in rural England, finally married to a semi-aristocrat he hooked up with in the previous book, until the dang mafia showed up again, in his world, to attempt to kill him.
This is a good stand alone, but is a far richer reading experience if you've read the earlier 2 novels as well.
janetval's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
crutnacker's review against another edition
4.0
Schaeffer is the Butcher Boy, a retired mafia hitman trying to live in obscurity. When he is spotted, he becomes public enemy number one to every mafia family and Schaeffer decides he will go to war with them all before he is brought down.
Elizabeth Warren is a widowed justice department lawyer who is hot on Schaeffer's trail. He has contacted her with hopes of using her information against the families while feeding her bits she can use to bring the families to justice. Thomas Perry weaves their stories together as The Butcher Boy attempts to come out alive and creates a suspenseful book with a satisfying ending. Recommended.
Elizabeth Warren is a widowed justice department lawyer who is hot on Schaeffer's trail. He has contacted her with hopes of using her information against the families while feeding her bits she can use to bring the families to justice. Thomas Perry weaves their stories together as The Butcher Boy attempts to come out alive and creates a suspenseful book with a satisfying ending. Recommended.
ericwelch's review
4.0
Advanced reader copy.
The Butcher’s Boy, retired assassin, wants nothing more than to be left alone. Having found a woman he loves, in a country removed from his former territory, he has no other aspirations than to leave things be. I understand that. He’s getting older, slower, and has everything he needs; until an up-and-coming Mafia chief thinks that by killing the Butcher’s Boy he can claim more power.
The adopted son of a hitman/butcher, the acolyte, now calling himself Schaeffer, embarks on a campaign to eliminate the mafia boss who has put out a major contract on him. It’s virtually the entire crime world against him for having set up and destroyed Belacontana, a major crime figure, mostly as a way to protect himself. Now everyone seeks to ingratiate himself with Frank Tosca, the new Belacontana wanna-be. Schaeffer needs to make searching for him too expensive. (Parker does something similar in The Outfit by Richard Stark, if less violently.)
I have read several of the Butcher’s Boy series. This, while the latest, could stand alone, although I recommend reading them in order for a better historical sense of the characters, particularly that of Elizabeth Waring, the Justice Department investigator who is beginning to have the best sense of just who the Butcher’s Boy is. Some of the scenes might strain credibility, e.g., his running up the hill (he’s fifty) to get away from the lodge. Then again, there’s something to be said for staying in shape. (Personally, my idea of staying in shape is conforming to the contours of my reading chair.) Waring wants to get Schaeffer in a corner where his only protection will be to turn informant against those who formerly hired him.
I’ve also read several of Perry’s Jane Whitefield series and the similarities are obvious: the lone, competent, anti-hero competing successfully against large odds. It’s an appealing scenario, especially with Perry’s love of the outdoors and use of natural resources in the denouement.
I must admit to having become quite a fan of Thomas Perry and am reading my way through all his titles. Not Crime and Punishment, but very enjoyable. The order of the Butcher series is Butcher’s Boy, Sleeping Dogs, and The Informant. Read them all.
The Butcher’s Boy, retired assassin, wants nothing more than to be left alone. Having found a woman he loves, in a country removed from his former territory, he has no other aspirations than to leave things be. I understand that. He’s getting older, slower, and has everything he needs; until an up-and-coming Mafia chief thinks that by killing the Butcher’s Boy he can claim more power.
The adopted son of a hitman/butcher, the acolyte, now calling himself Schaeffer, embarks on a campaign to eliminate the mafia boss who has put out a major contract on him. It’s virtually the entire crime world against him for having set up and destroyed Belacontana, a major crime figure, mostly as a way to protect himself. Now everyone seeks to ingratiate himself with Frank Tosca, the new Belacontana wanna-be. Schaeffer needs to make searching for him too expensive. (Parker does something similar in The Outfit by Richard Stark, if less violently.)
I have read several of the Butcher’s Boy series. This, while the latest, could stand alone, although I recommend reading them in order for a better historical sense of the characters, particularly that of Elizabeth Waring, the Justice Department investigator who is beginning to have the best sense of just who the Butcher’s Boy is. Some of the scenes might strain credibility, e.g., his running up the hill (he’s fifty) to get away from the lodge. Then again, there’s something to be said for staying in shape. (Personally, my idea of staying in shape is conforming to the contours of my reading chair.) Waring wants to get Schaeffer in a corner where his only protection will be to turn informant against those who formerly hired him.
I’ve also read several of Perry’s Jane Whitefield series and the similarities are obvious: the lone, competent, anti-hero competing successfully against large odds. It’s an appealing scenario, especially with Perry’s love of the outdoors and use of natural resources in the denouement.
I must admit to having become quite a fan of Thomas Perry and am reading my way through all his titles. Not Crime and Punishment, but very enjoyable. The order of the Butcher series is Butcher’s Boy, Sleeping Dogs, and The Informant. Read them all.
hcq's review
3.0
Some very good bits, but overall not as good as the first two. Too much recapping, at too much length, and too many stories that felt sort of arbitrarily stuck in (didn't really need another motel shootout, btw). Shame, too, because some of them (bits of the main character's history and past) could have been useful in the earlier books.
One of my favorite scenes, though, came where the lead remembers a day he spent when he was just starting out with another young guy, and the two of them were talking about how it would be nice to be able to go to college, and then realizing why, in their line of work, that would never be a possibility. It was sad, almost poignant, and certainly unexpected in a thriller like this.
Overall, though, this was the first one of the three where I found myself getting impatient, and thinking, "Oh, enough already, end!"
One of my favorite scenes, though, came where the lead remembers a day he spent when he was just starting out with another young guy, and the two of them were talking about how it would be nice to be able to go to college, and then realizing why, in their line of work, that would never be a possibility. It was sad, almost poignant, and certainly unexpected in a thriller like this.
Overall, though, this was the first one of the three where I found myself getting impatient, and thinking, "Oh, enough already, end!"
borisfeldman's review
4.0
Third in the series about a professional hit man gone good. This was almost as good as the first two, but in honor of the East German judge, I couldn't give straight five's.
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