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A review by zade
Fidelity by Thomas Perry
4.0
I really like Thomas Perry's books. I've yet to find one I was sorry I took time to read. Some are better than others--I'd walk over hot coals for the least of the Jane Whitefield novels--but they are all entertaining and often surprisingly informative. Fidelity doesn't reach Jane Whitfield levels of "wow, I can't stop reading," but it's well constructed and will keep you turning the pages. I did not find the main character particularly sympathetic, which is weird since she's a woman who has lost both her only son and her husband in the span of only a few years. But maybe that's the problem. Those two events are pretty much the only defining characteristics. Yes, she's resilient in the face of loss and danger, but those qualities don't make her stand out from the field of thriller heroines. Even at the end, my reaction to her was a resounding "Meh." The peripheral characters are equally bland. The secondary bad guy, the hired killer, has a bit more roundness and is occasionally sympathetic, but he's a lot like other characters Perry has written and is nowhere near as interesting as others of the same ilk (e.g. Eisler's John Rain).
The uber bad guy is interesting enough to merit notice. Perry does an exemplary job of portraying the way he sees the world and rationalizes his actions. In fact, it's one of the best portraits I've seen in fiction of this type of personality because Perry doesn't make you think he's a monster from the outset. When you first meet this character, he comes across as fairly sympathetic and, without realizing it, you begin to see things from his point of view. This is particularly effective because it creates a little bit of the "frog in boiling water" effect. By the time you realize just how bad this guy is, you've already been lured into going along with his point of view farther than is comfortable. My only criticism of the bad guy is more one of opinion than of art. The vast majority of people like this man are not enormously wealthy men who can buy their way out of things. Most of them are normal people with average resources who nonetheless manage to remain below the radar and offend repeatedly. Yes, the plot required that this fellow be wealthy, but I hope people are awake enough these days to know that predators exist in all economic strata.
Despite my criticisms of the characters, the overall book is quite readable and enjoyable. The basic plot has been done before by many other authors, but Perry's unique skills make this story his own and all the usual thrills of reading a Perry book are here.
The uber bad guy is interesting enough to merit notice. Perry does an exemplary job of portraying the way he sees the world and rationalizes his actions. In fact, it's one of the best portraits I've seen in fiction of this type of personality because Perry doesn't make you think he's a monster from the outset. When you first meet this character, he comes across as fairly sympathetic and, without realizing it, you begin to see things from his point of view. This is particularly effective because it creates a little bit of the "frog in boiling water" effect. By the time you realize just how bad this guy is, you've already been lured into going along with his point of view farther than is comfortable. My only criticism of the bad guy is more one of opinion than of art. The vast majority of people like this man are not enormously wealthy men who can buy their way out of things. Most of them are normal people with average resources who nonetheless manage to remain below the radar and offend repeatedly. Yes, the plot required that this fellow be wealthy, but I hope people are awake enough these days to know that predators exist in all economic strata.
Despite my criticisms of the characters, the overall book is quite readable and enjoyable. The basic plot has been done before by many other authors, but Perry's unique skills make this story his own and all the usual thrills of reading a Perry book are here.