• The Butcher's Boy

  • By: Thomas Perry
  • Narrated by: Michael Kramer
  • Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (2,023 ratings)

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The Butcher's Boy  By  cover art

The Butcher's Boy

By: Thomas Perry
Narrated by: Michael Kramer
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Publisher's summary

Edgar Award Winner, Best First Novel, 1983

Thomas Perry's Edgar Award-winning debut novel follows a professional hitman on the run from both the mafia and the government.

©2003 Thomas Perry (P)2008 Tantor

What listeners say about The Butcher's Boy

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A writer with extreme talents.

This is Mr. Perry's first book, originally published in 1982. Although it's a little dated (a full gas tank, 12 gallons, for $10!) that is the only flaw I can find. Michael Connelly, one heck of a writer himself, has written an introduction to the book, which accurately describes Perry's awesome talent and assuredness. Connelly uses the word "velocity" as a description of plots that delight us, and this is the perfect word for Perry's plot. There are only two main characters, the unnamed professional hitman, and the Justice Department agent Elizabeth Weiser, plus many other characters. Perry cleverly alternates chapters between these two characters to hold our interest, and this is a very successful suspense device. The book flies by. The hitman takes on the Las Vegas mafia families single-handedly, and you believe that he can manage it. He is no non-human superhero, though. He is believable in every way. Likewise, Elizabeth is also a real human being, in the field reluctantly for the first time, and simultaneously doubtful and self-confident. You just have to read Perry's work to see how smoothly he creates these characters. He also sees Las Vegas as what it is, or was thirty years ago. The narration is flawless. Mr. Kramer understands the writer, and has narrated all of Mr. Perry's books. He is fluid and entertaining. He builds the suspense for us. You can never guess the plot's twists and turns. You will at one moment fully suspect that someone with a gun will sneak in the door, and then Mr. Perry surprises you. Even Elizabeth is surprised and hoodwinked. This is a terrific book, and I am sure that I will eventually listen to all of Mr. Perry's books. Great entertainment!

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106 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Dated and inaccurate

I had been looking forward to listening to this book on the strength of its reputation and reviews but found it sadly disappointing. It is badly dated and strains credibility repeatedly. Even thirty years ago when the book was written the answer to the door lock of a quality hotel was not a quick trick with a credit card. Curare administered orally is harmless and therefore useless as a murder weapon. People who have never ridden a horse do not jump on the bare back of a thoroughbred in the dark and, clinging only to its mane, jump two fences and escape across a wintery landscape at a full gallop. In addition, time after time twists in the plot were entirely predictable.

Michael Kramer does a nice job with the narration and my distaste for giving up on a book before finishing carried me through to the end, but I would not recommend "The Butcher's Boy" to a friend.

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62 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Utterly unpredictable.

This book reminds me of two classics: Raymond Chandler's 1954 mystery THE LONG GOODBYE and the Texas murder defense summed up as "He needed killin'."

If anyone else has written a murder mystery as thoroughly surprising in the last 55 years, I haven't read it. The very last sentence of THE BUTCHER'S BOY is both startling and funny.

The title is the nickname of the professional hit man readers follow throughout the novel. I think the murder defense explains why we wind up caring what happens to him. Everyone he kills is loathsome. We care about the Justice Dept. investigator trying to track him down, too. Which is why the suspense lasts through that funny final sentence.

All THE BUTCHER'S BOY lacks to make it a literary classic for the ages - besides being well-written and well-plotted - is eternal themes concerning humanity's great struggles. Two out of three is an excellent deal. If you like literature, I think you'll like this book.

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39 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

FUN gripping and very well-written

This book is superb in every way: the plot line keeps you hooked; it's told ironically so it's a lot of fun; and it's extraordinarily well-written with all loose ends tied up in a very unpredictable and yet entirely logical way. I recommend it highly.

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34 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Like a Tycoon's Diamond - Flawless

First Novel??? Yoa! Reminds me of David Baldacci's first novel, "First Power" in the fit for each of this story's piece into a puzzle that squirms and spurts through your imagination. Michael Kramer's read is finer than a tycoon's diamond collection. Okay... let me find a nit to pic... thinking.... thinking... thinking... Nope... not a nit to this thing that will act like a vacuum on your time tugging it away from all sorts of alternatives. I'm thrilled that this is a series and I'm off to download... "Sleeping Dogs". I'm not hoping that Perry will top "Butcher's Boy", just take me along on another ride as intriguingly plotted, charactered, and revealed.

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33 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Ed
  • 04-18-13

Expected more

Perhaps Michael Connelly's introduction raised the bar a little too high, but I wasn't overly impressed by this work. However, I'm glad Perry didn't abandon the character because I have liked other stories in the series better. This moved along at a slow pace and it seemed that Perry was simply setting up the character for future "adventures." Have another one in my library and, with the bar now set lower, hope to enjoy it more.

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25 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Decent Story - Good Narration - BUT

I was enjoying this book up until the last hour. I don't understand how the main Justice Dept. character can be so stupid - it just doesn't make sense. I agree with the reviewer that says the government agents look bumbling - too much so. The narration is good, and I guess I would give this a passing recommendation - barely.

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Don't waste your time

I am a fan of a number of great authors: Michael Connelly, Lee Childs, John Sandford, James Lee burke etc. I thought I would try someone new. The plot is shallow, some of the things that happen are so unbelievable - even the characters in the plot comment on this. When the book ended I thought there must be someone wrong with my iPod - it just ended abruptly. The reader is monotone. Bottom line - stick with the winners

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Disappointed...

Read this book based on the reviews... This book is simply an average mystery, nothing special. Characters are interesting, plot is simplistic, dialogue is amateurish, and the ending is predictable. A good summer beach read, but greatly over rated as far as mysteries go. I was hoping for more, a new series to delve into based on the reviews. I will pass on the sequels... Looking for a quick light read? This is your book!

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thomas Perry's flawless first novel!

The Butcher's Boy was first released 44 years ago. I consider it an American classic which launched the author's career. The protagonist is professional hitman Michael Schaeffer. Schaeffer's step father was a butcher. I could listen to The Butcher's Boy again and again. This is a must read novel for fans of the thriller genre.

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12 people found this helpful