The Informant

A Butcher's Boy Novel

By: Thomas Perry

Narrated by: Michael Kramer

Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Married and living in England under the name Michael Schaeffer, the assassin known as the Butcher's Boy is the target of a Mafia hit team sent to exact revenge for his deadly campaign against the Balacontano family years earlier. Schaeffer kills all three attackers, but he knows more will come and needs to find whoever sent them to end it once and for all.

Soon Elizabeth Waring, now high up in the Organized Crime Division of the Justice Department, receives a surprise late-night visit from the Butcher's Boy. Knowing she keeps track of the Mafia, he asks her who the three men work for. Not knowing they have been murdered, she gives him a name: Frank Tosca, an aspirant to the Balacontano throne. In exchange, he tells her about a murder Tosca committed over 20 years ago.

So begins a new assault on organized crime, and the uneasy alliance between the Butcher's Boy and Waring, who trade current information for old secrets. As the Butcher's Boy works his way ever closer to his quarry in an effort to protect his new way of life, Waring finds herself in a race against time, either to convince him to become a protected informant or to take him out of commission for good.

Prolong the suspense - listen to Thomas Perry's first two books in this series: The Butcher's Boy and Sleeping Dogs.

©2011 Thomas Perry (P)2011 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Perry offers a compelling, rapid-fire plot, credible Mafia and FBI secondary characters, an indictment of self-serving officialdom, and the old soul-shattering moral dilemma: what is truth?" ( Publishers Weekly)

Good Ending to The Butcher's Boy Series

I love listening to Thomas Perry books when narrated by Michael Kramer. This is the third book about the Butcher's Boy and I believe a good ending to the Butcher Boy novels.
If you like Thomas Perry books (I can't quite get into the monotonous narration of the Jane Whitefield novels) you must get Metzgers Dog. This is another book where we really get to like the bad guys. It's amazing how Thomas Perry really makes you root for the bad guy, in this case a killer, a terminator, an assassin. As an example, this assassin is actually in love with his wife and is taking revenge on the other bad guys, the mafia.

And as we listen, we're thinking, if the mafia had only left this assassin alone he'd be happily married. To want a killer to stay happily married takes good writing. And Thomas Perry manages to do this with style.

Absolutely incredible! VERY satisfying

The Butcher's Boy series of Thomas Perry is my favorite of all time. I also have to say that Michael Kramer is my favorite narrator. In fact, he and Johnathan Davis are the only narrators I ever search for just to listen to their performances. I recommend the Butcher's Boy series is best enjoyed in order, but you can pick them up in any sequence and pick up seamlessly. I am now listening to this wonderful suspense thriller for the second time and enjoying it just as much as the first. Thank you Mr Perry and Mr Kramer. You make a great team.

Butcher's Boy Series ranks in top 10 thrillers

Would you consider the audio edition of The Informant to be better than the print version?

Yes, The delivery that Michael Kramer gives adds to the underlying coldness of the hit man which I found riveting.

What other book might you compare The Informant to and why?

I found "The Gray Man' series by Mark Greaney to be of the same quality. The narrator makes it seem perfectly plausible that the main character can just calmly perform the super human acts that he does. The action is fast paced.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite scene was at the end but I don't want to give it away. Suffice it to say, I like how the author worked out how the Butcher Boy could retire.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, it was hard to tear myself away from the book.

Any additional comments?

The author presents interesting ways in which the main character gets out of seemingly impossible situations. The author also manages to make the "bad guy" look like a good guy even though he really is not. He straddles a fine line and does it remarkable well.
If you like thrillers and mysteries that keep you entertained and guessing, then you add this to your library.

Brilliant! Mr. Perry does it again.

This is the most recent in the Butcher's Boy series that Thomas Perry began twenty years ago. He just keeps getting better and better, something I would have thought implausible in 1982. The butcher's boy and Elizabeth Waring are intertwined again, this time with the entire Mafia and the Justice Department. The butcher's boy has angered the Mob, to the point where they all meet in Phoenix to agree to kill him. It is one man against the entire Mob. This may sound like something that Mr. Perry might not be able to pull off, but rest easy. He has become a true master of his craft, and Michael Kramer is once again a master of his. How Mr. Perry gets us to side with a professional hit man is just a remarkable feat, and yet we never question it. I can hardly believe it myself. Again the chapters alternate between the butcher's boy and Elizabeth, and again that is a perfect device to keep us guessing, and to cement the very odd relationship between us and them. The suspense heightens as the story goes along, and it never flags. Once again the butcher's boy accomplishes what sound like superhuman feats, and yet we know that he is not a cartoon character. He is human, flesh and blood. He simply is a master of what he does, just as Mr. Perry is. Each time he does this, I just can't imagine how he will top himself, and each time he does it. Analogies fail me, but Michael Jordan and Joe Montana come to mind. At the end of their games, every single person watching knew what was going to happen, and yet no one could stop it. This may be reaching, but see for yourself. Mr. Perry is truly one of a kind.

Outstanding performance and Author

I want you to know that the series ends with many surprises. You will enjoy the book

Need more!

About as well written and read as any book of this type I've listened to...and I read or listen to three or four books per month while driving. Thanks Thomas and Michael. Very well worth my time!

The book and Narrater were great

Should read Eddie’s Boy first, The Butcher Boy second, and The Informant last, in that order. The same hit man character, makes all three books very interesting. All three were great reads

* * * 1/2*

Thoroughly enjoyed this 3rd installment of the Butcher's Boy saga, but I grew somewhat weary of a variety of episodes that were simply too implausible to swallow whole. I rounded up to 4 stars. Still, Thomas Perry is, for this genre of thriller, an exceptionally literary writer, an exceptional researcher, and, miracle of miracles, an imaginative thriller writer who actually writes terrific, intelligent, believable women. I'm sure there will be a fourth in this series, despite what might seem a conclusive finale, but I'd there isn't, I'll miss Elizabeth Waring. Regardless, I look forward to reading his Jane Whitefield thrillers.

Very well written

Very much enjoyed this offering from Perry. Massive action, great characters. The unsettling part of these books is that there are people out there every bit as bad, and worse, than in the story.
This reminds me of the Mack Bolin series from my youth. Only Perry is a better writer and the stories are more fleshed out. All in all a very good read.
Performance was outstanding. Will continue to read Perry.

He's a likeable killer

The story is about a long-retired, top-level assasin who's forced back into action when a mob boss gives orders for his assassination. The story wasn't overly complex, but it was definitely worth listening to. I liked the pace with which the author wrote. It never felt rushed, and he allowed us inside the mind of Schaeffer as he pondered his next moves. To me, this was one of the best parts of the story. The ending was great, and I didn't see it coming, so that's a big plus as well.

I will definitely recommend this book to my friends. It's solid 4.5 star listen. The half star deduction is due to a relatively unoriginal storyline, but beyond that the book is a good one.