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First-Class Thriller Writing and Plotting

Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2017

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Thomas Perry is a masterly writer whose thrillers enthrall and entertain from one series to another. His style is spare and his plots are driven by applying logic to problems to produce direct, action-based solutions. I agree with a fine review that this 1993 work is just as crisp and relevant today (2017) as it was then. The Butcher's Boy was orphaned or discarded; found and raised by a butcher named Eddie Mastrewski. Eddie had two businesses and this series' protagonist was trained in both of them. Selling custom cuts of meat was a dead end over the years but putting people on slabs for big dollars proved to be a growth industry. THE BUTCHER'S BOY and SLEEPING DOGS hit the highlights of the boy's life after Eddie's death.

We can never forget that we met the Butcher's Boy as he amorally kills an honest union member who is concerned about bad pension fund investments and then moves on to kill an honest United States Senator who wants to close tax loopholes. A good part of the tension is the series comes from the sympathy we nonetheless feel for a man who never knew a different kind of life and our knowledge that, in the end, he was used to kill decent people rather than dishonest mob associates. SLEEPING DOGS begins where BUTCHER'S BOY left off. Our emotionally underdeveloped hit man is slowly coming to understand a 'normal' way of life and he is slowly becoming able to feel for people other than Eddie. We also learn that logic can only take him so far: on a pleasant social outing to an English racing meeting, he is recognized by someone from his past. He logically assumes that, with a Mafia price on his head, someone has sent a team to England to collect. That is not the case and he has no way of knowing that he has quickly cleaned up a chance problem. He heads back to The States to convince people that it is better TO LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE. This two-volume series is 'to die for!'

readsalot

You won't want to stop reading. So pack a lunch.

Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2018

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Second in a series, "Sleeping Dogs" is so well-crafted and fun to read that one tends to overlook the fact that the protagonist is an assassin. The Butcher's Boy must stay on his toes and use his wits and all his skills to stay alive, for he is being hunted not only by the FBI, but also by the Mafia. Deftly narrated and well plotted, the story careers from one heart-stopping situation to the next. The characters are easy to care about, the writing deft and fun to read, the dialog authentic. And dialog knows its place in this novel. It reveals character, creates emotion, and develops menace and suspense, but never is misused to simply advance the plot. No sex. Lots of violence. A bit of coarse language. There are a disturbing couple of pages that depict the assassin being trained as a child. I wish that little episode had been omitted. Forwarned, you can skip the movie theater scene if you want. But fans of criminal novels will find lots to like in "Sleeping Dogs."

Boring

Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2020

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A relentless tale of murders based upon the mistaken idea that he has been discovered after assuming a new identity, the Butcher's Boy (real name never disclosed), goes on a killing spree to protect his anonymity and new life. There's little tension or stress felt by the reader. The victims are stereotypical mafia types and are dispatched with cold professional skill. If the author is trying to make us feel the lack of passion our "hero" feels, he succeeds. Unfortunately that makes for a rather dull read. Two stars because the author does lead us down some interesting blind alleys and we see characters, both the Butcher's Boy and law enforcement, make very logical and human mistakes in reasoning while trying to follow the clues.

John R. Schill

The Butcher's Boy Returns

Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2013

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Though I had all three books in my library, I added them to my Kindle and then re-read them, starting with the first book in the series, The Butcher's Boy, followed by Sleeping Dogs and then the climax of the series, the Informant. The books are all great, full of a biting, ironic humor, because basically they are all driven by mistakes. There is the mistake, made by a Mafia Don when he tells his people to clean up a mistake, not realizing that cleaning up will include two deaths, one of them being a United States Senator. When his associates try to tie up loose ends by killing the assassin, The Butchers Boy, all hell breaks loose, because the Butcher's Boy has only one response to everything; KILL. Sleeping Dogs is the same sort of insanity. Calling himself Michael Schaeffer, the Butcher's Boy is living quietly in England, but spotted by a pair of low level New York mafiosi at a race, he is forced to clean up the mess they leave behind and then, mistakenly believing that the Dons are close on his tail, he returns to the States to wreak havoc on those who would not let him live in peace. Throughout the books there is the balancing act of seeing a Justice Department agent, Elizabeth Waring, following clues and discovering just who the Butcher's Boy is. In the first book, she never gets more than a glimpse of him as she follows up his trail of bloodshed, but in Sleeping Dogs, their paths cross and unknowingly, she gets to meet the Butcher's Boy face to face. The third book in the series, the Informant, is just as fast paced. I spent a week re-reading all three and picking up things I had missed the first time I read them, actually having started off with Sleeping Dogs and then finding a copy of The Butcher's Boy. Now all three are back in print, thank god. Thomas Perry always writes a fantastic, fast paced mystery. I just read his latest, The Boyfriend, and am eagerly awaiting his next endeavor.

Kindle Customer

A great read !

Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2019

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I love Thomas Perry's books.The butcher boy was ways my favourite character. This book is great to read when all the other books out start to seem similar to each other. Thomas Perry has a wo derful way of making the main character into an everyman sort of person.His "crimes" seem to be done with a purpose. The answers are never there but so much fun to guess at .Read it for enjoyment so different from every day life.

Top reviews from other countries

judith M

Great book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 30, 2017

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Reading it now - great thanks.

AlmiraG

Thomas Perry is still the best! It's tricky to create a character such as ...

Reviewed in Canada on August 31, 2015

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Thomas Perry is still the best! It's tricky to create a character such as the Butcher's Boy and more importantly make him believable. I would have said it would be virtually impossible to have that same character mature (age gracefully and wisely) but TP somehow pulls it off.

A brilliant trilogy and I am sad it's over!

mikey_sl

Three Stars

Reviewed in Canada on July 24, 2016

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good condition

A. Martin

Sleeping Dogs

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 22, 2011

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Another good novel from Perry - not quite his best work, but consistently entertaining. I'm really surprised Hollywood hasn't come knocking, as his books have a strong cinematic quality. I give it three-and-a-half out of five (rounded up to 4 stars).

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