Fidelity

By: Thomas Perry

Narrated by: Michael Kramer

Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

When Phil Kramer is shot dead on a deserted suburban street in the middle of the night, his wife, Emily, is left with an emptied bank account and a lot of questions. How could Phil leave her penniless? What was he going to do with the money? And, most of all, who was he if he wasn't the man she thought she married?

Jerry Hobart has some questions of his own. It's none of his business why he was hired to kill Phil Kramer. But now that he's been ordered to take out Kramer's widow, he figures there's a bigger secret at work---and maybe a bigger payoff.

As they race to find the secret Phil Kramer so masterfully hid, both Hobart and Emily must question where their true loyalties lie and how much they owe those who have been unfaithful to them. In Fidelity, Thomas Perry delivers another riveting thriller.

©2008 Thomas Perry (P)2008 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Perry intrigues as always with spare, intelligent prose." ( Publishers Weekly)
"A spunky but believable heroine, an emotionally conflicted killer, a plot whose twists you will not anticipate.... Fidelity is a winner." ( Library Journal

Thomas Perry is, quite simply, brilliant.

The above is a quote from Robert B. Parker, a guy who should know. I am now in the process of reading all of Mr. Perry's novels, and I am sad to say that there are only a couple left. The man is remarkable, and again, Michael Kramer is the perfect voice for these amazing books. Mr. Perry is the opposite of formulaic. His creativity and inventiveness seem to know no bounds. This book starts with a killing, and takes almost the whole book to solve it. Through the book we get to know a number of people who are so much flesh and blood that we might actually know them in real life. The villains, however, are so scary that we are glad not to know them. Each time I listen to one of these, I just can't imagine how Mr. Perry is going to top this one, and yet, he does. At times here the suspense is literally unbearable. The plot quickens to the point where I had to put it down to make it last longer, if you understand. I was tempted to just sit and listen to the whole thing, but summoned up enough will power to let it be. Once again Mr. Perry writes with wit that is sometimes understated and sometimes just hilarious. He skewers a rich man who is also a monster, and also his sycophantic wife, and their lives of sheltered unreality. This man hires a killer to stalk the wife of the detective who dies at the beginning, and the contest between the two of them is a war of wills and wits. Emily is another extremely well drawn woman, something which Mr. Perry does easily while other male writers struggle with their inability to write nothing but cardboard women. At first I thought that The Butcher's Boy could not be topped. Now I know that Mr. Perry's talents are truly limitless. Enjoy yourselves. Mr. Perry cannot be beat.

Ten Out Of Ten!

I don't usually select books from this genre but this listen was over the top. Lean, spare prose combined with perceptive insight. Good job Perry!

The only downer was that initially the narrator's deep, grainy vocal textures got in the way for me but I eventually acclimated.

Careful When Pulling Taffy

You ever seen taffy stretched? Well it sags in the middle and even breaks if over-pulled.

Fidelity is rich, thick, and a sometimes gooey taffy. The characters are by Thomas Perry, so they're basically complex. Characters drive Perry stories. But here, the cast is pulled sometimes beyond its, um, stretchability.

Fidelity's a good book, and Perry's always a unique chef. This recipe's different from all of the other six Perrys I've listened to - so this author's not derivative. But it's more like "Strip" in his book of recipes… not a waste of time. Diverting. But I urge you to listen to either of "The Butcher Boys", or the classic "Metzger's Dog" first.

Oh… Michael Kramer ROCKS! He makes this book worth the time keeping this listen from becoming a stretch too far.

Thomas Perry is, quite simply, brilliant.

The above is a quote from Robert B. Parker, a guy who should know. I am now in the process of reading all of Mr. Perry's novels, and I am sad to say that there are only a couple left. The man is remarkable, and again, Michael Kramer is the perfect voice for these amazing books. Mr. Perry is the opposite of formulaic. His creativity and inventiveness seem to know no bounds. This book starts with a killing, and takes almost the whole book to solve it. Through the book we get to know a number of people who are so much flesh and blood that we might actually know them in real life. The villains, however, are so scary that we are glad not to know them. Each time I listen to one of these, I just can't imagine how Mr. Perry is going to top this one, and yet, he does. At times here the suspense is literally unbearable. The plot quickens to the point where I had to put it down to make it last longer, if you understand. I was tempted to just sit and listen to the whole thing, but summoned up enough will power to let it be. Once again Mr. Perry writes with wit that is sometimes understated and sometimes just hilarious. He skewers a rich man who is also a monster, and also his sycophantic wife, and their lives of sheltered unreality. This man hires a killer to stalk the wife of the detective who dies at the beginning, and the contest between the two of them is a war of wills and wits. Emily is another extremely well drawn woman, something which Mr. Perry does easily while other male writers struggle with their inability to write nothing but cardboard women. At first I thought that The Butcher's Boy could not be topped. Now I know that Mr. Perry's talents are truly limitless. Enjoy yourselves. Mr. Perry cannot be beat.

Worth a Listen

Strange title... better one might have been "The Perfect Assassin."

Emily just lost her husband (a private detective,) finds out that he has cleaned out their savings account, was having an affair with his secretary, and her life is now being threatened by a professional assassin who wants to find a secret her husband left behind. That's just the beginning of this story.

Woven into this intrigue is an in-depth look at the life of a professional assassin who has a conscience, (as much as an assassin can) and really just wants to win back the love of his high school sweetheart, leave the life of crime, and settle down. However, lest you think this might lack the necessary edginess of a good thriller, this man is a professional, and the descriptions of his business are fascinating (even if this fascination is slightly twisted.) It is a very believable look at a dark line of work.

Helping Emily through her woes are the three private detectives who worked at her husband's business, but Emily is one gutsy lady who makes for a strong female protagonist. One thing I really enjoyed about this story is that is was satisfying. There weren't those moments of "oh, please... no one would really do that!" I found it compelling, riveting, and was pleasantly surprised by my first read of this author.

I liked the narrator, but I could see how he could be loved or hated. He read the story with very little inflection in his voice, hardly any change in his narration of different characters... mostly just read the story. I would recommend giving a serious listen to the sample of the narrator before buying the book. On the one hand he has a mysterious, almost seductive sound to his reading. On the other, it could be interpreted as monotone, and listless. Strictly personal opinion, but I would listen to him again.

Overall a very pleasant surprise, and a good mystery/thriller combination. Just a solid, entertaining listen.

Fidelity

I wholeheartedly endorse this author as a first-class talent in the thriller genre. I've "read" his other audible.com downloads and find this latest one to be equally engrossing. Mr. Perry knows how to keep the narrative moving forward without losing any of the tension. Even in the words he chooses, Perry comes across as a storyteller of extraordinary abilities. This fact along with a credible narration makes it easy to be faithful to this Fidelity!

Is it over?

This was my first Thomas Perry book; I can't say I would go out of my way to read or listen to another one. I certainly wouldn't pay money to do so. The story had a lot of potential but in the end, it was just too bloated with characters speculating on how another character felt, what they saw, how an event might play out or did play out. The ending was less than predictable, it just trailed off to the last word of the last paragraph.

Great Story

Thomas Perry is universally known as one of best authors in this genre of our time. This reads like Tarantino movie... a great one.

Great characters, better dialogue.

Will keep you guessing.

I really like this book. Lots of interesting characters, suspensful,kept me guessing with an ending that I didn't see coming. I had a hard time turning this one off.

Evil verses evil

I would have liked more twists and turns in this story but it otherwise was an excellent listen for this genre. You have a couple of evil characters working against each other and the forces of good. You have a hero who we only get to know after he dies at the very beginning of the book. You have characters who could very easily be real people. And Perry tells the story in a most effective manner. Listeners will probably be able to guess what's going to happen but often this is better than implausible twists that come out of nowhere. The book comes to a satisfying conclusion but I think Perry missed the opportunity to add a final twist. I kept waiting for one but it never materialized. Michael Kramer was good, if a bit monotoned. He portrays evil much better than he portrays good. And that's the way most listeners would want it. All in all, a very good listen.