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)

Wonderful!

A great read. I think this is the best of the Butcher's Boy novels. Perry's characters are so amazingly well portrayed. Bravo!

I loved this series

If you could sum up The Informant in three words, what would they be?

Read all three.

What did you like best about this story?

The writing was excellent and the narration, although a bit "laid back" was very good, after I got used to the low calm tone of the narrator. Nice surprise.

Which scene was your favorite?

Hard to say....

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

NO

Any additional comments?

I never would have thought that I could identify with a hired killer...oh well, live and learn

3rd In the Series - Loved It

With the Butcher's Boy series, you don't get a lot gratuitous violence as some books that feature an assassin as the central character. The players are well-developed and the suspense is so real that the listener can feel it. This book gives the listener a glimpse into the murky world of the Mafia, their hierarchy, and their code of conduct. This book is highly recommended, but do yourself a favor and listen the other two first.

Loved every minute of this one!

Great story that kept you at the edge of your seat throughout the book.
The narration was well read, with the perfect inflections.
This the just at great distraction.

Loved every minute of it

Great story telling and well thought out and researched. I'm on the 4th book of this series.

More great storytelling from Thomas Perry

Book 3 of Butchers Boy saga and every bit as good as what came before. Full of surprises and twists, and lots of clever thinking. Looking forward to Book Four.

Gotta love the Butcher's Boy character

If you could sum up The Informant in three words, what would they be?

A Good Ending

Who was your favorite character and why?

come on, the Butcher's Boy. His deliberateness in how he approaches his life, the simple black and white way he deals with the attacks on him, yet his appeal is still there for a ruthless killer with little remorse. That complexity of why he protects his wife in the UK and Elizabeth, but has not issues with killing (not wounding) anyone in his way.

Have you listened to any of Michael Kramer’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

no

Sudden ending.

If you could sum up The Informant in three words, what would they be?

well read.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The suddenness of the ending threw off the whole pace of the book. Just prior to the end we are presented with, "Three weeks later...". Then it is tidily, though unbelievably, wrapped up in several paragraphs. It seems the author ran out of ideas, or words.

Which character – as performed by Michael Kramer – was your favorite?

All of them.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

A likable killer.

Best in class thriller

So i skipped to this one because of the reviews and I was not disappointed. I can be a bit squeamish however this book is not overly graphic. Based on the summary I put off getting it for a while and in this respect it really exceeded my expectations. It is fast paced throughout. I will only say that the ending seemed a bit abrupt to me, though this is only a minor gripe.

Fast Paced and Entertaining

Well read and well written, I found this book enjoyable despite not having read the rest of the series. The main character the aptly named "Butcher's Boy" was both scary and at the same time, likeable. It kept me interested right till the end.