Sleeping Dogs

By: Thomas Perry

Narrated by: Michael Kramer

He came to England to rest. He calls himself Michael Shaeffer, says he's a retired American businessman. He goes to the races, dates a kinky aristocrat, and sleeps with dozens of weapons. Ten years ago it was different. Then, he was the Butcher's Boy, the highly skilled mob hit man who pulled a slaughter job on some double-crossing clients and started a mob war. Ever since, there's been a price on his head. Now, after a decade, they've found him.

The Butcher's Boy escapes back to the States with more reasons to kill. Until the odds turn terrifyingly against him...until the Mafia, the cops, the FBI, and the damn Justice Department want his hide...until he's locked into a cross-country odyssey of fear and death that could tear his world to pieces.

©2008 Thomas Perry (P)2009 Tantor

Mr. Perry hits us right between the eyes. Again.

Thomas Perry is a masterful writer who has by now essentially created his own genre. How many books have you read in which the protagonist is a professional hit man, through whom we see much of the story? We don't identify with him, as he is a cold-blooded killer, but the Butcher's Boy is a truly remarkable creation, and Mr. Perry is able to build the suspense in this book to the point at which you can barely stand it, but, at the same time, you never want it to end. The book is also funny, at times, and one chapter in particular is LOL funny. Elizabeth Waring is carefully drawn and holds our interest continually. The scene toward the end in which he is stuck in her house for a whole evening is brilliant, full of so much tension, fraught with the feelings of a single mother looking for a father for her kids, and the Butcher's Boy, who really just wants to stay alive and get out of the country and back to the Honorable Meg. The scene, as many do, crackles with energy. The plot is once again quite believable, although one might think eventually that one man whipping the Mob and the FBI and the Justice Department at the same time might be a bit of a stretch. In the hands of Mr. Perry and Mr. Kramer, not a bit. Every time we think that Mr. Perry has to whip out the deus ex machina, he somehow outfoxes us, as the Butcher's Boy keeps inventing new ways to wriggle out of a jam that seems impossible.
Mr. Kramer is once again the perfect reader for this series. His voice is easy to listen to. He may not have that many voices, but he has enough to satisfy you. And, the plot and the characters are so intriguing that you are on the edge of your seat for hours. I can't imagine a thriller reader who will not enjoy these books, and to see the emergence of a truly gifted author is a real pleasure. I know it takes him a long time to write these, and I can see why, but I'm not sure that I can wait long enough for the next one.

You never know who you are messing with...

A harmless looking, professor type, and a total badass. This reminds me of Mack Bolen from years ago who went after the mob. One of the things I like is he doesn't just rely on massive violence, but is clearly smarter than most, if not all, of his opponents.
It goes to show you to never underestimate anyone based on appearance alone. You simply don't know what will happen and looks can be deceiving.

Sleepy narrator

Good story, but it was hard to get past the narrators monotone voice without inflection. If you can handle that I like the Butcher Boy stories.

The usual.

The usual bloodbath in the series but I admit it keeps you gripped. I suppose I’ll have to listen to book 3 in the series now.

You can't miss with Thomas Perry!

As part of the "Butcher's Boy" trilogy, it was a hard book to put down. I listened to all three, back to back to back. Perry's stories are always fast moving and intense and we are exposed to another world, where people live off the grid. Some are predators, some are survivors, all living in secret just to stay alive. And while the Butcher's Boy is a professional assassin, in the end, you are rooting for his survival.