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bookgirlnadine's review
3.0
This was a solid and classic thriller. Although it wasn't as good as The Old Man, I would love to read about these great characters again. Very enjoyable and a fun read.
claudetteb's review
3.0
This book has a split personality. The initial plot involves Yin and Yang couples. The good, the Abels (insert eye roll) are retired police officers who have started their own detective agency. The bad, the Hoyts (he thankfully resisted naming them the Cains) are professional hit-men. The first half of the book is quite good, as the Abels are hired to investigate the year old cold case murder of a scientist for a chemical company. The Hoyts are hired to get rid of the Abels. This part is quite entertaining, as both couples are very good at what they do, and the thrust and parry of their interaction is really fun.
The Abels realize they are being targeted because of their most recent investigation and start trying to find clues about Ballantine and his murder. The Hoyts, having failed to dispose of the Abels, are themselves targeted by their employer. At this point, the book becomes a poor man's Donald Westlake crime caper as it turns out the bad guys are a gang of European diamond thieves. Diamond thieves! Really? With a scientist working for a chemical company, this is the best he could come up with for a resolution? About here this book lost me. The body count rose, no mysteries remained - but a third of the book was still to be read. Worst of all, the 2 couples, who had kept the story moving at least, completely lost their individuality. Thomas really lost his story.
The Abels realize they are being targeted because of their most recent investigation and start trying to find clues about Ballantine and his murder. The Hoyts, having failed to dispose of the Abels, are themselves targeted by their employer. At this point, the book becomes a poor man's Donald Westlake crime caper as it turns out the bad guys are a gang of European diamond thieves. Diamond thieves! Really? With a scientist working for a chemical company, this is the best he could come up with for a resolution? About here this book lost me. The body count rose, no mysteries remained - but a third of the book was still to be read. Worst of all, the 2 couples, who had kept the story moving at least, completely lost their individuality. Thomas really lost his story.
tommyro's review
4.0
Thomas Perry and Stephen Hunter are my favorite U.S. mystery/thriller writers right now. I've read all of Perry's non-Jane Whitefield books. I've read 3 of those and will now start moving through them. I much prefer the Butcher Boy series. Mr. Perry: BRING BACK THE BUTCHER BOY!!!
mylhibug's review
3.0
I was going to give this book only two stars because to be honest it was rather slow-moving and really seemed to be going nowhere fast. Then it picked up the pace and got a little better and finally it took a turn that initially made no sense at all. So why three stars? Because the author did reel it all in and gave me an ending that I found to be satisfying, for the most part.
giantsdancefarm's review
3.0
Quite good, maybe more a 3.50.
I enjoyed the Ronnie and Sid characters and will definitely watch for more in this series.
I enjoyed the Ronnie and Sid characters and will definitely watch for more in this series.
readtoinfinity's review
3.0
Good reads giveaway
Decent thriller but it was lacking in certain areas. The story was interesting but not enough to keep me engaged I had to come back to the story and take breaks because it didn't spark my curiosity.
Decent thriller but it was lacking in certain areas. The story was interesting but not enough to keep me engaged I had to come back to the story and take breaks because it didn't spark my curiosity.
mato's review against another edition
4.0
The two couples (one private eye and the other a hit team) were well-written and interesting to follow. I had a preference for the detectives since the hit team seemed a bit psychologically "broken" and I loved the banter between the two private eyes.
For me, the story took an unexpected turn about halfway through (it explains the cover which, in the beginning, seemed unrelated to the story I was reading) when a major thread connecting all the characters was revealed but I had no problems with the approach.
Perry is one of my go-to authors because I love his writing and story telling methods. even better is that this was a stand-alone book. Hard to find in this day and age.
For me, the story took an unexpected turn about halfway through (it explains the cover which, in the beginning, seemed unrelated to the story I was reading) when a major thread connecting all the characters was revealed but I had no problems with the approach.
Perry is one of my go-to authors because I love his writing and story telling methods. even better is that this was a stand-alone book. Hard to find in this day and age.
flogigyahoo's review
2.0
Thomas Perry wrote such good books in the past--The Butcher's Boy series, Metzger's Dog and other standalones, even a few in the Jane Whitefield series, I thought Forty Thieves would prove to be of the same high quality. It was not. The story begins by centering on two couples, one ex-cops turned private eyes and the other, a pair of hitmen tasked to kill the private eyes when they get too close while investigating the mysterious and intriguing death of an Afro-American scientist. After a few chapters of cat-and-mouse chases, the plot disintegrates into something quite different and rather dull. The two couples are portrayed so similarly one loses track of who are the good guys and who the bad, an interesting plotline in itself, but the characters never are fully drawn, their personalities dry and spare and totally interchangeable. The rest of the plot is simply chase after chase after chase. I did not like this one at all.
zade's review
4.0
This stand-alone novel embodies many of the qualities that make previous Perry novels entertaining. The plot is not terribly complex, but there are enough details and enough interesting characters to give it sufficient depth. Perry has proven in the past that he is quite good at describing the dynamics of couples, whether as protagonists or bad guys. The working couples in previous books have sometimes been a bit over the top (i.e. Earl and Linda in [b:Shadow Woman|451064|Shadow Woman (Jane Whitefield, #3)|Thomas Perry|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320394100s/451064.jpg|226963]), but in [b:Forty Thieves|25779061|Forty Thieves|Thomas Perry|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1447140847s/25779061.jpg|45628604], Perry really hits his stride. Both the protagonists and the antagonists are married couples working together, one a pair of PIs and the other a pair of assassins. What makes the novel work so well is that Perry accentuates the similarities between the couples without losing sight of what makes them different. Although they are working on opposite sides of the case, both couples face similar experiences and reveal similar traits. Even as the reader roots for the PIs to survive and solve the case, Perry makes it impossible to hate the assassins as he draws them as believable people. In fact, he succeeds in making even the "bad guys" who hired the assassins seem human and somewhat sympathetic--no small trick.
Although I am still particularly partial to Perry's Jane Whitefield novels, his stand-alone novels never disappoint either. This is one of the stronger offerings in a generally strong oeuvre.
Although I am still particularly partial to Perry's Jane Whitefield novels, his stand-alone novels never disappoint either. This is one of the stronger offerings in a generally strong oeuvre.