Scan barcode
che11eo's review against another edition
3.0
Two married couples: Sid and Ronnie Abel, ex-cops turned PIs; and Ed and Nicole Hoyt, assassins for hire. Both couples are on opposite sides of a murder with the Abels trying to figure out who killed James Ballantine and the Hoyts trying to make sure the murder remains unsolved. Interesting premise that works. Lots of characters to keep track of but the action and fast pace keeps readers engaged.
ericwelch's review against another edition
4.0
Thomas Perry can be relied upon to deliver solid mysteries. Although often billed as thrillers, to me they don't fit the description well as the outcome is usually reliably certain. This one was intriguing as it contains two sets, maybe even three, of protagonists. (I began to feel a certain sympathy for the thieves who, after all, were just trying to retire.) One set is the team of ex-cops now searching for the killer of a man who was more (or less, depending on your POV) than appearances. The other set is a pair of assassins who have been hired to kill the first team. It all comes together in a glorious denouement, although frankly the violence and over-specificity of brand-name weapons does nothing for me. Perry's originality and character development, on the other hand, do. Good read.
vkemp's review against another edition
5.0
Sid and Veronica Abel are retired LAPD cops, now running their own P.I. business. Ed and Nicole Hoyt are a team of assassins, hired to kill the Abels when Ronnie and Sid get too close on a murder cold-case. The Abels were hired by Intellercelleron to work on the murder on James Ballantine, a chemist. The Board of Directors cannot figure out why he died; everyone liked Ballantine -- until they didn't anymore. Come to find out, James was not a nice person and he crossed the wrong woman. The Hoyts kill the person who hired them to kill the Abels and that brings down the wrath of an international crew of jewel thieves on their heads. Not only do Ed and Nicole have to avoid the Abels; they also have to avoid getting killed by murderous Eastern European crooks. Brilliant plotting brings everything together in the end.
hazelbright's review against another edition
4.0
It's Thomas Perry, and as such is suspenseful and compelling. Did not care much for his characters in this standalone novel, though. EDIT: after having read the first book of the Fargo series featuring Sam and Remi, who seem to be a LOT like Sid and Ronnie in this book, I wonder if this was originally intended to be part of that series. Perry writes some of the later books in the Fargo series. It would explain why the characters are less interesting than average for Perry.
borisfeldman's review against another edition
4.0
Hemingway, he ain't. But then, I don't really like Hemingway Fast-moving story with twists and turns.
stackwoodlibrary's review against another edition
3.0
A stand-alone by the author of the Jane Whitefield series.
Two couples in the LA area, one couple are retired cops turned PIs; the other couple are killers-for-hire.
Enjoyable.
Two couples in the LA area, one couple are retired cops turned PIs; the other couple are killers-for-hire.
Enjoyable.
darlenemarshall's review against another edition
4.0
Thomas Perry is one of my favorite mystery authors, and Forty Thieves is an excellent example of why he's on my auto-read list. It's a stand alone novel about a husband & wife detective team, both retired from the LAPD, and their path intersects with a husband & wife assassin team during a murder investigation.
It's said too many cooks spoil the broth, but in this case, too many thieves are complicating the investigation. One of the things I loved about the book is the detective team, Sid and Veronica Abel, are in their 50s. As Ronnie points out, part of what makes them so successful is gray-haired, middle aged women are invisible to society, especially to men. She's an example to us all of how to be grown up and still kick-ass and take names.
If you've never read Thomas Perry, one of his stand-alone books is an excellent starting point. Then you get to go on to discovering the Jane Whitehead novels, which really define what a kick-ass woman can bring to a story.
It's said too many cooks spoil the broth, but in this case, too many thieves are complicating the investigation. One of the things I loved about the book is the detective team, Sid and Veronica Abel, are in their 50s. As Ronnie points out, part of what makes them so successful is gray-haired, middle aged women are invisible to society, especially to men. She's an example to us all of how to be grown up and still kick-ass and take names.
If you've never read Thomas Perry, one of his stand-alone books is an excellent starting point. Then you get to go on to discovering the Jane Whitehead novels, which really define what a kick-ass woman can bring to a story.
More...