Scan barcode
shirlee2024's review against another edition
3.0
The copyright for this book is 1982, but except for the changes in airport security, it didn't matter. A good read, a well-written page-turner.
sandin954's review against another edition
3.0
In the introduction to this 1983 Edgar winner for best first novel, [a:Michael Connelly|12470|Michael Connelly|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1202588562p2/12470.jpg] promises the reader a great suspense ride and the book lives up to it. A lean, spare prose style with a dual narrative that follows a Justice Department employee and the title character that was read with a low key style by Michael Kramer made this an enjoyable audio.
dantastic's review against another edition
2.0
Elizabeth Waring is a Justice Department agent assigned to investigate the killing of a union leader, the victim of a fertilizer explosion in the back of his truck. Was it an accident, or the work of a hitman... ?
Yeah, I have to admit that this wasn't what I expected. It started strong. Elizabeth was a young agent who quickly got in over her head. Our nameless hitman, The Butcher's Boy of the title, is suddenly targeted for murder by someone high up in the Las Vegas mob. The story had all the momentum of a blockbuster thriller starring Christian Bale as the hitman and Scarlet Johannsen as Elizabeth.
So what went wrong?
The plot meandered all over the place until I stopped caring. Both main characters kept doing stupid things with no motivation and weird leaps in logic. It was obvious who the mole was in the Justice Department from very early on. I just didn't care about the nameless hitman enough to care who wanted him dead. FYI, the guy who wanted him dead NEVER made an actual appearance in the story.
While this book had its moments, they were few and far between. If you like your crime fiction dumbed down and kind of pointless, go ahead and pick this up.
Yeah, I have to admit that this wasn't what I expected. It started strong. Elizabeth was a young agent who quickly got in over her head. Our nameless hitman, The Butcher's Boy of the title, is suddenly targeted for murder by someone high up in the Las Vegas mob. The story had all the momentum of a blockbuster thriller starring Christian Bale as the hitman and Scarlet Johannsen as Elizabeth.
So what went wrong?
The plot meandered all over the place until I stopped caring. Both main characters kept doing stupid things with no motivation and weird leaps in logic. It was obvious who the mole was in the Justice Department from very early on. I just didn't care about the nameless hitman enough to care who wanted him dead. FYI, the guy who wanted him dead NEVER made an actual appearance in the story.
While this book had its moments, they were few and far between. If you like your crime fiction dumbed down and kind of pointless, go ahead and pick this up.
_reags_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
chaifanatic18's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
danchrist's review against another edition
4.0
A good read with believable characters and some nice descriptions of places and situations. Really well done and paced with a refreshing intensity.
Looking forward to more Thomas Perry works.
Looking forward to more Thomas Perry works.
mojoshivers's review against another edition
4.0
I like when books are about two different individuals approaching a mystery from two different directions and they DON’T eventually meet up to put their resources together to figure it out. Two sides of the same coin—it makes for a better story when the solution to the mystery can be had from different angles.
That’s what this story is, two different trying to understand who is bumping off mob bosses and what it has to do with a low-level investment firm. On one hand, you have an analyst from the Department of Justice who’s figuring out the plot from all the usual investigative angles of the government. And, on the other hand, you have the Butcher’s Boy, a hitman for hire who wanders into the mob war brewing when they see him and his ruthless reputation in town when the war kicks off. Figuring he’s involved, the hit man is forced to figure out the plot on his own and take care of business in his own criminal manner, namely killing off key players and gift-wrapping the evidence of the shady dealings for the police and government agencies to find.
And never the twain shall meet. Well, that’s not true. In a bit of irony the two people who figure out just happen to end up on a flight to London on vacation, not realizing they are two people who survived the same ordeal and surmised what was going on in the process.
That’s what this story is, two different trying to understand who is bumping off mob bosses and what it has to do with a low-level investment firm. On one hand, you have an analyst from the Department of Justice who’s figuring out the plot from all the usual investigative angles of the government. And, on the other hand, you have the Butcher’s Boy, a hitman for hire who wanders into the mob war brewing when they see him and his ruthless reputation in town when the war kicks off. Figuring he’s involved, the hit man is forced to figure out the plot on his own and take care of business in his own criminal manner, namely killing off key players and gift-wrapping the evidence of the shady dealings for the police and government agencies to find.
And never the twain shall meet. Well, that’s not true. In a bit of irony the two people who figure out just happen to end up on a flight to London on vacation, not realizing they are two people who survived the same ordeal and surmised what was going on in the process.