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psalmcat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
annarella's review against another edition
3.0
Not my cup of tea, I DFNed at 30% as I found the plot a bit over my suspension of belief level and couldn't connect to the characters.
It's well written but I found the style of writing a bit too dry.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
It's well written but I found the style of writing a bit too dry.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
ckmurphy1958's review against another edition
3.0
I received an ARC of A Small Town. The book was described as a thriller, which I guess it technically was, just not the type of thriller I was expecting. I am a gullible person when reading thrillers, but even I found many parts of this book a little hard to believe. The premise of the book is there is a prison outbreak where the prisoners invade the town and destroy it. Probably anyone who has ever had a prison built near their town probably believes that something like this could happen. The escapees hung around the prison area a little too long to make it believable. Then, after two years, a single person is sent out to hunt down and kill the 12 main planners of the prison break. Once again, this seemed a little to easy, as more than one of the prisoners were residing in their hometown. It's not a bad read, the book goes really fast and doesn't require a lot of thinking or concentration. Although I've never read any other books by this particular author, I'm guessing this was not his best effort.
zade's review against another edition
4.0
Perry is always fun and this novel is no exception. It's not his best, but it's a satisfying revenge story with a likeable protagonist. As is usual with Perry, there's a lot of chasing around the country, which is part of his appeal. None of the characters is particularly deep, but they get the job done. Leah Hawkins is no Jane Whitefield, but it's awfully nice to read a female protagonist who doesn't spend a lot of time maundering on about feelings and who is practical and capable. I'd definitely read another Leah Hawkins novel should Mr. Perry write one.
ericwelch's review against another edition
3.0
I have always been a fan of Thomas Perry so I was pleased when Net Galley offered an advance copy of Perry's most recent book. I didn't think it measured up to the previous titles of his I enjoyed. There's no mystery. We know the why, how, what and where of the bad guys and the same for the heroine who would appear to have almost superwoman capabilities.
Leah, the police lieutenant, "hired" (it's all supposed to be off the books) is given virtually unlimited funds (which she spends wisely, mind you) to murder (there is no other word for it) a bunch of convicts who had engineered a vast prison break and then had savaged the local community. Her motives appear to be focused on revenge for the killing of her married lover (the adultery was OK because his wife was in a wheelchair) during a shootout with the bad guys following the breakout.
That she's more than competent at tracking down the scoundrels is never at issue, and her techniques flawless and filled with mounds of luck. It goes without saying she is athletic, tall, blonde and beautiful and probably eats right most of the time.
It's a perfect book for a plane ride: distracting enough but not so much that drifting off once in a while would be bothersome to its rather wrinkled flow.
My thanks to Net Galley
Leah, the police lieutenant, "hired" (it's all supposed to be off the books) is given virtually unlimited funds (which she spends wisely, mind you) to murder (there is no other word for it) a bunch of convicts who had engineered a vast prison break and then had savaged the local community. Her motives appear to be focused on revenge for the killing of her married lover (the adultery was OK because his wife was in a wheelchair) during a shootout with the bad guys following the breakout.
That she's more than competent at tracking down the scoundrels is never at issue, and her techniques flawless and filled with mounds of luck. It goes without saying she is athletic, tall, blonde and beautiful and probably eats right most of the time.
It's a perfect book for a plane ride: distracting enough but not so much that drifting off once in a while would be bothersome to its rather wrinkled flow.
My thanks to Net Galley
annarella's review
3.0
Not my cup of tea, I DFNed at 30% as I found the plot a bit over my suspension of belief level and couldn't connect to the characters.
It's well written but I found the style of writing a bit too dry.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
It's well written but I found the style of writing a bit too dry.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
vkemp's review
3.0
Weldonville, Colorado is a very small town. Most citizens are employed by the federal penitentiary outside the town, originally designed to hold white collar criminals. Over the course of a few years, some very bad men have plotted to get themselves transferred to Weldonville. Twelve men lead a prison break and the rampage that follows destroys the town. Two years later, Leah Hawkins takes a leave of absence from the Weldonville police. She is going on her own rampage, to find and destroy the 12 men who were responsible for the prison break. Quite an interesting plot device, my major complaint is that Leah's character is never fully developed. She lost a loved one that night, but it seems superficial (to me). Perry is always an engaging writer, but this was not one of his best.
eleellis's review
1.0
A Small Town by Thomas Perry is a fictional tale where twelve violent prison inmates orchestrate a large scale prison break out that leads to the decimation of the nearby town Weldonville when over 1,000 prison inmates run amok.
In the aftermath, two years after the twelve behind the break out can't be located by authorities, Weldonville police officer Leah Hawkins then decides to hunt down the masterminds behind this rampage and send them off to the place they belong.
Unfortunately for this reader, the implausibilities within A Small Town required too much escape from reality to work and for such a premise to be engaging, an additional foundation for such implausibilities to occur needed development.
It is recommended readers seek out other works of Thomas Perry than that of A Small Town.
In the aftermath, two years after the twelve behind the break out can't be located by authorities, Weldonville police officer Leah Hawkins then decides to hunt down the masterminds behind this rampage and send them off to the place they belong.
Unfortunately for this reader, the implausibilities within A Small Town required too much escape from reality to work and for such a premise to be engaging, an additional foundation for such implausibilities to occur needed development.
It is recommended readers seek out other works of Thomas Perry than that of A Small Town.
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