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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
Quite the interesting premise, and well executed. A definite GoodRead.
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.
Thomas Perry consistently delivers great reads. His thrillers are always well-written page-turners with great plots and even greater characters. If you haven't read him, you're in for a treat. A Small Town is totally different from his other thrillers so it was a fantastic treat for a loyal fan.
Thomas Perry writes good books. This one is no exception! This book is about a prison break, many prisoners break out and havoc ensues in the small town near the prison. A dozen are still out there unfound, the guys that planned the prison break. A local cop is given the task of tracking them down. I don't want to give too much of the plot away, so I'll leave it at that. The characterization is well done, and it is a page turner. Very enjoyable.
3.5 stars. I'm not a huge thriller fan, but this one caught my interest and I grabbed it when I saw it on my library's "new fiction" shelf. The premise is a good one and I was fascinated by how the main character, Leah Hawkins, studied her targets, the environment, etc., to find the best way to get at them without getting caught herself. (I also loved that part of the book took place in Naples, Florida, a place I'm quite familiar with. Also - why specify a Manhattan address that anyone familiar with Manhattan would know immediately was an impossible address. I hate it when authors do this.)
I wasn't happy with the last chapter, however, which was basically an epilogue. The author jumped forward several years without any warning and brought in characters that were barely mentioned earlier in the book. It was a very sudden and disappointing way to wrap things up.
I wasn't happy with the last chapter, however, which was basically an epilogue. The author jumped forward several years without any warning and brought in characters that were barely mentioned earlier in the book. It was a very sudden and disappointing way to wrap things up.
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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.
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.
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.