Interesting if You're a Fan
This is a hard book to find. A huge Thomas Perry fan, I finally got a chance to read this first novel. I?ll be honest; it was a bit of a disappointment. His later novels and even the sequel to this one are far superior. The Butcher?s Boy isn?t a bad novel?just terribly uneven. The FBI character is shallow and boring while the hit man is beguiling in varying degrees. In the sequel, Sleeping Dogs, Mr. Perry wisely concentrates on the much more complex hit man character. It?s interesting to note the improvement in the latter book.
In Butcher?s Boy I expected, and was disappointed not to find, more background on the character?s upbringing and mentor?the butcher in the Butcher?s Boy. It was, however, fun to note an early version of his most famous character, Jane Whitfield, in this first novel. All and all, worth it if you?re already a fan.
