cdeane61's review
5.0
Unfortunately i seem to have missed the third book in this series, so there are definitely spoilers in this one for that. Nonetheless, this series is excellent and highly recommended.
Trust Perry to have you rooting for the stone cold killer.
All of his book are very readable and a fun way top pass an afternoon.
Trust Perry to have you rooting for the stone cold killer.
All of his book are very readable and a fun way top pass an afternoon.
mojoshivers's review
5.0
In a way this series is comprised of four novels where the same thing happens.
In book one a hitman gets hired to assassinate a few high profile targets on behalf of a mafia family. Instead of paying him for the head of the family decides to hire a team of third-rate hitmen to take out the professional. The professional proceeds to wreak havoc on that family, that family’s enemies, and random baddies to cause chaos and confusion for the authorities and the Mafia. In the end, he ends of framing the boss of the Mafia family for murder.
In book two the hit man meets a beautiful titled Lady in England and marries her. He just happens to run into the extended relatives of the same Mafia who he jammed up in book one. They try to kill him but are killed on the process. The hit man then flies to America where he proceeds to wreak havoc on the family, that family’s enemies, and random baddies to cause chaos and confusion for the authorities and the Mafia.
In book three it’s more of the same, except the same family tracks him and his wife down in England. But almost exactly, he has to fly back to America, wreak havoc, get everyone confused, before once more he escapes with hardly anybody knowing all the damage he’s done.
Which brings us to the last back where the inciting incident is the original Mob boss being up for parole finally. He hires teams from all over the globe to make sure the professional doesn’t screw up the hearing. But, as usual, the professional flies over to America fucks with bad guys all over the map to sow confusion and distrust. But in the end he manages to kill the mob boss who started this whole petty feud. Finally the assassin flies back to his aristocratic wife one final time.
Or is it?
The crazy thing is even though the plots are similar, it’s still a fun ride. I’ve never seen a killer use random hits as a diversion as much as The Butcher’s Boy does. It’s always a bit of puzzle to suss out what the next step in his plan will be. And it’s always a delight to see him get his petty revenge on a family who would be a lot more robust and healthier if they had just left him alone after book one. It’s seriously amusing to see how they bring about their own destruction when they could have just ignored him for the last thirty years while he was living in England.
Talk about poking the bear, Thomas Perry made a best-selling series about what happens to you if you continually do it. And I love every page of it.
In book one a hitman gets hired to assassinate a few high profile targets on behalf of a mafia family. Instead of paying him for the head of the family decides to hire a team of third-rate hitmen to take out the professional. The professional proceeds to wreak havoc on that family, that family’s enemies, and random baddies to cause chaos and confusion for the authorities and the Mafia. In the end, he ends of framing the boss of the Mafia family for murder.
In book two the hit man meets a beautiful titled Lady in England and marries her. He just happens to run into the extended relatives of the same Mafia who he jammed up in book one. They try to kill him but are killed on the process. The hit man then flies to America where he proceeds to wreak havoc on the family, that family’s enemies, and random baddies to cause chaos and confusion for the authorities and the Mafia.
In book three it’s more of the same, except the same family tracks him and his wife down in England. But almost exactly, he has to fly back to America, wreak havoc, get everyone confused, before once more he escapes with hardly anybody knowing all the damage he’s done.
Which brings us to the last back where the inciting incident is the original Mob boss being up for parole finally. He hires teams from all over the globe to make sure the professional doesn’t screw up the hearing. But, as usual, the professional flies over to America fucks with bad guys all over the map to sow confusion and distrust. But in the end he manages to kill the mob boss who started this whole petty feud. Finally the assassin flies back to his aristocratic wife one final time.
Or is it?
The crazy thing is even though the plots are similar, it’s still a fun ride. I’ve never seen a killer use random hits as a diversion as much as The Butcher’s Boy does. It’s always a bit of puzzle to suss out what the next step in his plan will be. And it’s always a delight to see him get his petty revenge on a family who would be a lot more robust and healthier if they had just left him alone after book one. It’s seriously amusing to see how they bring about their own destruction when they could have just ignored him for the last thirty years while he was living in England.
Talk about poking the bear, Thomas Perry made a best-selling series about what happens to you if you continually do it. And I love every page of it.
caroparr's review
4.0
Having just read the latest Lee Child and found it wanting, I was glad to read the latest Butcher's Boy and find it very good. Reacher and Michael have a lot in common, but Perry is the better writer. He writes economically without the sentence fragments that Child uses constantly, and the conversations are realistic even when people are talking about killing each other. I loved Michael's reminiscences about Eddie, his father figure who taught him how to kill. Very satisfying.
usbsticky's review
5.0
My first time reading this author and I'm really glad I found him. Because this was a recommended new book, it happened to be #4 and the last one in the series but I'm glad to say that you don't have to read it in chronological order.
I liked this book right away because it was very easy to read and follow, I got into the story right away.
Spoilers below onwards:
The story is that Michael Shaeffer is a retired American hitman trying to stay under cover in the UK. But somehow he is discovered and 4 killers are sent to kill him. He kills them all instead and tries to escape the contract by flying to Australia. But unfortunately they track him down there too and he realizes that in order to fix the problem he will have to travel to America, find out who is trying to kill him and fix it at the source.
In the US, he finds that a mafia boss who is behind bars but up for parole has sent out the contract to kill him. Shaeffer deals with this by starting a gang war so the family has bigger problems to deal with, then he makes sure the boss gets parole and kills him too. Throughout the story we get a lot of flashbacks that explains the whole story of how he became a killer.
The whole book is a fast read and flows well despite the flashbacks. Some of the plot you will have to take with a grain of salt as you'll just have to believe Shaeffer is capable of taking down everyone the mafia boss sends against him (almost supernaturally). So basically the whole book is him gunning down everyone who gets in his way. It sounds like a brainless action movie script but it works. In a movie you would laugh at the hero blasting everyone to bits and not getting hit (like fighting against Star Wars stormtroopers) but in the book I cheered him on, with kind of a subconscious wish that you could blast your problems away like that too.
Despite all of the brainless action, I did find a literary gem in this book. It's the part where Shaeffer gazes at his aged wife (they're both in their 50's?) and she says she doesn't mind because he has also seen her when she was in her 20's and gorgeous and youthful and she knows that the woman he sees now includes the current version and also the young version, the then and now.
Kind of a weird point to make in an action book and apropos of nothing but I totally agree and also totally the way I feel about my SO but not only my SO but all my friends. The person they are now is also the person they were before. I love them for not just who they are now but who they were before and all the time we were together.
Anyhoo, I enjoyed this book and I'm reading #1 in the series now and I've also found a gem in that book which I will reveal in my review.
I liked this book right away because it was very easy to read and follow, I got into the story right away.
Spoilers below onwards:
The story is that Michael Shaeffer is a retired American hitman trying to stay under cover in the UK. But somehow he is discovered and 4 killers are sent to kill him. He kills them all instead and tries to escape the contract by flying to Australia. But unfortunately they track him down there too and he realizes that in order to fix the problem he will have to travel to America, find out who is trying to kill him and fix it at the source.
In the US, he finds that a mafia boss who is behind bars but up for parole has sent out the contract to kill him. Shaeffer deals with this by starting a gang war so the family has bigger problems to deal with, then he makes sure the boss gets parole and kills him too. Throughout the story we get a lot of flashbacks that explains the whole story of how he became a killer.
The whole book is a fast read and flows well despite the flashbacks. Some of the plot you will have to take with a grain of salt as you'll just have to believe Shaeffer is capable of taking down everyone the mafia boss sends against him (almost supernaturally). So basically the whole book is him gunning down everyone who gets in his way. It sounds like a brainless action movie script but it works. In a movie you would laugh at the hero blasting everyone to bits and not getting hit (like fighting against Star Wars stormtroopers) but in the book I cheered him on, with kind of a subconscious wish that you could blast your problems away like that too.
Despite all of the brainless action, I did find a literary gem in this book. It's the part where Shaeffer gazes at his aged wife (they're both in their 50's?) and she says she doesn't mind because he has also seen her when she was in her 20's and gorgeous and youthful and she knows that the woman he sees now includes the current version and also the young version, the then and now.
Kind of a weird point to make in an action book and apropos of nothing but I totally agree and also totally the way I feel about my SO but not only my SO but all my friends. The person they are now is also the person they were before. I love them for not just who they are now but who they were before and all the time we were together.
Anyhoo, I enjoyed this book and I'm reading #1 in the series now and I've also found a gem in that book which I will reveal in my review.
lianareadsblog's review
5.0
Eddie's Boy is my first book by the author but won't be the last for sure.
I always enjoyed stories where the hero is actually the villain and to discover what made them taking the decision of becoming part of the mafia or just working solo, it's an interesting concept for me.
The story is very well written and had me engaged from the first page to the last, with barely time for breaks because i found myself lost into the fast-paced action and twists and turns that kept coming at me with every chapter.
It's told in the present and past, then and now, how Michael Schaeffer, a retired sixty years old man is trying to catch up with his past and find out why the mafia is on his shadow. We get to read how he learned to be a hitman in the early years of his life and what a whirlwind his life has been.
It's suspenseful and I highly recommend it to the lovers of the genre
I always enjoyed stories where the hero is actually the villain and to discover what made them taking the decision of becoming part of the mafia or just working solo, it's an interesting concept for me.
The story is very well written and had me engaged from the first page to the last, with barely time for breaks because i found myself lost into the fast-paced action and twists and turns that kept coming at me with every chapter.
It's told in the present and past, then and now, how Michael Schaeffer, a retired sixty years old man is trying to catch up with his past and find out why the mafia is on his shadow. We get to read how he learned to be a hitman in the early years of his life and what a whirlwind his life has been.
It's suspenseful and I highly recommend it to the lovers of the genre
annarella's review
5.0
A complex and well written thriller that kept me on the edge till the end.
Excellent storytelling and character development, a tightly knitted plot that never bores.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Excellent storytelling and character development, a tightly knitted plot that never bores.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
eewalsh's review
5.0
Why did I wait so long?
I had heard about these books and I finally decided to dig in. I am glad I did! It was a fun read. I don't usually start with a book in a series by not reading the first one, but this time I did. Lots of background given which could be annoying if I had read the others. But the main character is very likeable . I like to think.some professional killers are really like him but I doubt it!
I had heard about these books and I finally decided to dig in. I am glad I did! It was a fun read. I don't usually start with a book in a series by not reading the first one, but this time I did. Lots of background given which could be annoying if I had read the others. But the main character is very likeable . I like to think.some professional killers are really like him but I doubt it!
flogigyahoo's review
2.0
The 4th novel in the Butcher Boy series. Michael Schaeffer is living happily with his wife in England when he is attacked by unknown killers whom he manages to kill. Since Schaeffer himself used to carry out killings for the NY mobs he realizes that the reason for the attack on him must stem from his past when he worked with Eddie, a butcher and Schaeffer's foster father who would teach him everything he needed to know. We go back into his past with Eddie while Schaeffer travels to Australia, then all through the USA while Schaffer tries to find out who and why he is being targeted. Not as good as the first 3 books in the series.
3no7's review
5.0
Can a professional hit man ever retire? This is the compelling question posed in Thomas Perry in “Eddie’s Boy.” Readers are drawn into the world of a hitman, long retired, but always prepared. “Michael Shaeffer” killed people for about forty-five years. He had a long life for a man in his line of work. Now he and wife Meg are living a peaceful retired life in an English country manor house. Unfortunately, Michael’s past has come to England for him; he has not killed anyone for years, but this night he must.
Perry skillfully maneuvers back in forth in time so readers know “Michael” both then and now. His old age is possible because Eddie had made it possible, teaching him how to live and survive when he was young. These permanently entrenched habits, reflexes, and skills enabled him to expertly kill and survive then, and he needs them to survive now. Adversaries from his past have returned, and he must kill them or die himself. Michael’s search is deliberate, planned, and organized; however, there are plenty of unusual developments, surprising connections, and unexpected opponents. Michael is racing against time. The danger is imminent, and the tension is intense.
“Eddie’s Boy” is book four in the series, but new readers will easily follow along. Past events fold into current scenarios as Michael scrutinizes the past to unearth the enemies of the present. I received a review copy of “Eddie’s Boy” from Thomas Perry and Atlantic Monthly Press. It is a fascinating look at a character growing old, living through time, one that readers do not often see.
Perry skillfully maneuvers back in forth in time so readers know “Michael” both then and now. His old age is possible because Eddie had made it possible, teaching him how to live and survive when he was young. These permanently entrenched habits, reflexes, and skills enabled him to expertly kill and survive then, and he needs them to survive now. Adversaries from his past have returned, and he must kill them or die himself. Michael’s search is deliberate, planned, and organized; however, there are plenty of unusual developments, surprising connections, and unexpected opponents. Michael is racing against time. The danger is imminent, and the tension is intense.
“Eddie’s Boy” is book four in the series, but new readers will easily follow along. Past events fold into current scenarios as Michael scrutinizes the past to unearth the enemies of the present. I received a review copy of “Eddie’s Boy” from Thomas Perry and Atlantic Monthly Press. It is a fascinating look at a character growing old, living through time, one that readers do not often see.
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