Publishers Weekly
10/21/2019
At the start of this uneven thriller from bestseller Perry (The Burglar), a thousand inmates break out from a high security federal correctional facility in rural Colorado. They rampage through nearby Weldonville, causing widespread death and destruction. While most of the escapees are quickly recaptured, after a two-year manhunt the 12 inmates who orchestrated the breakout remain at large. Weldonville Det. Leah Hawkins, whose lover was killed in the violence, sets out with the secret backing of city officials to track down and kill the ringleaders. Despite the previous best efforts of hundreds of FBI agents, Leah nonetheless quickly manages to locate and kill six of them, at which point the surviving fugitives, realizing what’s happening, counterattack from their refuge in an Arkansas survivalist camp. The dramatic setup fails to compensate for two-dimensional characters, especially Leah, and often perfunctory action. In addition, the author misses the chance to consider such larger questions as the morality of Leah’s vigilante killings. Edgar-winner Perry has done better. Agent: Mel Berger, WME. (Jan.)
From the Publisher
Praise for A Small Town:
“A superior live-action version of the Road Runner cartoons with 12 coyotes and noncartoon violence.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Readers expecting Perry's latest to be another of the author's superb comic caper novels are in for a big surprise. This is Perry in no-holds-barred action-thriller mode…The ever-versatile Perry shines yet again.—Booklist (starred review)
Praise for Thomas Perry:
“[Perry is] a master of nail-biting suspense.”—Los Angeles Times
“Plenty of characters, plenty of emotion, plenty of insider expertise, but most of all plenty of irresistible momentum toward a fantastic climax—in other words, The Bomb Maker is typical Thomas Perry.”—Lee Child, on The Bomb Maker
“The best thing about Thomas Perry’s thrillers are the devilishly ingenious schemes his protagonists devise to outwit their pursuers…Perry can really write.”—San Francisco Chronicle, on The Boyfriend
“Perry is so skillful with the old chase-and-pursuit routine, creates such interesting characters, and writes about them so tellingly, one wants more immediately, not next year—right now.”—Boston Globe
“Mr. Perry, in this first-rate thriller, proves as cagy as his criminal mastermind: The reader rarely anticipates his next move. He balances breathtaking suspense with romantic intrigue.”—Wall Street Journal, on The Bomb Maker
“[A harrowing hunt-and-hide adventure…nobody writes chase scenes like Perry, who devises intricate itineraries, multiple identities and frequent costume changes.”—New York Times Book Review, on The Old Man
“Perry…builds suspense with all the subtlety of a master chef nursing a risotto to a buttery perfection. It's nothing new to call Perry a master of the genre, but it's no less true for being widely acknowledged.”—Booklist
“Perry is a master of plotting…Most readers know him from his Jane Whitefield ‘disappeared’ series. His thrillers, of which this is one of the best, are even better.” ―Globe and Mail (Toronto)
“Perry delivers a perfect melding of character and plot, light and dark, and he totally immerses the reader in an irresistible narrative.”—Booklist, “Top 10 Crime Novels of the Year,” on Forty Thieves
“Since his Edgar Award-winning debut novel, The Butcher's Boy . . . Thomas Perry has put together a rewarding string of suspense novels with as much cool competence as some of his best protagonists bring to their work . . . Perry’s a real pro.” —Shelf Awareness, on The Old Man
Library Journal - Audio
★ 08/01/2020
When more than a thousand violent offenders escape from a maximum-security prison in a brilliantly planned escape, they rape, murder, and pillage their way through a small Colorado town. After two years, the prison break's 12 masterminds still have not been caught. Leah Hawkins, a local cop who lost a loved one that night, decides that law enforcement has had their chance and she will hunt the offenders down and dole out justice for her and the rest of the town. From Buffalo to Florida and all over the country, she pursues the convicts with single-minded focus. But when they realize what's happening, the pursuit becomes even more dangerous. Christina Delaine's narration is as taut and gripping as the story. VERDICT This exhilarating adventure is matched by exceptional narration, making it an essential listen for thriller fans.—Scott R. DiMarco, Mansfield Univ. of Pennsylvania Lib.
MARCH 2020 - AudioFile
The small town in this audiobook is decimated by the horrific aftereffects of a prison breakout. When, after two years, the 12 masterminds behind the breakout remain at large, police officer Leah Hawkins takes a leave of absence to hunt them down and take revenge. Christina Delaine’s accomplished narration holds the listener’s attention as Leah crosses the country, seeking out the escapees. Delaine does an excellent job of characterizing the wide cast of characters, in particular Leah, for whom she injects just the right amount of certainty and self-doubt. Delaine’s pacing keeps the story moving and helps build the tension as the plot races to a dramatic conclusion. K.J.P. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2019-10-14
Perry's large-scale update of The Bride Wore Black stars a small-town cop who's paid $1 million to track down and kill the 12 inmates who organized and spearheaded a massive prison break.
Two years after a diabolically plotted escape from the local prison loosed hundreds of inmates in the little town of Weldonville to rob, rape, and kill before most of them were re-arrested, the verdict is clear: "They murdered Weldonville." The place has never recovered from the trauma of the breakout and its aftermath; nearly everyone knows someone who was murdered or widowed that night, and no good news has arrived to counterbalance the memories. So the town council comes up with a plan that's novel, neat, and logical: Take $1 million in grant money that's been given to rebuild the town and make it all available to Detective. Lt. Leah Hawkins, a local who's ostensibly taking a leave of absence to brush up on state-of-the-art police procedure but who's actually being asked, if not exactly authorized, to find the ringleaders, scattered across the country, and visit summary justice on them. Once this germ has been planted, the story virtually writes itself. Following the best leads she can find, Leah travels to Florida or Buffalo or California, waits patiently for the escapee at the top of her list to show his face, and then executes him. Though it's deeply satisfying to see the first few ex-cons get their just deserts, Perry (The Burglar, 2019, etc.) is too wily a pro to follow Leah passively down the list. Careful as she is to avoid creating the kind of publicity that would alert the other escapees to their peril, some of them get wind of her vendetta, putting them on high alert and eventually encouraging them to take arms against her themselves.
A superior live-action version of the Road Runner cartoons with 12 coyotes and noncartoon violence.
