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Perfect Killer
When a prominent Mississippi civil rights attorney asks renowned neurosurgeon Bradford Stone to help her save the life of a white racist condemned to death for the cold case murder of a black man, he has no idea that he is about to be dragged through a deadly past he thought he had escaped once and for all. Stone, the disinherited scion of a powerful Delta Planter family, has no premonition that he is about live through the hellish proof of William Faulkner's axiom that, "The past isn't over; it's not even past." Set mostly in Mississippi - primarily the Delta region where the real-life gothic exceeds the most outlandish Flannery O'Connor story - Perfect Killer tells the story of a future which can never break free of the past. The mystery is centered in the Mississippi Delta in a top-secret military project begun decades ago in a facility once housing German POWs. The program, Project Enduring Valor, is designed to create the ultimate human killing machine. For over seventy years, has sought the Holy Grail of combat a chemical compound that would turn ordinary soldiers into weapons of mass destruction, the Perfect Killers. Now, after decades of covert trial and error which have resulted in troubling side effects such as the My Lai massacre, Enduring Valor is ready to be implemented on a massive scale--despite a few troubling side-effects. Before he knows it, Stone himself in the sights of the Project's director, a retired general and war hero turned presidential candidate. To get back his life, and expose the truth, Stone must struggle with the South's racist legacy, the demons of his past and penetrate the very heart of the lethal conspiracy.
390 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
About the author
Lewis Perdue
29 books42 followersLewis Perdue is the author of 20 published books: 13 thrillers (some bestselling, including 3 co-authored with Lee Goldberg). Lew has also written seven non-fiction works ranging from wine to technology.
He is currently a biomedical researcher affiliated with the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, publishes Wine Industry Insight (for the trade), is an algorithm inventor at Revolution Algorithms, and consults with early stage technology companies. He lives near Sonoma, California.
Lew is an honors graduate of Cornell University where he studied organic chemistry, biology and communications. Financially self-supporting at age 18, Perdue financed his education by working full time at two Gannett daily newspapers.
He has worked as an investigative journalist in Washington DC for Jack Anderson, and has written for The Washington Post, Washington Monthly, The Nation and other publications.
He's served as a columnist for The Wall Street Journal Online, CBS Marketwatch, and TheStreet.Com.
In addition to journalism, Lew has been Chief Marketing Officer for a technology company (Transpositional Modulation Technologies), served as a top staff member for U.S. Senator Thad Cochran, and Mississippi Governor Bill Waller. He's also been a Managing Director for MSLGroup of Publicis Worldwide.
Lew is a native of the Mississippi Delta, and -- like the hero of his thrillers, Perfect Killer & Hellhound -- is the disinherited scion of a politically powerful, Faulknerian heritage.
He is currently a biomedical researcher affiliated with the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, publishes Wine Industry Insight (for the trade), is an algorithm inventor at Revolution Algorithms, and consults with early stage technology companies. He lives near Sonoma, California.
Lew is an honors graduate of Cornell University where he studied organic chemistry, biology and communications. Financially self-supporting at age 18, Perdue financed his education by working full time at two Gannett daily newspapers.
He has worked as an investigative journalist in Washington DC for Jack Anderson, and has written for The Washington Post, Washington Monthly, The Nation and other publications.
He's served as a columnist for The Wall Street Journal Online, CBS Marketwatch, and TheStreet.Com.
In addition to journalism, Lew has been Chief Marketing Officer for a technology company (Transpositional Modulation Technologies), served as a top staff member for U.S. Senator Thad Cochran, and Mississippi Governor Bill Waller. He's also been a Managing Director for MSLGroup of Publicis Worldwide.
Lew is a native of the Mississippi Delta, and -- like the hero of his thrillers, Perfect Killer & Hellhound -- is the disinherited scion of a politically powerful, Faulknerian heritage.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 28, 2026
Good book, raises lots of interesting questions. The "bad guys" in this book may remind you of actual people who weren't even on the stage when this book was written, so perhaps Mr. Perdue saw stuff coming! The style will appeal more to male readers, likely.
January 28, 2020
I couldnt get into it.
February 13, 2022
Not for me 🙄 I couldn't get into it... I think it can help battle insomnia for some people😶
June 5, 2008
I really liked the themes of this book: military mind control, cover ups, etc., but the plot was kind of predictable at times. Also, dammit, why does the protagonist have to fall in love with the leading lady? That took away from the story, IMHO
May 23, 2012
Almost worth being free.
February 26, 2010
Fast reading murder thriller.
April 27, 2014
A little strong on the technical side made for a boring read.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews