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Dead Aim
“[Thomas Perry is] a master of nail-biting suspense.”
—Los Angeles Times
In this explosive new novel from the Edgar Award–winning author of The Butcher’s Boy, Blood Money, and other novels of “dazzling ingenuity” (The New York Times Book Review), Thomas Perry gives us a thriller even more startling than his most recent bestseller, Pursuit. In Dead Aim, an unsuspecting man tries to help a young woman on the edge, and finds himself drawn into a lethal struggle with a deadly adversary--and then another, and another, and another.
Robert Mallon has lived for ten quiet years in affluent Santa Barbara, California, when an encounter on a beach with a mysterious young woman shatters his peaceful, carefully constructed life. Despite Mallon’s desperate attempts, he loses her, and he becomes obsessed with discovering why. He hires detective Lydia Marks to uncover the secrets of this stranger’s life, and what they learn propels them into a terrifying underworld of sinister secrets and deadly hatreds. Set against Mallon is the master hunter Parish, a man with an expert understanding of evil, who preys on rich people’s desire for dominance and revenge.
Thomas Perry’s writing is “as sharp as a sushi knife,” said the Los Angeles Times about Blood Money, and the same can be said about this new novel by the author hailed as “one of America’s finest storytellers” (San Francisco Examiner). With Dead Aim, Thomas Perry gives us another brilliant novel of spine-tingling suspense.
From the Hardcover edition.
—Los Angeles Times
In this explosive new novel from the Edgar Award–winning author of The Butcher’s Boy, Blood Money, and other novels of “dazzling ingenuity” (The New York Times Book Review), Thomas Perry gives us a thriller even more startling than his most recent bestseller, Pursuit. In Dead Aim, an unsuspecting man tries to help a young woman on the edge, and finds himself drawn into a lethal struggle with a deadly adversary--and then another, and another, and another.
Robert Mallon has lived for ten quiet years in affluent Santa Barbara, California, when an encounter on a beach with a mysterious young woman shatters his peaceful, carefully constructed life. Despite Mallon’s desperate attempts, he loses her, and he becomes obsessed with discovering why. He hires detective Lydia Marks to uncover the secrets of this stranger’s life, and what they learn propels them into a terrifying underworld of sinister secrets and deadly hatreds. Set against Mallon is the master hunter Parish, a man with an expert understanding of evil, who preys on rich people’s desire for dominance and revenge.
Thomas Perry’s writing is “as sharp as a sushi knife,” said the Los Angeles Times about Blood Money, and the same can be said about this new novel by the author hailed as “one of America’s finest storytellers” (San Francisco Examiner). With Dead Aim, Thomas Perry gives us another brilliant novel of spine-tingling suspense.
From the Hardcover edition.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
510 people are currently reading
368 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Perry
93 books1,702 followersThomas Perry was the author of 25 novels. He was born in Tonawanda, New York in 1947. He received a B.A. from Cornell University in 1969 and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Rochester in 1974. He had worked as a park maintenance man, factory laborer, commercial fisherman, university administrator and teacher, and as a writer and producer of prime time network television shows.
Thomas Perry lived in Southern California.
Thomas Perry lived in Southern California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 122 reviews
August 27, 2011
I'm currently on a roll reading books by Thomas Perry. I thoroughly enjoyed DEAD AIM. I like his books with "people plots" much better than those that involve the Mafia.
August 31, 2015
Well done! The characters pop again & the plot is twisty as can be. Great clues along the way & the guns were well done for a change. Loved how he did the contracting knowledge & the ending, too.
The basis of the story was pretty wild, but actually makes perfect sense. A decade seems a bit long for someone to drone out, but it's crossed my mind. What if I was suddenly rich & didn't have to work? What would there be to strive for? I don't think walks on the beach would be it, but it would certainly be a quandary.
What if someone was born rich & had 'been-there, done-that'? What would you do for excitement? Shades of The Most Dangerous Game! I love the way it ended.
One of his best & well read by Michael Kramer.
The basis of the story was pretty wild, but actually makes perfect sense. A decade seems a bit long for someone to drone out, but it's crossed my mind. What if I was suddenly rich & didn't have to work? What would there be to strive for? I don't think walks on the beach would be it, but it would certainly be a quandary.
What if someone was born rich & had 'been-there, done-that'? What would you do for excitement? Shades of The Most Dangerous Game! I love the way it ended.
One of his best & well read by Michael Kramer.
January 27, 2011
One of the least credible endings I've ever encountered. The mild-mannered construction company CEO sneaks into the complex where the professional killers are entrenched in the vague hope of "finding evidence against them" and ends up killing them all, one by one. You've got to be kidding me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 29, 2012
An engaging read, where Perry doesn't bog you down with police minutiae. Maybe I've just read an excess of thrillers and willing to allow certain author lapses (the ones mentioned in the low rated reviews) to keep me from harping over needless drivel?
June 8, 2017
I wish all novels of suspense could be as taut and exciting as Perry's. This novel appears at first to be an ordinary detective novel, but soon turns into a complicated cat-and-mouse chase. Perry never disappoints.
December 14, 2019
I used to admire Thomas Perry--I thought he did person-in-jeopardy novels better than anybody else, with the innocent protagonist managing to make things right against overwhelming deadly odds. This one--written in 2002--didn't measure up. I'm not spoiling when I say that the plot is driven by an ex-mercenary soldier who has set up a camp where he trains wealthy people (the only kind who can afford his fees) to hunt and kill other people. The body count is very high. The innocent hero becomes a target. The rest of the plot pretty much seems to be on railroad tracks, and it ends up at the station right on time. Perry's uninvolved and indifferent tone never varies, regardless of whether he's describing a hunt for a human, a fancy dinner, a police interrogation, or sex. The action never slows down or speeds up. "Michael Parish had been observing and evaluating over the past three days..." That is what all the main characters do, observe and evaluate, incessantly, some more successfully than others. The biggest surprise for me was when (this is not a spoiler) one of the trained killers is first described this way: "She was about thirty and small, with dark, curly hair and very white skin, and a compact body that looked as though she had done some gymnastics when she was young. Her face was pretty." I thought I had the picture, but then she is later described (from the point of view of the hero): "Her features seemed to be slightly exaggerated: she was short and had wide hips and large breasts, and her face had a wide mouth with full lips and big eyes." I didn't realize at first that it was the same woman, but it was.
February 5, 2013
This novel is slow and long at the beginning. The ending rescues and saves it.. 7 of 10 stars
June 10, 2017
I was reading the reviews and suddenly realized I have read this one. The guy just doesn't write bad books. That said, I did have a few creeping credibility issues with this one. My favorites of this author's are The Butcher's Boy and the Jane Whitefield series. The JW books perhaps should strain my credibility, and yet they don't. A great writer can make us believe just about anything. This one was good--I was never inclined to abandon it or let it sit around long once begun--but he's set a high standard, and now I expect him to live up to it.
October 6, 2016
Four and a half really. Love Thos Perry, love his hit man stories, love his characters who are not superheroes or gorgeous dames but who get confused and make bad choices. This story suffered a little when the everyman main character who was bumbling along for most of the book does turn into a superhero with prescient instincts in the showdown at the end. Story--main character rescues a drowning woman who is trying to die and succeeds shortly thereafter. He has the money to indulge his curiosity and mounts an investigation into her circumstances, making himself a target for a whole school of hitmen.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 28, 2020
Six-word Review: Great start, hard to believe ending.
This is a book that moves with such breakneck speed that the reader may not realize that the plot becomes more and more unbelievable as the story unfolds. Nevertheless, I had a difficult time putting the book down even at 3:00 AM in the middle of the night.
The protagonist, Robert Mallon, is an early retiree living in Santa Barbara, whose favorite exercise is walking along the beach. One afternoon he notices a young woman, Catherine Broward, walking into the surf and eventually going under. He rescues her, takes her home, allows himself to be seduced and goes out for food only to find her gone when he returns. Catherine is found two days later with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Because of his own family history, he sets out to discover why she killed herself. He hires an old colleague, Lydia Marks, to help him find the truth. There are clues as to her state of mind that eventually lead Robert and Lydia to an extremely expensive self-defense school run by Michael Parish in the hills above Los Angeles. Neither Robert nor Lydia realize that visiting the school will set in motion events that fill the rest of the book.
The unbelievable part of the story is that Robert somehow becomes a Jason Bourne clone and successfully takes on multiple stone killers. Fortunately, the author's skill is such that the reader may not realize that the plot has shifted and that what's happening may be possible but is highly improbable.
So if you want to be absorbed in a fascinating and thrilling narrative, read this book. If you want reality, you won't find it here.
This is a book that moves with such breakneck speed that the reader may not realize that the plot becomes more and more unbelievable as the story unfolds. Nevertheless, I had a difficult time putting the book down even at 3:00 AM in the middle of the night.
The protagonist, Robert Mallon, is an early retiree living in Santa Barbara, whose favorite exercise is walking along the beach. One afternoon he notices a young woman, Catherine Broward, walking into the surf and eventually going under. He rescues her, takes her home, allows himself to be seduced and goes out for food only to find her gone when he returns. Catherine is found two days later with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Because of his own family history, he sets out to discover why she killed herself. He hires an old colleague, Lydia Marks, to help him find the truth. There are clues as to her state of mind that eventually lead Robert and Lydia to an extremely expensive self-defense school run by Michael Parish in the hills above Los Angeles. Neither Robert nor Lydia realize that visiting the school will set in motion events that fill the rest of the book.
The unbelievable part of the story is that Robert somehow becomes a Jason Bourne clone and successfully takes on multiple stone killers. Fortunately, the author's skill is such that the reader may not realize that the plot has shifted and that what's happening may be possible but is highly improbable.
So if you want to be absorbed in a fascinating and thrilling narrative, read this book. If you want reality, you won't find it here.
August 23, 2019
This was not a great book on a number of counts. The setup is that Robert Mallon sees a woman attempt suicide in the ocean and rescues her. They come back to his house where she insists on having sex with him. The next day she leaves and apparently commits suicide again, more successfully. Then Mallon sets off on a quest to figure out why she did it.
Mallon's evolving reasons for the search are the theme of the book, but I was never very interested in why he was doing it. (Under the same circumstances, I think I would have done the same, just because I'm a very curious person. Mallon is a multi-millionaire, so he has the time and money to do a search like this just because.)
Unfortunately, the end of the book devolves into something very like a first-person shooter game in textual form, and Mallon turns out to be a very-unconvincing crack shot. On top of that, there is a distressing subtext of men killing women that runs throughout the book. While this is an accurate depiction of reality, it's presented with a little too much exploitive thrill and too little insight. Extra points for killing the gay woman in a particularly painful manner! Yay?
I listened to this as an audio book, and the reader voices the women in a painfully distracting falsetto.
Mallon's evolving reasons for the search are the theme of the book, but I was never very interested in why he was doing it. (Under the same circumstances, I think I would have done the same, just because I'm a very curious person. Mallon is a multi-millionaire, so he has the time and money to do a search like this just because.)
Unfortunately, the end of the book devolves into something very like a first-person shooter game in textual form, and Mallon turns out to be a very-unconvincing crack shot. On top of that, there is a distressing subtext of men killing women that runs throughout the book. While this is an accurate depiction of reality, it's presented with a little too much exploitive thrill and too little insight. Extra points for killing the gay woman in a particularly painful manner! Yay?
I listened to this as an audio book, and the reader voices the women in a painfully distracting falsetto.
March 14, 2014
Except for the fact that I found it hard to believe that Fallon could become such a tough guy when he started out so meek, this was a great book. Perry is a master at getting the detail precise and accurate.
December 31, 2008
I found this one when I was going through the library and re-reading all of my Thomas Perry favorites. It's a great cat and mouse game of suspense and thrills.
February 3, 2024
This is one of Perry's earlier books. Very interesting to see the genesis of the characters he uses in later books, as well as the plot structure. Made me want to write some more.
October 29, 2012
Great book until a somewhat weak/disappointing ending
July 6, 2024
I have a sort of love/hate thing going with Thomas Perry's work. On the one hand, his writing is passable and there's always enough of a story to hold your interest. On the other hand, in virtually every novel of his I've read he manages to create something preposterous in the plot that ruins the experience for me. I keep reading but can't get it out of my mind. In the case of 'Dead Aim', it's the entire basis for the novel in the beginning and the unrealistic conclusion. That being said, the middle was OK, though!
The short summary is that a relatively rich real estate developer retiree, Mallon, walking on the beach near Santa Barbara rescues a young woman from a suicide-by-drowning attempt. He takes her home, yadda yadda, has wild sex with her at her insistence (even though she's half his age), goes out for food, she absconds and ends up offing herself with a pistol. Even though Mallon doesn't know her name and had spent only a couple hours with her, he becomes obsessed with finding the reasons for the suicide attempts. He spends beaucoup money to fund a private investigation, using a former co-worker, Lydia, from a previous job he had as a parole officer. He also finds himself under suspicion with the police who find his story almost as unrealistic as I did. Mallon lawyers up, which keeps the cops off his back, and proceeds to make inroads thanks to Lydia in discovering the identity of the dead woman and a few details about her background, but hampering all of this is the fact that pretty much every person who provides Mallon with info about the deceased ends up dead. Makes his crusade a little more challenging and continues to confound law enforcement. Mallon evolves from being the hunter to being the hunted, as he identifies a connection to a shadowy training academy and they don't particularly like the attention. What follows is a concluding section that's pretty far out there and an abrupt ending. I suppose that to wrap things up with a bow Perry would've needed another couple hundred pages but, thankfully, he pretty much just 'peace/out'-ed.
Again, the writing was competent. Prose-wise, I find Perry to be a bit above generic thriller quality but well below the masters of the genre. Dead Aim is certainly readable and moves along well. The premise of the novel, at least to me, is just silly. I realize middle-age rich guys can become infatuated with pretty young things. But to yank one out of the ocean, have her essentially demand sex, and then kill herself a couple hours later while said middle age guy doesn't even know her name and then have him become obsessed with the "why" doesn't seem even remotely realistic to me (yes, I know it's fiction....). The conclusion with rich middle-age real estate developer guy taking on the trained killers from the academy was quite laughable and couldn't pass any reasonable smell test. Dead Aim held my interest well enough that I didn't bail but turned out to be yet another Perry novel with some gaping holes.
The short summary is that a relatively rich real estate developer retiree, Mallon, walking on the beach near Santa Barbara rescues a young woman from a suicide-by-drowning attempt. He takes her home, yadda yadda, has wild sex with her at her insistence (even though she's half his age), goes out for food, she absconds and ends up offing herself with a pistol. Even though Mallon doesn't know her name and had spent only a couple hours with her, he becomes obsessed with finding the reasons for the suicide attempts. He spends beaucoup money to fund a private investigation, using a former co-worker, Lydia, from a previous job he had as a parole officer. He also finds himself under suspicion with the police who find his story almost as unrealistic as I did. Mallon lawyers up, which keeps the cops off his back, and proceeds to make inroads thanks to Lydia in discovering the identity of the dead woman and a few details about her background, but hampering all of this is the fact that pretty much every person who provides Mallon with info about the deceased ends up dead. Makes his crusade a little more challenging and continues to confound law enforcement. Mallon evolves from being the hunter to being the hunted, as he identifies a connection to a shadowy training academy and they don't particularly like the attention. What follows is a concluding section that's pretty far out there and an abrupt ending. I suppose that to wrap things up with a bow Perry would've needed another couple hundred pages but, thankfully, he pretty much just 'peace/out'-ed.
Again, the writing was competent. Prose-wise, I find Perry to be a bit above generic thriller quality but well below the masters of the genre. Dead Aim is certainly readable and moves along well. The premise of the novel, at least to me, is just silly. I realize middle-age rich guys can become infatuated with pretty young things. But to yank one out of the ocean, have her essentially demand sex, and then kill herself a couple hours later while said middle age guy doesn't even know her name and then have him become obsessed with the "why" doesn't seem even remotely realistic to me (yes, I know it's fiction....). The conclusion with rich middle-age real estate developer guy taking on the trained killers from the academy was quite laughable and couldn't pass any reasonable smell test. Dead Aim held my interest well enough that I didn't bail but turned out to be yet another Perry novel with some gaping holes.
March 25, 2024
Reading Mr. TP'S books transcends me to some sort of comfort zone. That sort of comfort zone I feel when doing my 4-5 am body weight work outs. This book curiously surprised me, it caught me off guard, hence my accolades end at 3-star rating instead of 5, particularly when Lydia Marks dies, I had to morn her for a couple of days before proceeding. Lydia is a former colleague of Robert Mallon for four years in the law enforcement community as parole officer. Robert Mallon had contracted her conduct a private investigation on the history of Catherine Broward.
"... I turned my back on Catherine
Broward for a short time, and she was gone. I needed to know why
she would try so hard to kill herself. I thought if I found out about
her life, it would tell me the answer. So I hired somebody who knew
how to find out about people. I picked Lydia Marks because I knew
her—used to work with her years ago—but also because she was a
woman. I thought that maybe she could help me understand
Catherine better.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” said Diehl. “Why did you care?”
“That’s one of the things that I’m learning. After she died, I tried
to convince myself that it must be just detached curiosity, like
science, because I wouldn’t be foolish enough to care so much about
somebody I didn’t actually know very well. Then I decided that it
must be some kind of midlife crisis—that it was about my own
mortality. But it was Catherine. I liked her. For a few hours she
made life surprising and mysterious again. I wanted her to live, and
if she had, I would have tried to know her better. I’m still not sure
whether that would have worked out, but I wanted her to live.”
Robert Malon, a wealthy retired contractor now living conservatively, in Santa Barbra after an acrimonious divorce ten years ago is our protagonist. He saved Catherine, from committing suicide in the ocean, however she successfully succeeded to kill herself a few hours later. On the other hand, our antagonist is Mr. Michael Parish a former mercenary who formerly operated in Southern Africa sets a self-defense school in US where a trains student to kill for revenge and later for fun or sport for very high fee. The investigations unravel that Catherine had enrolled at the self - defense school to revenge her womanizer boyfriend. Robert Mallon and Lydia became the target for the hunters from self-defense school, however on the day of the hunt unknown to Parish Lydia was travelling alone trying to find more information about Cathy. When Robert Mallon discovered that he is the target he takes on the whole self-defense school single handedly contrary to his profile that shows that he was never a decorated soldier.
"... I turned my back on Catherine
Broward for a short time, and she was gone. I needed to know why
she would try so hard to kill herself. I thought if I found out about
her life, it would tell me the answer. So I hired somebody who knew
how to find out about people. I picked Lydia Marks because I knew
her—used to work with her years ago—but also because she was a
woman. I thought that maybe she could help me understand
Catherine better.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” said Diehl. “Why did you care?”
“That’s one of the things that I’m learning. After she died, I tried
to convince myself that it must be just detached curiosity, like
science, because I wouldn’t be foolish enough to care so much about
somebody I didn’t actually know very well. Then I decided that it
must be some kind of midlife crisis—that it was about my own
mortality. But it was Catherine. I liked her. For a few hours she
made life surprising and mysterious again. I wanted her to live, and
if she had, I would have tried to know her better. I’m still not sure
whether that would have worked out, but I wanted her to live.”
Robert Malon, a wealthy retired contractor now living conservatively, in Santa Barbra after an acrimonious divorce ten years ago is our protagonist. He saved Catherine, from committing suicide in the ocean, however she successfully succeeded to kill herself a few hours later. On the other hand, our antagonist is Mr. Michael Parish a former mercenary who formerly operated in Southern Africa sets a self-defense school in US where a trains student to kill for revenge and later for fun or sport for very high fee. The investigations unravel that Catherine had enrolled at the self - defense school to revenge her womanizer boyfriend. Robert Mallon and Lydia became the target for the hunters from self-defense school, however on the day of the hunt unknown to Parish Lydia was travelling alone trying to find more information about Cathy. When Robert Mallon discovered that he is the target he takes on the whole self-defense school single handedly contrary to his profile that shows that he was never a decorated soldier.
April 19, 2021
1 star = did not like it by GR's rating system
I dnf'd this book at 34%. And actually I should have known better since I've read a lot of Thomas Perry's books but this will be my last one. I generally like his books because they're very easy to read and get into. This one was no different.
Spoilers ahead:
Robert Mallon is a rich retired dude. He's at the beach and saves a young woman who tries to drown herself. She seems ok and goes back to his house where she seduces him. He goes out to buy dinner but she disappears. Two days later he finds out in the news that she has successfully committed suicide. He hires a private investigator and together they look into her history to find out more about her. So far so good.
About 30% into the book we are introduced to another character Marcia. At this point I don't know if this is a short interlude or parallel story. I gamely follow along just so that I get back to the main story but after reading a few chapters I'm still in this POV.
Thomas Perry has a habit of splitting his books into different POV's, sometimes it's ok. In the last Perry book that I dnf'd, he split his book into 3 POV's. In fact, he seemed to put so much effort into writing 3 stories that he forgot to put effort into giving character to his 3 characters. All 3 were shallow and I didn't care about them so I dnf'd.
With this book I just liked the original story and I didn't care about this Marcia character. I thought about just fast reading this POV to get back to the main story but I just didn't want to put the effort into it. Ugh. That's it, this will be my last Thomas Perry book.
I dnf'd this book at 34%. And actually I should have known better since I've read a lot of Thomas Perry's books but this will be my last one. I generally like his books because they're very easy to read and get into. This one was no different.
Spoilers ahead:
Robert Mallon is a rich retired dude. He's at the beach and saves a young woman who tries to drown herself. She seems ok and goes back to his house where she seduces him. He goes out to buy dinner but she disappears. Two days later he finds out in the news that she has successfully committed suicide. He hires a private investigator and together they look into her history to find out more about her. So far so good.
About 30% into the book we are introduced to another character Marcia. At this point I don't know if this is a short interlude or parallel story. I gamely follow along just so that I get back to the main story but after reading a few chapters I'm still in this POV.
Thomas Perry has a habit of splitting his books into different POV's, sometimes it's ok. In the last Perry book that I dnf'd, he split his book into 3 POV's. In fact, he seemed to put so much effort into writing 3 stories that he forgot to put effort into giving character to his 3 characters. All 3 were shallow and I didn't care about them so I dnf'd.
With this book I just liked the original story and I didn't care about this Marcia character. I thought about just fast reading this POV to get back to the main story but I just didn't want to put the effort into it. Ugh. That's it, this will be my last Thomas Perry book.
May 28, 2024
Robert Mallon has been living a quiet life in Santa Barbara after his early retirement ten years previously. He takes long walks on the beach every day. However, everything changes when he sees a young woman walk into the ocean with no intention of coming back. Mallon brings her to shore and uses CPR to revive her. He takes her to his home to shower and change and they share a sexual encounter. Mallon goes to a local restaurant to buy food for their dinner. When he returns, the woman is gone. He discovers that she had gone to a park and shot herself in the head after he left. Mallon tells the police what he knows (which doesn't even include her name). At this point, it would seem that their story is over. But Mallon becomes determined to find out who she was and why she would want to die. He hires a detective whom he had worked with previously when they were both parole officers. And they go down the rabbit hole. Pursuing this information puts both of their lives in danger. They don't know who is trying to kill them or who they could actually trust. In the end, it turns out that the killers have underestimated their prey. This is an exciting story told by one of my favorite authors.
December 15, 2020
After reading several of Thomas Perry's stand alone novels I'd recommend those that have only read his Jane Whitefield or Butcher's Boy series to go back and start reading these other novels. He truly has a gift for dreaming up unique characters and putting them into unique situations. This one is one of several I have read in a row that have all been first rate.
In Dead Aim a wealthy, single man is the protagonist. After rescuing a woman from drowning, he finds she was trying to commit suicide. After spending some time with her enjoying her company, he leaves her alone for a few minutes returning to find her gone. Later he finds she went ahead completely her decision to kill herself. He decides he must know more about her and sets off to find out what led her to this decision. From there this story takes several strange turns and ultimately the man becomes the target of an usual team of assassins.
Its a great story told as only Perry can with characters that surprise and twists you didn't expect.
In Dead Aim a wealthy, single man is the protagonist. After rescuing a woman from drowning, he finds she was trying to commit suicide. After spending some time with her enjoying her company, he leaves her alone for a few minutes returning to find her gone. Later he finds she went ahead completely her decision to kill herself. He decides he must know more about her and sets off to find out what led her to this decision. From there this story takes several strange turns and ultimately the man becomes the target of an usual team of assassins.
Its a great story told as only Perry can with characters that surprise and twists you didn't expect.
Read
September 29, 2022The hero, Robt. Mallon, saves a woman from drowning herself in the ocean off Santa Barbara only to have her commit suicide--or did she?--later that night. He cannot let it go and hires a PI to find out about her. The self-defense school in the hills north of Ojai is teaching more than self-defense.
As the bodies pile up he gets drawn further in--or rather the baddies get closer. The ending, however, is unsatisfactory. Perry has constructed a good plot but one that cannot have a happy outcome for the hero, so instead of ending his tale, he just quits.
I loved Perry's The Old Man, the first book of his I read, but the ending here is unsatisfying.
As the bodies pile up he gets drawn further in--or rather the baddies get closer. The ending, however, is unsatisfactory. Perry has constructed a good plot but one that cannot have a happy outcome for the hero, so instead of ending his tale, he just quits.
I loved Perry's The Old Man, the first book of his I read, but the ending here is unsatisfying.
August 27, 2024
Dear Mr. Perry:
In order to stay on with us as your publisher, you must write another book in 8 months’ time.
This is not a good book. The premise, which might have taken Mr. Perry 3 minutes to dream up, is great…a man rescues a woman from drowning on a desolate California beach, has a brief relationship with her, and then she kills herself soon after. But the rest of this book, which might’ve been conceived in 30 seconds, is stupid…about a professional “hunter” who trains people to become assassins. If that’s the case, then the last part of this book couldn’t happen.
Usually, I’m a pretty decent random book selector, choosing carefully off my library’s vast shelves. Not this time!
In order to stay on with us as your publisher, you must write another book in 8 months’ time.
This is not a good book. The premise, which might have taken Mr. Perry 3 minutes to dream up, is great…a man rescues a woman from drowning on a desolate California beach, has a brief relationship with her, and then she kills herself soon after. But the rest of this book, which might’ve been conceived in 30 seconds, is stupid…about a professional “hunter” who trains people to become assassins. If that’s the case, then the last part of this book couldn’t happen.
Usually, I’m a pretty decent random book selector, choosing carefully off my library’s vast shelves. Not this time!
July 14, 2019
This was something of a disappointment. While I was reading it I enjoyed it (with a few reservations). However, after I finished it I found less and less to like. The main characters' motivations for their actions were murky at best. The basic premise was interesting but the conclusion degenerated into a situation that seemed pretty improbable, especially given the alleged skills of the "bad guys" and the lack of evidence for similar skills for the "good guys". Since I enjoyed another book by this author and this one wasn't awful I will give the author another try before writing him off.
January 16, 2020
A fascinating book, but just too many sub-plots. The set-up and backstory were entertaining, but the lawyer character's story was unbelievable - and way too long, as was the final shoot-out, since the lead character didn't have the background for it.
Perhaps I was too tired on the first reading, but I had such a hard time sorting out the characters, that I had to re-read nearly half of it (partly the fault of not being able to riffle the pages on an e-reader).
And I never did figure out what happened to Emily.
I usually love Perry's books. This one was a disappointment
Perhaps I was too tired on the first reading, but I had such a hard time sorting out the characters, that I had to re-read nearly half of it (partly the fault of not being able to riffle the pages on an e-reader).
And I never did figure out what happened to Emily.
I usually love Perry's books. This one was a disappointment
May 3, 2024
A man rescues a young woman from drowning, but she really wants to die. Robert is so conflicted about her death that he hires his friend, Lydia, who is a private investigator to find out why. Their investigation leads to Lydia’s murder and several attempts on Robert’s life, what they have uncovered is a service for wealthy people who want to kill someone…usually someone they really hate, but sometimes a total stranger.
Then, he finds out that his own attorney has also payed for the service and he cannot trust even her. In order to save his own life, he has to take out all of the,.
Then, he finds out that his own attorney has also payed for the service and he cannot trust even her. In order to save his own life, he has to take out all of the,.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 8, 2019
8th of february 2019, friday afternoon, after the storm about a foot or so of new snowfall we're up past 200" for the winter, single digits, ding! it is now safe to remove your food from the microwave. life.
three stars i liked it kindle library loaner i think the first from perry for me although i do have a "perry" shelf and can't think who the other perry would be though i think not thomas.
and now on to dave with sports...dave?
three stars i liked it kindle library loaner i think the first from perry for me although i do have a "perry" shelf and can't think who the other perry would be though i think not thomas.
and now on to dave with sports...dave?
December 21, 2021
Let me say up front, I've never picked up a Thomas Perry book that I didn't just love from word one to word last and this one is no different. It is not part of his series but a stand alone thriller. Robert Mallon made his millions and now he's enjoying them in his own way - quietly and simply. One day on the beach he saves a girl from suicide and, in the process, turns his back on quiet and simple.
February 9, 2023
When To Let Go
An attempted suicide leads to a bag of snakes. A rich guy just can’t accept a young girl’s suicide and just about gets killed, many times, because let it go. How far do you dig and how much money do you waste just to satisfy your curiosity!
I almost stopped reading in the middle because it seemed to drag on. The end was good, but I didn’t rate this one as high as his other novels I’ve read.
An attempted suicide leads to a bag of snakes. A rich guy just can’t accept a young girl’s suicide and just about gets killed, many times, because let it go. How far do you dig and how much money do you waste just to satisfy your curiosity!
I almost stopped reading in the middle because it seemed to drag on. The end was good, but I didn’t rate this one as high as his other novels I’ve read.
February 6, 2024
This is pretty early Perry, maybe he's still finding his sea legs. Written in classic Perry hard-boiled style, but employing kind of a weird multiple narrative technique. Ultimately I have to say there were a couple of coincidences that were unbelievable, and the denouement really strained belief.
I enjoy Perry's style and yeah I liked this just fine even though my perceived flaws keeps it from five star status.s
I enjoy Perry's style and yeah I liked this just fine even though my perceived flaws keeps it from five star status.s
March 27, 2024
Great start but loses its way
Started off very strong even though the twist was arguably too telegraphed in the prologue. About halfway through starts to get silly. By the end just hard to take seriously. Role of the police just not credible and the character of Mallon goes from shlub to superman. Worst of all is his attorney who really ruins the plot. A poor effort for a writer as gifted as Perry.
Started off very strong even though the twist was arguably too telegraphed in the prologue. About halfway through starts to get silly. By the end just hard to take seriously. Role of the police just not credible and the character of Mallon goes from shlub to superman. Worst of all is his attorney who really ruins the plot. A poor effort for a writer as gifted as Perry.
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