What do you think?
Rate this book
Perfection
Walter Satterthwait gives his readers a feast of different flavors. His modern-day private-eye series was followed by his historical mysteries. In real life, Lizzie Borden may actually have killed her parents, but Satterthwait turns her into a high-spirited amateur sleuth. Satterthwait's Left Bank in 1920s Paris is alive with artists like Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein. And he has even dug up Hitler and his true-to-life Nazi pals (but, never fear, the good guys still win).
Now Satterthwait turns his hand to this terrific thriller, Perfection, with a pair of true-to-life police detectives for us to root for. In a small Florida city, a most baffling killer insists that his victims meet very specific criteria. Satterthwait teases the reader---and police detectives Sophia Tregaskis and Jim Fallon too; he shows us the killer in his own home, reliving the satisfaction of his latest murder. We watch him scouting his neighboring supermarket for the next person who will require "perfection."
Even childhood episodes that made him the monster he is don't help us---or the two police detectives---learn who and where he is. When the pair finally does track him through his past, chance---or the devil---stacks the odds against them with a vicious hurricane and the thrill of uncertainty until the very end.
Now Satterthwait turns his hand to this terrific thriller, Perfection, with a pair of true-to-life police detectives for us to root for. In a small Florida city, a most baffling killer insists that his victims meet very specific criteria. Satterthwait teases the reader---and police detectives Sophia Tregaskis and Jim Fallon too; he shows us the killer in his own home, reliving the satisfaction of his latest murder. We watch him scouting his neighboring supermarket for the next person who will require "perfection."
Even childhood episodes that made him the monster he is don't help us---or the two police detectives---learn who and where he is. When the pair finally does track him through his past, chance---or the devil---stacks the odds against them with a vicious hurricane and the thrill of uncertainty until the very end.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
1 person is currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
Walter Satterthwait
50 books31 followersWalter Satterthwait (b. 1946) was an author of mysteries and historical fiction. A fan of mystery novels from a young age, he spent high school immersed in the works of Dashiell Hammett and Mickey Spillane. While working as a bartender in New York in the late 1970s, he wrote his first book: an adventure novel, Cocaine Blues (1979), about a drug dealer on the run from a pair of killers.
After his second thriller, The Aegean Affair (1982), Satterthwait created his best-known character, Santa Fe private detective Joshua Croft. Beginning with Wall of Glass (1988), Satterthwait wrote five Croft novels, concluding the series with 1996’s Accustomed to the Dark. In between Croft books, he wrote mysteries starring historical figures, including Miss Lizzie (1989), a novel about Lizzie Borden, and Wilde West (1991), a western mystery starring Oscar Wilde. His most recent novel is Dead Horse (2007), an account of the mysterious death of Depression-era pulp writer Raoul Whitfield.
After his second thriller, The Aegean Affair (1982), Satterthwait created his best-known character, Santa Fe private detective Joshua Croft. Beginning with Wall of Glass (1988), Satterthwait wrote five Croft novels, concluding the series with 1996’s Accustomed to the Dark. In between Croft books, he wrote mysteries starring historical figures, including Miss Lizzie (1989), a novel about Lizzie Borden, and Wilde West (1991), a western mystery starring Oscar Wilde. His most recent novel is Dead Horse (2007), an account of the mysterious death of Depression-era pulp writer Raoul Whitfield.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 20, 2019
Ich hatte lange kein Buch, wo es mir so schwer viel, es aus der Hand zu legen. "Scherenschnitte" jedoch, war ein Thriller, der mich von Anfang an gepackt hat. Die Beziehung zwischen den zwei Detectives amüsierte und faszinierte mich (da kam mein kleines Schnulzen-Ich zum Vorschein), der Perspektivenwechsel von Fallon zu Sophia zum Killer fand ich absolut gelungen. Das Ende ist für meinen Geschmack etwas zu kurz gekommen, aber das ändert nichts an dem ansonsten spannenden und gelungenen Roman.
July 9, 2012
Actual rating: 2.5 stars.
Enthusiastic friends are always plugging mystery novels, but when I read them my enthusiasm rarely matches theirs. Such is the case with Walter Satterthwait's Perfection, a (to me) box-stock serial killer police procedural with two semi-interesting cops, the standard cast of ancillary characters, and of course the serial killer himself, hiding in plain sight through a contrivance so far-fetched I nearly threw the book across the room when I came to the reveal ... and I would have, too, if there had been 50 or 60 pages still to go, but Satterthwait didn't chuck that grenade until the third to last page. This is the stuff of made-for-TV movies, shallow and sensationalistic.
I know there are better mystery writers. Far better. Henning Mankell, for one. Ed McBain for another. Elmore Leonard. Mo Hayder. I'll continue to listen to my friends, of course ... after all, friends turned me on to Henning Mankell, Ed McBain, Elmore Leonard, and Mo Hayder in the first place. But I'll also order a few based on my own research. I'm starting with 1222 by Anne Holt. I'll let you know how it goes.
Enthusiastic friends are always plugging mystery novels, but when I read them my enthusiasm rarely matches theirs. Such is the case with Walter Satterthwait's Perfection, a (to me) box-stock serial killer police procedural with two semi-interesting cops, the standard cast of ancillary characters, and of course the serial killer himself, hiding in plain sight through a contrivance so far-fetched I nearly threw the book across the room when I came to the reveal ... and I would have, too, if there had been 50 or 60 pages still to go, but Satterthwait didn't chuck that grenade until the third to last page. This is the stuff of made-for-TV movies, shallow and sensationalistic.
I know there are better mystery writers. Far better. Henning Mankell, for one. Ed McBain for another. Elmore Leonard. Mo Hayder. I'll continue to listen to my friends, of course ... after all, friends turned me on to Henning Mankell, Ed McBain, Elmore Leonard, and Mo Hayder in the first place. But I'll also order a few based on my own research. I'm starting with 1222 by Anne Holt. I'll let you know how it goes.
February 10, 2025
A decent little thriller if you enjoy cop shows with serial killers. It's an enjoyable read if you want a thriller that won't have you trying to figure everything out but takes you along for the ride.
Some notes with slight spoilers:
This book is heavy on the talk of body weight and what people are eating (very important part of the motive).
The way men and women deal with each other feels a bit sexist, imo and very heavily shows the time this book was written (2003)
And lastly, they touch on being transsexual and while it's dealt with in a mostly ok way, it does have some comments from a character that are derogatory.
Some notes with slight spoilers:
This book is heavy on the talk of body weight and what people are eating (very important part of the motive).
The way men and women deal with each other feels a bit sexist, imo and very heavily shows the time this book was written (2003)
And lastly, they touch on being transsexual and while it's dealt with in a mostly ok way, it does have some comments from a character that are derogatory.
Read
April 10, 2020Waaaay too graphic for me.
August 27, 2016
RATING: 3.75
PROTAGONIST: Jim Fallon and Sophia Travaskis, police detectives
SETTING: Florida
SERIES: Standalone
Walter Satterthwait has written a lot of different kinds of books, most notably the Pinkerton series set in the 1920s and a PI series featuring Joshua Croft. In PERFECTION, Satterthwait tries his hand at a serial killer thriller.
The scene of the crime is horrible, and Sarasota Police Detective Sophia Tregaskis is worried that she will embarrass herself in front of her much more experienced partner, Jim Fallon. The body is horribly mutilated; as a matter of fact, a large part of the innards are found in the bathtub. As it turns out, the victim is a woman of size whose weight has been reduced at the hands of a killer.
Defying the general profile of a serial killer wherein there is a long gap between killings, the murderer finds another target very quickly. It's at that point that Tregaskis and Fallon know that they are dealing with a serial killer. The main connection between the murders is that he is focusing on killing women of size. He doesn't seem to be operating by the standard serial killer rule book; fortunately, Sophia has some intuitive flashes that pan out.
Although some of the descriptions of what happened to the victims were rather graphic, there is an underlying sense of quirky humor to the book. For example, the killer finds his victims at a local grocery store. In one scene, he is torn between two equally alluring women, both "Wibble-Wobbles" (his term). He makes his decision of who will be an appropriate victim by what they put in their grocery cart. Hamburger Helper, Cheez Whiz, M&Ms, Ding Dongs – lots of potential. The second candidate has an equally appealing cart full of food—until she adds a healthy head of Romaine lettuce. Out of the running.
PERFECTION is not perfect, but it does have some good things going for it. The characters of Fallon and Tregaskis are nicely developed; there's an undercurrent of attraction between them, even though Fallon is much older. There are a few unexpected twists woven into the plot, although the final one involving the identity of the killer was a real stretch.
PROTAGONIST: Jim Fallon and Sophia Travaskis, police detectives
SETTING: Florida
SERIES: Standalone
Walter Satterthwait has written a lot of different kinds of books, most notably the Pinkerton series set in the 1920s and a PI series featuring Joshua Croft. In PERFECTION, Satterthwait tries his hand at a serial killer thriller.
The scene of the crime is horrible, and Sarasota Police Detective Sophia Tregaskis is worried that she will embarrass herself in front of her much more experienced partner, Jim Fallon. The body is horribly mutilated; as a matter of fact, a large part of the innards are found in the bathtub. As it turns out, the victim is a woman of size whose weight has been reduced at the hands of a killer.
Defying the general profile of a serial killer wherein there is a long gap between killings, the murderer finds another target very quickly. It's at that point that Tregaskis and Fallon know that they are dealing with a serial killer. The main connection between the murders is that he is focusing on killing women of size. He doesn't seem to be operating by the standard serial killer rule book; fortunately, Sophia has some intuitive flashes that pan out.
Although some of the descriptions of what happened to the victims were rather graphic, there is an underlying sense of quirky humor to the book. For example, the killer finds his victims at a local grocery store. In one scene, he is torn between two equally alluring women, both "Wibble-Wobbles" (his term). He makes his decision of who will be an appropriate victim by what they put in their grocery cart. Hamburger Helper, Cheez Whiz, M&Ms, Ding Dongs – lots of potential. The second candidate has an equally appealing cart full of food—until she adds a healthy head of Romaine lettuce. Out of the running.
PERFECTION is not perfect, but it does have some good things going for it. The characters of Fallon and Tregaskis are nicely developed; there's an undercurrent of attraction between them, even though Fallon is much older. There are a few unexpected twists woven into the plot, although the final one involving the identity of the killer was a real stretch.
July 24, 2016
The quest for Perfection is what drives the serial killer at the center of Walter Satterthwait's thriller. When an overweight woman is found filleted in Florida, it is the start of a series of grotesque slayings that rock the small town of St. Anselm. Assigned to the case are grizzled NYC veteran Jim Fallon and self-conscious but smart Sophia Tregaskis. As both detectives race against time - and an on rushing hurricane - the killer looks to take them both off his trail forever. Satterthwait's novel offers a villain that would feel quite at home in Arkham Asylum, but instead matches wits with two cliched characters instead of the Dynamic Duo. Told from the perspectives of all three characters, the police segments prove to be far less compelling than the antagonist's offering. Jim is every bit the tired old cop with one more rodeo left to go, while Sophia is stereotyped as a body-conscious, relationship-stunted junior lawman; as such, both protagonists feel bland and tasteless. Even the brief flavor of the killer is ruined by a throwaway discussion mid-tale. Despite brief hints at a good story, Perfection is a mediocre mystery at best.
June 29, 2015
An interesting read with nice suspense & mystery although I would have much preferred the written perspective to be in the mindset of the serial killer, rather than the officers. The whole written detective protocol on procedure in determining the killer was quite a SNORE-fest most of those details written could have been avoided to assuage the reader from mere boredom. In all honesty, I felt like I was back in my Criminal Justice class trying to learn procedure. The short chapters written in the killers perspective is what kept my interest; otherwise I would have given up on the story long before the killers unveiling. However, it really isn't as gory as some exaggerate it out to be; after all it's not a children's book. In my perspective it didn't have enough gore or detail in those aspects. Overall an okay read 2 stars.
May 26, 2010
This book took me surprise. I thought I had it all figured out, so much so that I almost stopped reading it and wow I was off the mark! I felt foolish for having stuck so close to my train of thought I missed the other clues.
At times the book seemed long and drug out with a bit too much detail in places I didn't need it. However in the long run I liked the book because I wasn't as smart as I thought I was.
At times the book seemed long and drug out with a bit too much detail in places I didn't need it. However in the long run I liked the book because I wasn't as smart as I thought I was.
June 25, 2018
I originally read this book about 4 years ago, I fell in love immediately . I recently reread Perfection and all of the feels came crashing back instantly . Even though I knew what the outcome was I sat on the edge of my seat until the very last page. I loved this book and could not put it down, all of the twists and turns, the ups and downs! LORD I enjoyed this gem and can you believe I found it at a dollar store!
August 28, 2009
I got this book at the dollar store, and it was well worth the buck, let me tell you. Not surprisingly, he had a controlling mother and that's what's turned him into a serial killer.
Oh sure, blame the mother's for everything. So typical. He woulda gotten along great with Norman Bates.
Oh sure, blame the mother's for everything. So typical. He woulda gotten along great with Norman Bates.
August 28, 2013
I read a good deal of Walter Satterthwait 20 years ago, and I very much enjoyed his Joshua Croft series. Several of his historical mysteries were quite inventive too. But this one was a little too over-the-top for me, with a basic concept that just didn't work. The detective team was very appealing, but there has not been a sequel as far as I know.
March 13, 2010
total surprise. this book was really good, couldnt put it down. murder/mystery... basic tale.. a sicko fantasizes what the 'perfect' woman should look like, finds 'wibble-wobbles' ie FAT women and 'carves' them to be perfect.
if you like a good thriller.. grab this one!
if you like a good thriller.. grab this one!
Want to read
January 28, 200801/28/08 rec via bookmooch
September 5, 2008
breathtaking.... with an ever so unepected ending....
June 11, 2009
This book was one that kept me reading all day. A very unusual serial killer. Probably not a book to be read by people who prefer cozies! Very graphic.
July 28, 2009
Gruesome, but well written. I enjoyed this, even though I was grossed out at some points. He did a great job of depicting a monster.
If you like murder mysteries, you'll like this one.
If you like murder mysteries, you'll like this one.
August 26, 2009
Wow! I wanted to hate this book because it is sooooo gory and bloody and well gruesome but I found myself drawn to it like a train crash. Very good characters with believeable thoughts.
June 12, 2012
Well written and disturbingly gruesome. Even though I figured out what was going on, I enjoyed the suspense and the characters.
September 25, 2013
Sub-standard writing but enticing enough to make it through to the twist.
July 4, 2015
andere Ausgabe
September 16, 2015
OMG! So not what I expected! The ending caught me by surprise big time! Awesome storyline and characters!!! Loved it :)
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews