Sleeping Dogs: a Novel of Suspense

Butcher's Boy #2

by Thomas Perry

He came to England to rest. He calls himself Michael Shaeffer, says he's a retired American businessman. He goes to the races, dates a kinky aristocrat, and sleeps with dozens of weapons. Ten years ago it was different. Then, he was the Butcher's Boy, the highly skilled mob hit man who pulled a slaughter job on some double-crossing clients and started a mob war. Ever since, there's been a price on his head.Now, after a decade, they've found him. The Butcher's Boy escapes back to the States with more reasons to kill. Until the odds turn terrifyingly against him . . . until the Mafia, the cops, the FBI, and the damn Justice Department want his hide . . . until he's locked into a cross-country odyssey of fear and death that could tear his world to pieces . . ."Exciting . . . Suspenseful . . . A thriller's job is to make you turn the pages until the story's done and your eyes hurt and the clock says 3 a.m. . . . I wouldn't try to grab this one away from somebody only half-way through. No telling what might happen."-- Michael Dirda, The Washington Post Book WorldFrom the Paperback edition.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Suspense

352 pages, Paperback

First published April 21, 1992

About the author

Thomas 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.

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

A former hitman known as the Butcher’s Boy went into hiding far, far away, after exacting revenge on some dirty double-crossing rat fink mobsters. In a series of coincidences that would make Charles Dickens blush, he’s discovered ("Yo Vinnie, is dat who I tink it is?” “I dunno, but maybe we should tell the boss.”) Proving, after all, it’s a small world. Its serendipity, but Mr. Butcher’s Boy, who thinks the encounter is a deliberate attempt to find him, goes on the offensive and the body count starts to climb.

Perry mostly hits the right notes and presents a well-paced, edgy, thriller, painting his main character, an unrepentant killer as close to sympathetic as possible without straining credulity and having him run a kitten farm. Also, it takes a writer with some moxie to introduce secondary characters, spend a few pages creating interesting back stories and then killing them in violent, creative ways .

This is one of those finds from a thrift store/yard sale hunt that features an author I had never heard of. The usual criteria for picking up a book by an author that I’m unfamiliar with is:

1) Catchy/clever title

2) Interesting story line as per the back cover.

3) Positive blurbs from reliable sources. These sources don’t include: a) People magazine, b) a family member or crony, c) Good press from a newspaper that has a circulation of 300 and is delivered out of the back of a ’73 Ford station wagon by someone’s 84 year old grandma, d) that ubiquitous book whore Stephen King (to be fair to Mr. King, he’s usually right).

An above average thriller and 50 cents well spent. Three and a half stars.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been in the mood for good action reads lately. I have recently gone through a slump where nothing appealed. I read several books that left me...well cold.

However I've had a couple now that I've really enjoyed. Here we're picking back up on the life of "The Butcher's Boy" (we'll get a bit more explanation of that name in this book). He's been gone for 10 years living peacefully in a new life he built after the fiasco of the first book. Then someone from "the mob" stumbles on his new life and decides to kill him for past events.

This does not set well with our hero and he decodes that he needs to do some "bud nipping" (as Barney Fife might have said) and cut off the head if the snake, so to speak.

They should really (as the title says) have left sleeping dogs lie.

We get good character development here as corners of the background are slowly filled in. We also have an interesting plot that moves along at a good clip from fast to breakneck. I really like this book and already have the next (which may be the last in the series, I'm not sure).

I can recommend this one. Enjoy.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nov 2020 review: After rereading the first one because I needed something easy, I'm just too caught up in the character not to read the second. I'm glad I did. While the story itself is set quite a few years later, the continuity was great. The tone was about the same, but with a twist. There are a series of misunderstandings & coincidences that fuel the action in a slightly dark, comical manner. Really added a lot to the already cynical narration. Fantastic. On to the last one!

Aug 2015 review: I was a bit grudging in giving the first of this series 4 stars, but I'm not in rating this book. The author did a fantastic job with the Butcher's Boy this time. Not only is more of the past filled in, but the title works on so many levels. The BB's well founded paranoia, chance, & logical deduction lead to a great, suspenseful story that kept me guessing the entire time. The actions of everyone were quite believable & Waring was done much better. Fantastic. Kramer is an excellent reader, too. His voice fit well.

I only had 2 issues. Again with the damned silent silencers. Yuck. And electrifying a motorized gate. Seriously. Yuck. Not only wouldn't it work, but it was a frill in a rather stark novel that needed none. It was Hollywood stupidity that Perry managed to avoid admirably for the most part.

I'm really looking forward to the third book. My library doesn't have it yet, so I might even buy the audio book.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been in the mood for good action reads lately. I have recently gone through a slump where nothing appealed. I read several books that left me...well cold.

However I've had a couple now that I've really enjoyed. Here we're picking back up on the life of "The Butcher's Boy" (we'll get a bit more explanation of that name in this book). He's been gone for 10 years living peacefully in a new life he built after the fiasco of the first book. Then someone from "the mob" stumbles on his new life and decides to kill him for past events.

This does not set well with our hero and he decodes that he needs to do some "bud nipping" (as Barney Fife might have said) and cut off the head if the snake, so to speak.

They should really (as the title says) have left sleeping dogs lie.

We get good character development here as corners of the background are slowly filled in. We also have an interesting plot that moves along at a good clip from fast to breakneck. I really like this book and already have the next (which may be the last in the series, I'm not sure).

I can recommend this one. Enjoy.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

My library only offered this as an audiobook.....so I gave my 12 hours to hear the story. The Butcher's Boy is an efficient hit man who wants to retire. He dispatches all threats and enemies like clockwork, but he misinterprets much of what's happening around him. He seemed so invulnerable in the first book that it's good to see him struggle here. Looking forward to #3.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It seems bizarre to me that I would read and enjoy a book that has a protagonist who is a hit man, and I am pulling for him that he doesn't get caught by the Federal government, or killed by the Mafia. In the first book of the series (which I enjoyed a bit more than this one) the Butcher's Boy got on the wrong side of several Mafia bosses, and they are trying to kill him. Meanwhile, he goes across the US taking out one Mafia family head and their henchmen after another. Though the book bogged down a bit midway, toward the end I was caught up in the story. I think the interest is that he gets into one scrape after another that you can't help but want him to make it. There is another book in the series, and I thought I might not read it, but after finishing this one, I want to read the last book.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sleeping Dogs is the second book in Thomas Perry trilogy featuring paid assassin the Butcher's Boy. If you like a book filled with action and more action, this might be one you'd like to try. Of course, you probably should try the first book before.

The Butcher's Boy, Michael Schaeffer, after the events of the first story (The Butcher's Boy has escaped and spent the last 10 years living in England. He has a nice relationship with Lady Meg Holroyd and while living carefully has had no threats on his life from the Mob. While traveling down to horse races in Brighton with Meg and two of her friends, Michael is recognized by the nephew of an American mobster. The young man is in England training with the mob in England and was working at the races. Recognizing Schaeffer he decides to have him killed and this action results in a chain of events that will have Schaeffer return to the US and start action against the mob.

The story is a 'comedy of errors' without humor. Schaeffer travels around the US, trying to close down the mob, who he believes is again out to kill him. At the same time, FBI analyst Elizabeth Hart is called back to Organized Crime to help with the investigation into the whereabouts of the Butcher Boy. We are introduced to Jack Hamp, ex cop now FBI airport watcher, who is a methodical, intelligent investigator who helps Elizabeth by trying to track down Schaeffer and figure out what he is up to.

I mentioned a comedy of errors. Well, the incident in England leads Schaeffer to a number of incorrect assumptions about why he was targeted and this will result in so much gunfire and deaths as he tracks around the US. It's a fascinating page turner that will leave you breathless as you try to keep up. It's not always perfect but it doesn't really matter. Schaeffer has been out of the action for 10 years so his perspective is a bit out-of-date and he is also a bit rusty. Throughout the story we get excellent insights into his early life with his mentor.

It's all fascinating, but very violent. Interesting characters and plot. I look forward to finding the third book to see how it all resolves as the story does leave you hanging somewhat. (3.5 stars)

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great way to begin 2021! This second installment of the Butcher's Boy series was better than the first, and close to a five-star novel.

The hit-man, now going by the name of Michael Shaeffer, is living in England, having dropped off the radar in the States for a decade. All seems well, including his burgeoning love-life, until a lowly mob guy, a nobody really, happens to spot and recognize him. Trying to win favor and be relocated back to the States, mob-guy decides to act independently and take Shaeffer out. Big mistake.

And so the fun begins, with the Butcher's boy convinced that he must now return to the U.S. and once again cut off the head(s) of whatever mob snake had sent amateurs to try and kill him. If they'd just leave him alone, nobody would die. Funny how a small misunderstanding-- a misinterpretation of events, really-- can alter one's life. In this case, it also permanently alters a whole lot bad guys with Italian names.

To watch the Butcher's Boy operate is impressive, not unlike watching a gifted athlete perform feats that mere mortals can only dream of being able to do. Perry's writing is crisp, the plot driving ever faster, raising the intensity with every page. In fact, the only thing that held me back a half-star was Perry's occasional detour into some complex covey of mob-guys with so many Italian names that keeping track of them all became a chore. These little forays didn't really seem to always move the plot forward but, rather, served to break the momentum, and were the only real complaint I could find in an otherwise stellar novel.

If you liked the first of the series at all, or if you just enjoy Perry's writing, by all means, put this on your list for this year's reading. It's well worth it.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loving this series.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Master story teller Thomas Perry's "Sleeping Dogs", is the second "Butcher Boy" novel from an amazing pulp fiction series. Perry lays out this crime novel in a crafty, graphic and compelling fashion. The hard boiled characters with their crackling and hard edged dialog make this yarn a special read. Once again we never do find out who Eddie Mastrewski's "Butcher's Boy"really is. This killer for hire morphs from identity to identity on a dime. Seemingly Justice department lawyer Elizabeth Waring, who even after being out of the organized crime division for over ten years, is able to find a pulse towards finding this hired killer. Waring may be the Butcher Boy's Achilles heel, but doesn't quite realize it. The plot itself opens up when the Butcher Boy leaves London for the states triggering a sequence of events that'll leave bodies over several states. Crime boss Carlo "Carl Bala" Balacontano 66, in prison for the past eight years wants payback on Butcher Boy. Before long several crime families from across different "territories" are chasing down the Butcher Boy. Also the FBI, and Justice department investigator Jack Hemp are desperately searching for this killer for hire. However, the Butcher Boy would rather stay in the retirement he's enjoyed for the past ten years. His hopeful goal is to and make it back to London. Coming to the states to "conclude" business was the last thing the Butcher Boy really wanted to do. It was too much to ask to settle down in London with his squeeze of the past few years, Meg Holyrod. But for the Butcher Boy business is always around the next corner waiting. In a powerful and fast paced plot the bodies keep dropping as the pages fly by. After so many years and "hits" Butcher Boy has done for crime families over the decades, do they really want to chase him around the country ? Nobody ever said criminals were all that smart. As usual with author Thomas Perry's books the characters really make the plot twist and turn for an incredible reading enjoyment. Although I thought it was a really good book it seemed to take me longer than usual to get through it. It wasn't like there were a lot of dead or slow parts, the story itself moved like a river at it's own pace no matter how much I tried to speed up reading. That was the only reason I didn't give the book five stars. I rated, "Sleeping Dogs", four stars out of a possible five stars. Should be a 4.33 star book. Once again if you're not reading any of author Thomas Perry's excellent crime thrillers you're missing a huge treat. Even this book written in 1993 did not seem dated reading in 2016. Master story teller Thomas Perry are absolutely do not miss thrillers. It's impossible to go wrong looking for a good thriller if you pick up a Thomas Perry book. Believe me !

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thomas Perry's quartet is four books written over a forty-year period about a hit man known as The Butcher’s Boy; we'll know him as BB until he gives us a name. The books are The Butcher Boy, Sleeping Dogs, The Informant, and Eddie's Boy.

The Butcher’s Boy is one of the great antiheros of the genre—orphaned by a car crash, he was taken in and raised by the neighborhood butcher, Eddie Mastrewski, on the South Side Flats of Pittsburgh. Eddie was really a butcher but his main source of income was as a hit man, one of the very best in the business. Eddie raised the boy to be as outstanding at death as he is, perhaps better. If you wants a Sisyphean task, try to count the number of bodies in the quartet!

The first book is pure action, of murder-in-the-now. Later books are more retrospective, looking back on the Butcher Boy's youth and his development into a pure killer, but still full of action. What is unusual about this perspective on murder-for-hire is that we actually like the Butcher Boy. He's not an indiscriminate killer, he is intelligent and sociable, and you'd never think his business was murder. He only kills when he is personally threatened or when he's well paid.

This series must be read in sequence: any other order leads to madness. If you follow the bouncing ball you’ll find that you’ve thoroughly enjoyed one of the most riveting and best-crafted crime thrillers of our time. But don’t approach these as beach books—they require serious attention to follow the twists and turns. Perry weaves a intricate tapestry of chess-like moves among criminals and their adversaries, each trying to survive and thrive. There's plenty of action in this intriguingly complex saga that pulls you along while you try to figure out the next move on the board. The only thing that’s predictable in these books is that you have a 20% chance of guessing the last letter in each character’s surname.

Because the entire quartet is one extended story, a separate review of each book would lose the threads between them. So instead I've chosen to do a single review of the Butcher's Boy series. You can get this review in a PDF file HERE.

[David Carr · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a small list of fictions about heroic crooks and hit men. Some are comic and I don't read them. But the Parker series by Richard Stark (Donald Westlake), and the Butcher's Boy series by Thomas Perry are so superbly crafted that they set a high standard. Lawrence Block also has a series devoted to a hit man who is devoted to philately, and I have read some of these as well. There is a new Butcher's Boy volume out, so I have read Sleeping Dogs (from 1992) to catch up. I found the novel to be bracing and superb, and its hero to be almost completely and consistently amoral throughout. Apart from the occasional stranger in the crossfire, few people who die -- and there are quite a few, because the Butcher's Boy is good at what he does -- are worth sympathy. But what makes these compelling is Perry's ability to write so evenly about the killer, the English woman he loves, his life as an exile, the federal agent who has followed him for a decade, and the made men usually at the wrong end of the silencer. The Butcher's Boy also tells us a good deal about his experiences as an apprentice in the trade, the lessons he was taught by the butcher himself, and how it is to live deeply beneath notice. For the record, I could not read this fast enough, finished it at 3 a.m. today, and hope to read the new one immediately.

[Elly Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5* What a book! I am glad I read The Butcher’s Boy first, and like this one even better. It’s an intriguing, brilliant thriller/crime drama that is also incredibly rich in place and insights into people and systems. A life of crime, no doubt, is not an easy way to make a living, but I don’t recall another story where a tough day at the job can be life-threatening, violent, and ugly but also totally frustrating to the characters – and downright hilarious.
There were a few little things which I don’t know are completely believable or just things I don’t understand. But, as caught up as I was, even I was not nit-picky enough to stop and do an analysis, and was content to set my curiosity aside so I could plunge ahead with the story.
I listened to this twice in a row and feel like I’ve just had a Thanksgiving dinner. I need to sit and digest for a while. At times my appreciation went far beyond the story into amazement and curiosity at how the author managed to do this or that so cleverly.
In a few months, when I listen again, I know I will have those two channels of my mind working at the same time. This might not work for everyone, but it provides me with double pleasure.
Again, what a book!

[Eric_W · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am really becoming a fan of Thomas Perry. The biggest problem with this book is that you have a hard time deciding whom to root for. You have the Butcher's Boy (and I recommend reading The Butcher's Boy first) AKA Schaeffer/Ackerman/Wolfe or Elizabeth Waring, the Justice Department analyst, or Jack Hamp, the ex-cop. Each has his/her own demons to deal with, but is very competent, but surrounded by incompetents. I don;t kn ow if it was the way Michael Kramer (one of my favorite readers) read this, or just the amusing writing, but some of the scenes were downright funny, in a macabre sort of way. The one with Frateli and the bank manager was just such a scene. Wonderful fun.

Note that I listened to this so some of the names are probably misspelled.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Butcher Boy (too many names to count) has successfully relocated to England and lo and behold, has met a woman and is starting to enjoy life. It looks like it's possible he might even have a romance. He's done with his old life, doesn't accept contracts anymore, in fact, they couldn't find him if they wanted to. He's gone so far underground that enjoying his life seems normal.

But does it ever end well for the bad guy? He might be the best bad guy but anyone who kills as many mobsters as he's killed can hardly be the good guy. He's hard to dislike tho.

When he goes to the Brighton racetrack with his current lady, life as he knows it implodes. He's been found, don't know how, but there he is, in the flesh. Of course our boy has to kill him and his companions. And we're off, back to the States so he can close the leaks and resume his life. I must say he's extremely effective with bodies falling in the most intriguing manner.

The Justice Department reassigns Elizabeth Waring because it's apparent who the killer is, at least it would be if anyone caught a glimpse of him. While the Butcher Boy continues his quest, Elizabeth and her department are hard on his trail but just a second or two behind.

It's amazing how effective a man can be with no identity, no weapons, no contacts and no time.

[MM Suarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The world worked on goodwill, favors and reciprocities, but the system was too crude to keep the exchanges in proportion."

Well hell, the Butcher's Boy is back! This is the second book of the series and I am hooked for sure.
The Butcher's Boy has been resting in England after running away from some very ugly stuff at home and a trail of dead bodies, when an old foe spots him and forces him back to the States to settle scores once again, of course things get nasty quickly. If you're into fast, entertaining crime thrillers Thomas Perry never disappoints. I'll be catching up with the Butcher's Boy again soon!.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know how it reads, "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie", right? I concur with the statement, ok, but not so much regarding this one zzzzzzzzzzz.
Waking up now to more adventurous treats, rather than tricks....have a great day, today, tomorrow, and please remember to vote next week!!

[Pattyh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know how I missed the Butcher Boy series by Thomas Perry but I am glad I found it.
Truly exciting and compelling and one you won’t be able to put down.
5 stars

[Gabriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

*** 3.25 ***

for me, it was just a try to pass some time, to fill some void with a book while finding a better book to focus my attention on, in fact, while waiting for the last in the Harry Bosh series by Michael Connelly to be released, the Two Kinds of Truth...

this one here, it's an OK book, it's relatively easy and somewhat entertaining...

it's relatively good, but it's not great...

why do I say this?
it puzzles me to see how unrealistic and lacking authenticity the main protagonist is, like a chameleon, crossing borders with no problems, using fake ID's with no problems, traveling from one country to another while passing through customs checks with no problems, while he's a private individual, not operating on the behalf of some covert government agency backing him up with valid documents...

now, this is stretching it a bit far, if you ask my opinion, for a private individual, no matter how smart or skilled that may be, is not that easy as it's depicted in this book here... thus, to me, is unrealistic and is lacking authenticity, so it's not really a great book... it's not bad either, but nowhere close to be a good book in the sense above average...

but, it's worth your time, if you're looking for an easy read to enjoy for a while...

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this better than the previous book in the "series" if that's what this can be called. Sleeping Dogs takes place 10 years after The Butcher's Boy, but the stories are closely linked through the main characters' flashbacks, anecdotal remembrances of their colleagues and enemies from the earlier book, and a believable "fill in the time" lives they've led until this novel's story takes place.

I think what I like so much about this book is the thinking process of the main character (I keep calling him that because he changes identities a few times in this book) who is an assassin, with a killer's instincts and skills, but who is also very human and slightly vulnerable, in a Dexter-ish sort of way.

[Skip · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Butcher's Boy has been living abroad when a wise guy spots him at the Brighton track, and sends him on a killing rampage to convince the Mafia families that they are better off leaving him alone even though he framed a don, who is still serving time in prison. Elizabeth Waring from the Justice Department tries to trap him, and enlists the help of a retired police officer, who is the most interesting character in the novel.

[Boris Feldman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second of three. As good as the first.

[Jerry B · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Dogs” is the second of Perry's three total “Butcher’s Boy” titles, spread across a 30-year publishing horizon. While we weren’t that happy with the unresolved ending of the first novel, we tried this second one – unfortunately, to the same unhappy lack of resolution. Indeed, this sequel sees the Boy hiding abroad incognito for nearly a ten year period, with a serious girlfriend to boot, when suddenly it appears he has been recognized. A rather amateurish attempt on his life results in a bunch of dead would-be assassins, after which the Boy returns to America to snuff out those he figures were interested if not responsible. As usual, his wiliness in doing so is hard to stop.

Justice Department analyst Elizabeth Waring is back as well from the first novel, but her attempts to figure out what and who were as thwarted as before – which might explain why she seems to have the exact same job despite the passing of a decade. A lengthy chapter involving a jailed mob guy from book one also did little to engage or entertain. All-in-all, a rather weak sequel that we suppose will demand a reading of the third and final entry in the set just to see this whole thing finally get resolved. No matter what, we’re done with just one more.

[Ralph Blackburn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sleeping Dogs by Thomas Perry(Butcher's Boy 2)- This second outing for Perry's highly skilled hitman starts in England, where the main character is hiding for the last ten years from the law and from the Mafia, with a price on his head. Of course someone recognizes him and blood flows, and the butcher's boy must move quickly to the US to find out who else knows he's still alive. Bodies start piling up like they did in the first book, but it's all unnecessary as no one else in particular is looking for him or knows where he is. So the mafia guys are dying right and left. That part is crazy but fun to read. The rest of the book is a real problem. Between the narration of what the butcher's boy is doing, we keep bouncing back to Elisabeth Waring, a Department of Justice investigator, who is trying to follow the boy's bloody path and catch him. This part is as exciting as watching paint dry. The same information is repeated a dozen times, over and over between Elizabeth and whoever else is in the room with her. Yes, it's really that boring and slows everything down. I enjoyed reading the first book in the series despite the flaws above, and was hopping things would be more character building, especially for Elisabeth, in this second outing. too bad.

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michael Schaeffer was much more of a cold-blooded killer in this novel than in The Butcher's Boy (BB). In BB, you could see him behaving from his childhood training. Perry interspersed episodes from Schaeffer's childhood into the narrative flow, which made Schaeffer sympathetic, at least to me. In Sleeping Dogs (SD) the only sympathy I felt for him was at the beginning of the novel when he met and fell in love with The Honorable Meg.

I found the sequence of events between the novels confusing. In BB, Schaeffer is already married to Meg. In SD he has just met Meg. But the premise is the same in each. After a period of security and safety, the killers come to get Schaeffer, or so he thinks. In SD Schaeffer seems off his game. He makes mistakes. He kills people he doesn't need to kill. I lost my sympathy for him. I stopped believing that he was a good guy forced to do bad things in order to stay alive. Without that sympathy, there wasn't much reason to continue reading, but I made it all the way to the end, hoping that something would change my mind.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Butcher's Boy is back! It is 10 years after the events that took place in Thomas Perry's THE BUTCHER'S BOY. A Professional killer/Hit Man known only as The Butcher's Boy thought he was out of the game. "Just when you think you're out, they suck you back in". After fleeing the United States and starting a new life in England, The Butcher's Boy is spotted at a race track in England by a visiting mafioso from his past. Looking to gain favor with his superiors, he attempts to take out the Butcher's Boy. "Why won't they just leave me alone?" Let the killing begin.
Hard to admit it, but I enjoyed rooting for this professional killer. Add a star if you're a fan of the film, THE PROFESSIONAL.

[Scooby Doo · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 47% This author is a talented writer but this plot make no sense. The protagonist just travels around killing people who in his paranoid fantasies he believes are trying to kill him. When in reality they are aging mobsters who just want to retire in peace.
Also, the protagonist isn't very interesting as a person. Part of his "cover" is to appear nondescript and so he works hard to be ordinary. Ordinary people don't make interesting story characters. There is nothing to make us care about him.

[Philip Reiter · Rating 1 out of 5]

my bookman told me the second book in a series is never up to expectations. Sleeping dogs is not only not up to expectations, but it is not even as good a story as Butcher Boys. Way overwritten, story lacks focus, probably because dealing with an assassin is not the easiest story to maintain especially if one continues along the premise of the first story. ad enough of the Butcher Boy series, toddleloo!

[Givemore]

The Butchers Boy No 2. Just like grabing a copy and feel the immersion untill the clock is at 2.30 am i still dont seem to get over it despite hundreds of reads i have done. Thomas Perry made a great impact to my literally world,with a great director Sleeping Dogs can make a great motion picture ,,,what with the visual flash backs of the Butchers Boy.i will have an alias......

[DoctorM · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sequel to Perry's brilliant "The Butcher's Boy"--- long-awaited and just as clever and surprising. The nameless hero of the novel really, really needs his own film...and to be played by someone like Geo. Clooney who can do justice to the role.