Eddie's Boy by Thomas Perry

Published by Grove Atlantic/Mysterious Press on December 1, 2020

Eddie’s Boy is the fourth book in Thomas Perry’s Butcher’s Boy series. It should probably be the last. Perry coasts through this one because the series has run out of gas.

Some thugs travel to England where they try to kill Michael Schaeffer but Schaeffer kills the assailants first. Schaeffer reasonably concludes that his life is in danger so he leaves his lady love in England and travels to Australia where more thugs try to kill him (multiple times) before he kills them first (multiple times). To get to the bottom of the assassination attempts, Schaeffer returns to the US, taking time to recount memories of and life lessons supplied by Eddie, the mentor who adopted him and taught him how to be a contract killer. Some of the memories seem random and disconnected from the story (particularly the women who seduced him as he was delivering their meat).

Most of the life lessons involve killing people, survival, and killing people to survive. Eddie was a butcher so Schaeffer also learned how to sharpen knives. Eddie had a buddy teach Schaeffer to assemble a gun while blindfolded, an important thriller world skill that comes in handy if an adversary blindfolds the thriller hero and leaves a dissembled gun within his reach. That must happen surprisingly often since every thriller hero learns how to assemble guns while blindfolded. I guess readers are supposed to be impressed.

Schaeffer easily figures out who wants him dead. In fact, everything comes easily to Schaeffer, from killing multiple people at a time to breaking into houses (in one case, by reaching through a dog door to unlock the door latch — how long are this guy’s arms?) to hiding in an unidentified spot that keeps him from being discovered during the (apparently cursory) search of a barn. Even bringing Schaeffer’s plan to fruition is remarkably easy. The plot builds little tension because Schaeffer is never challenged.

Some of the flashbacks are tedious. Let’s face it: every gun range story is the same gun range story. Other stories involve killing lots of people. Those are tedious only because the killings aren’t terribly original. Even the descriptions of shagging housewives while making meat deliveries are a bit lackluster.

Part of the problem with Eddie’s Boy and Thomas Perry novels in general is that Perry writes in a journalistic style that has no flair. His prose is clear but the narrative has a plodding quality. The novel lacks energy. In a story that’s filled with murders and memories of murders, it feels like nothing happens. That’s not a good sign in a thriller.

Despite Perry’s writing style, I like his novels when he delivers a clever and credible plot. He doesn’t do that in Eddie’s Boy. The reason the evil guy has for ordering Schaffer’s death is unconvincing. The plot holds no surprises. I’m on the fence about making this a “Not Recommended,” but the story moves quickly and has some mildly interesting moments. Still, it isn’t a book I would put high on a TBR list.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS