The Boyfriend Paperback – February 11, 2014

SPOILER ALERT - While I liked the story idea and the concepts for the two main characters, there were several really dopey mistakes which ruined this story for me. First, the most trivial: Toyota Maxima. Second, an irrelevant character: the lead character has a daughter with Downs Syndrome, only her dialog is that of a second year college student, not of someone with an IQ of 60-80. On top of the highly intellectual Downs Daughter, her character serves no purpose that I can discern, except perhaps to add about 20 pages to the 288 pages. Lastly: do you think it is realistic that working girls update their web ads on a daily basis? I do not. A key plot point hangs on this very doubtful practice. Another weak point: Do working girls invite their customers into their homes where they really live? To put in another way: would you give your address to anyone you meet on the Internet after zero vetting?I liked the idea of the hit man who covers his tracks in a very cold blooded manner. It was a very good plot point and character demonstration.I more or less liked the thinly drawn cop hero. He was smart and persistent. Although his smartness was based on what I consider to be very weak premises regarding the likely behavior of worldly women.One very good point, believable for a change, was the last victim's behavior after being told about her Boyfriend's true nature....With a little more work, this could have been a 4 star story. But, I guess Mr Perry was in a hurry, so he only gets 2 stars. Perry needs a new editor -- the one he had for The Boyfriend obviously drives a Toyota Maxima on her dates with guys she meets in the Web, to whom she freely gives her address within 5 minutes of their calling her for the first time.

Jack Till after his retirement as a LAPD moved on to become a private investigator. Most of his cases are routine and don't need his homicide investigation skills. But now parents of a murdered young woman have come to him to try to find out more about her death. The LAPD has written it off as a home robbery gone wrong as she was found shot in her home.Till reluctantly takes the case. He soon discovers that the woman was a high priced call girl, something her parents never knew. There aren't many clues about the case but something tells Till there is more to the story than the police found. He continues to work the case and finds other women who fit the same pattern, call girls, shot at home, with strawberry blonde hair, and most tellingly, all wearing the same necklace. He realizes there is a serial killer at work.But this isn't a typical serial killer at work. Instead, Till has uncovered the pattern of a man who uses escorts as his hiding place while he sets up high price assassinations in different cities. The women all think that he is in love with them but his main interest is having a place to live during his weeks of investigation of his targets, a place the police won't uncover when he kills his high publicity targets. The women are killed as an afterthought to keep from leaving witnesses.Now Till and the killer are in a cat and mouse game as Till looks for new escorts that the killer might use in different cities. His former work as an LAPD buys him some cooperation from the various police forces as he moves from city to city following the killer. Can he find the man and stop him before more women and targets are killed?Perry is always a satisfying read for mystery lovers. His plots aren't so fantastic that the reader can easily see where things just wouldn't work that way which is a common failing in mysteries. His knowledge of police procedure rings true and his plots have enough twists and turns to keep the reader involved. This book is recommended for mystery readers.

This is a good thriller, in some ways reminiscent of Day of the Jackal. You see an attractive, highly-skilled assassin pursuing his intended prey, encountering, using and killing others along the way. At the same time, you also move along with the cop who pursues him.I read a lot of thrillers, and I can recommend this book without hesitation.Yes, the killer's methodology is complex, but not impossible, and who wants to read a thriller with a mundane plot? To put a memorable story in motion requires complexity and uniqueness.Do not be put off by a few errors. Even such a renowned author as Stephen King sometimes made mistakes. For one example, take 11-22-63: the CIA's James Jesus Angleton grew orchids, not roses, and by the summer of 1961, Richie Valens had not been dead for "almost two years," as he died 02-03-59. As Robert Browning famously wrote: A man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?

I love Thomas Perry. His prose is clear, he can create eminently believable characters and his mind twists and turns. This book was okay, but not one of his best, although it had the core of a good story. I just feel the editing--or perhaps the current beliefs of the publishing industry about readers and short attention spans--had an adverse affect on it. It needed to be longer, so that all the characters could be just that much more fleshed out. Still glad I read it, but...

Good solid read

A refreshing read,great story very well told.Only reason it didn't get 5stars is I found the ending abrupt and slightly disappointing,unless his next book is going to be a sequel,but highly recommended.

This was listed as a good book in the Sunday Mail and so I purchased it for holiday reading. Its about a Private Eye trying to catch a killer, but always seems to be one step behind, until he takes a risk and is one step in front.Excellent writing and storyline. Will definitely read other books by this author.

This is the second book I have read by this author and while it wasn't quite as good as the other it still was a good read.

very good book super quality condition