Short Synopsis
Thomas Perry's Edgar Award–winning debut novel follows a professional hitman on the run from both the mafia and the government.

Full Synopsis
Murder has always been easy for the Butcher's Boy—it's what he does best and what they pay him for. But after the successful assassination of a senator, he arrives in Las Vegas to collect his fee only to discover he has become a liability to his shadowy employers. His survival at stake, he needs to kill them before they kill him.

But first he needs to find out who they are.

As the Butcher's Boy goes to work, police specialists watching the world of organized crime realize something has gone very wrong for the mafia. In the race to discover just what that something is, Elizabeth Waring, a bright young analyst in the Justice Department, is the best chance they have.

But is she good enough to catch the Butcher's Boy?

"There are probably only half a dozen suspense writers alive who can be depended upon to deliver high-voltage shocks; vivid, sympathetic characters; and compelling narratives each time they publish. Thomas Perry is one of them." ---Stephen King

"Stunning.... A brilliantly plotted thriller." ---The Washington Post

"A shrewdly planned and executed thriller." ---The New York Times Book Review

"Thomas Perry is, quite simply, brilliant. And as each book comes out he becomes more so." ---Robert B. Parker

"Totally enthralling." ---The New Yorker

Bestseller