The latest thriller from crime fiction master Thomas Perry

Credit: Chris West

Credit: Chris West

I tracked down his debut “The Butcher’s Boy” (1982). It was the first book in what is currently a four book series. His protagonist is a professional assassin. This series is fantastic and he keeps returning to it. That first book won the Edgar Award. The most recent addition to the series came out in 2020.

Next up, his Jane Whitefield series (9 books so far). Whitefield is a Native American who specializes in helping people disappear. If you need to vanish then contacting her is the way to do it. She erases them - new identities, sometimes new faces, new lives. She doesn’t charge anything but they usually feel so grateful they’ll send her gifts afterwards.

Perry writes many standalone books. “Murder Book” was a standalone and he just put out another one called “Hero.” I have now read over twenty of his books - I was excited about this latest one. Over the last year I went from someone who had never heard of Thomas Perry to becoming his hardcore fan.

“Hero” is the story of a woman named Justine Poole. She works for a private security company in Los Angeles that provides special services to some very rich clients. Many of the firm’s assignments involve protecting celebrities. Any criminals who try to rob their clients encounter well-trained bodyguards like Justine.

As the story opens some affluent clients who work in the television industry are leaving a restaurant when a gang of thugs with malevolent intentions begins tracking them. Justine is one of their caretakers and she springs into action.

After the smoke clears several thugs have fled the scene. The clients are safe. A couple of young criminals are dead. Justine killed them. After that there’s an immediate media frenzy and all the reporters want to know what happened and who was this fearless woman who protected them? What is her name?

The criminal mastermind who orchestrated the robbery attempt is furious, who shot his guys? He wants revenge. He brings an assassin to Los Angeles to deal with her. But first they need to figure out who she is.

That’s our set-up. Justine flees. Perry takes readers on a blazing thrill ride as Justine, our hero, tries to turn the tables on this hired killer and the crime syndicate that hired him.