Pursuit

This is an original story that grabs the reader from start to finish in a dog-eat-dog battle to the death where the reader is taken on a ride that is full of bare knuckles and narrow escapes. Well scripted and totally original.

Sometimes I'll finish a book and rush to read the reviews to see if others agreed with me. Many times, I'll find myself scratching my head, wondering if I read the same book as some of the reviewers. This was the case with this book, where Perry has intricately woven a plot where all the pieces in the puzzle are so carefully chiseled leaving no room for error on the part of the protagonist.The story starts off with a bang....well, actually thirteen of them as nine diners and four employees in a restaurant are all gunned down by a lunatic psychopath. While some might have called this the random work of a madman, Daniel Millikan, homicide detective turned criminology professor, knows better once he's viewed the crime scene. He realizes there was a target and the hit man killed the other twelve people in the restaurant just to make the police work even harder to figure it out. The wealthy father of one of the victims hires Roy Prescott to find his son's killer. Perry writes, "Revenge is not sweet, it's a luxury. It's a necessary restoration of balance in the universe." Since Prescott has a reputation for working outside of the law, usually leaving no prisoners, he's the perfect one to restore this balance.This book was better than any National Geographic episode where the hunter tracks down his prey. In this case, the hunter is Roy Prescott and the prey is hit man Jim Varney....someone who is almost as smart and cunning as Prescott but not quite. This will be a chase to beat all chases.Right from the beginning, Perry lets the reader know who the killer is thereby allowing us not only to get into Prescott's head but also into Varney's as he tells the story through both viewpoints. This is sometimes a dangerous technique but one Perry masterfully employs and one I very much enjoy. So many authors lead you through 300 pages, while you try to figure out who the killer is, only to be disappointed in the end. Since you already know who the killer is here, you'll read on just to find out if Prescott's pursuit is successful. I guarantee you it's one of the best cat and mouse chases you'll read with Prescott coming up with some ingenious plots to capture the very elusive Varney.Towards the end of this book, you'll be forcing yourself to avert your eyes from the next page, the next paragraph, the next sentence dragging out the inevitable climax just a little bit longer. You'll want to read ahead as quickly as possible because, by this time, you'll know that Varney cannot be allowed to live.Roy Prescott is just the type of guy you'd want to hire if you were seeking revenge. A dream book for me would be to see Roy Prescott teamed up with Perry's other recurring character, Jane Whitefield....also someone who enjoys working outside the law. Well, one can only dream.

Thirteen bodies are found dead in a restaurant, and the father of one of the victims believes his son was the main target. He wants to hire Professor Millikan, a world-renown expert on homocide, to find the killer. Millikan refers him to Roy Prescott and from there the pursuit has begun.Readers learn quickly that the killer's name is Varney and he is a more than worthy adversary for Prescott. We follow Prescott as he attempts to first identify Varney and then learn how he acts in different situations. Prescott's plan is to set a trap anticipating how Varney will react and to be there to catch him.Thomas Perry has many skills as a writer of suspense. He has a patient way of laying the groundwork and maneuvering the characters into position for thrilling and unexpected encounters. He uses a technique of describing the action from one character's point of view and then retraces the event from the other character's perspective, resulting in a fuller, more entertaining and involved understanding of the plot.Perry is also a master of surprise and cleverness with the ability to sustain suspense throughout the story. Each character has distinct personality traits, values, motivations and styles. They develop relationships with each other, using dialogue so realistic it feels like you're eavesdropping. Of course, anyone who has read Thomas Perry is aware of his talent. Without revealing any more of the story, it is fair to say his talent is on display in PURSUIT. It is highly recommended for both old and new readers; you'll love it.

Thomas Perry is one of the rare writers who is always in control of his material. He writes with economy, with a fine ability to create a sense of place and to endow his characters with viable histories. He is also never tempted to write the heavy-handed, graphic sexual scenes that interrupt so many otherwise good novels. In Pursuit, which in theater parlance might be called a two-hander, he deals with the pithy issue of killing--from different sides of the fence. And he does it exceedingly well. James Varney is the ultimate narcissistic, amoral young killing machine. Roy Prescott is the dogged, older, seasoned and moral opposite. How Prescott pursues Varney, how Varney dodges and weaves, unraveling psychologically, then knitting himself back together, is the Pursuit of the title. But there's much more to this book than merely a chase. While we're offered only snippets of Prescott's history, what he is in the present tense is absolutely fascinating and the reader can't help but speculate on what factors might have contributed to making him such a meticulous, determined and farsighted planner. Varney is a compelling yet repugnant character, but so thoroughly fleshed that he is completely believable. Perry continues to grow as a writer; he's never fallen victim to any sort of personal formula in his work and, as a result, his books are always a trip to some place where the reader has never been before. Pursuit is a prose pas de deux, perfectly executed, perfectly resolved.Most highly recommended.

I read this book in manuscript form while working at the publisher's ad agency. Reading manuscripts is often a dreadful task as many novels are poorly written. PURSUIT was a wonderful exception! Whereas most modern thrillers are overwritten (ie: characters with very little bearing on the story get a full page or more of description or there are endless chapters that do nothing to advance the plot) Perry gives us a taut, electric tale of a hunter and his prey that grabs you by the throat from the first page and simply will not let go until the last. Although the styles are quite different, PURSUIT reminded me of the thrill I used to get from reading Ian Fleming's original James Bond novels. Thank you, Mr. Perry, and please bring back Roy Prescott soon!