Metzger's Dog

A Novel

By: Thomas Perry

Narrated by: Michael Kramer

When Leroy "Chinese" Gordon breaks into a professor's lab at the University of Los Angeles, he's after some pharmaceutical cocaine, worth plenty of money. Instead, he finds the papers the professor has compiled for the CIA, which include a blueprint for throwing a large city into chaos. But how is the CIA to be persuaded to pay a suitable ransom, unless of course someone actually uses the plan to throw a large city into chaos - Los Angeles, for instance?

Assigned to cope with the crisis and restore the peace, veteran agent Ben Porterfield steps onto the scene to remind us that the CIA's middle name is, after all, Intelligence. Enlivening the mix are Gordon's beautiful girlfriend, Margaret, his temperamental cat, Dr. Henry Metzger, and Metzger's friend, an enormous half-wild dog with huge teeth.

©2008 Thomas Perry (P)2009 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Very sharp, very funny...should not be missed." ( The New York Times Book Review)
"In a word - wonderful!" ( Chicago Tribune)

Unusually Cool - CLASSIC. A Must Listen!

This is different. And isn't that what mystery zealots want? This is a laugh out loud caper thing full up with bad people who you can't help loving. Yep, everyone's so flawed that you're left free to decide who you want to root for, hell, I think I finally rooted for almost everyone.

Did I say "laugh out loud" … Uh-huh, Perry has the power to cloud your mind with giggles. And yet he manages it with throw-away lines while still cranking out a plot with twists that leave a veteran mystery reader satisfied. And we're a hard-to-satisfy bunch, right?

Michael Kramer has the genius ability to become invisible as a reader-actor creating vivid characters that are about the plot, not him.

This book must he a classic. If it isn't, I'm declaring it to be. Yep.. this is a classic caper that you'll smile all the way through.

Oh, one tiny gripe, the very… very.. end was oddly dumb. I wonder why Perry appended those few paragraphs. Oh well, no matter… It's just a fine piece of writing overall.

Draw out

The storyline seemed drawn out and laborious. I do enjoy T. Perry though, as well as M. Kramer.

Mostly it was average

It was okay. I wouldn't spend the time to read it again though. And I wouldn't pick up any more books by this author on the basis of this one. But I wouldn't turn away from another book from Perry just because of this either. The narration was okay as well.

The plot seemed rather complicated/convoluted... and is told from a chopped up perspective - sometimes it wasn't really clear that it was a different "event" going on until a few lines into the section. The story was also sorta political in nature... but not with any politics that I cared about (international espionage type stuff). I actually checked the publication date because it felt like a story written in the early '80s and/or as if it was abridged.

Oh well... it was a change of pace...

Sadly, not Perry's best work

I am a huge fan of Perry. You just can't find this kind of story being written any more. Think Elmore Leonard. Its good stuff.

Metzger's Dog is good in many places. But it falls flat due to a rushed story line and lack of character development. I haven't encountered these characters before, but they feel like they were fully formed in a previous book. They don't grow here and that is a flaw. The other flaw is the hurried story. Its too complex and contains too many characters to be so short. I don't often say that. If only Steven King could cut out 80% of one of his later works and hand them over to Metzger's Dog.

Wild and fun

Set around 1980, Metzger’s Dog combines government secrets, ambitious ex soldiers, and a bit of academia to rouse us with humor and suspense.