The Informant

A Butcher's Boy Novel

By: Thomas Perry

Narrated by: Michael Kramer

Married and living in England under the name Michael Schaeffer, the assassin known as the Butcher's Boy is the target of a Mafia hit team sent to exact revenge for his deadly campaign against the Balacontano family years earlier. Schaeffer kills all three attackers, but he knows more will come and needs to find whoever sent them to end it once and for all.

Soon Elizabeth Waring, now high up in the Organized Crime Division of the Justice Department, receives a surprise late-night visit from the Butcher's Boy. Knowing she keeps track of the Mafia, he asks her who the three men work for. Not knowing they have been murdered, she gives him a name: Frank Tosca, an aspirant to the Balacontano throne. In exchange, he tells her about a murder Tosca committed over 20 years ago.

So begins a new assault on organized crime, and the uneasy alliance between the Butcher's Boy and Waring, who trade current information for old secrets. As the Butcher's Boy works his way ever closer to his quarry in an effort to protect his new way of life, Waring finds herself in a race against time, either to convince him to become a protected informant or to take him out of commission for good.

©2011 Thomas Perry (P)2011 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Perry offers a compelling, rapid-fire plot, credible Mafia and FBI secondary characters, an indictment of self-serving officialdom, and the old soul-shattering moral dilemma: what is truth?" ( Publishers Weekly)

the butcher's boy is back

boy this is good! If you are a Thomas Perry fan this is so worth it!

A fun read

The butcher boy is an unforgettable character. There is something fascinating about assassin stories and here is one you can root for, albeit in a semi-guilty way. The book is well written, chilling and humorous at the same time, fast paced and original. I enjoyed each one in the series.

Riveting....Again!!!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Informant to be better than the print version?

Without a doubt. Michael Kramer is a fantastic performer.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Constantly on the edge of my seat. This is the third and last in The Butcher's Boy series and I was on the edge of my seat throughout the first two books....and was the same here. Listened for hours at a time. It is a very detailed and tightly woven plot and every thought and action of the assassin is performed.

Have you listened to any of Michael Kramer’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Have not heard Michael Kramer before, but I have listened to all three of The Butcher's Boy series and Kramer is at the top of my list. Will seek him out now.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It kept me riveted for hours.

Any additional comments?

Do not miss even one of The Butcher's Boy series.

Give me more!

Great story. Great performance.. Now I have check out the first two in the series.

Fun ride

Quite entertaining with good narration. Fast paced and to-the-point. I gave it 4 stars because, frankly, this isn't literature. The writing played fairly fast and loose with the logistics of his endeavors, but still enough was there for me to think "ah hah" or "oh, yeah". Good character development which makes this story very engaging.