Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
Nightlife
by
Thomas Perry
Thomas Perry’s novels of suspense have been celebrated for their “dazzling ingenuity” (The New York Times Book Review) and for writing that is “as sharp as a sushi knife” (Los Angeles Times). By turns horrifying and erotic, Perry’s new thriller takes us on a dangerous cat-and-mouse game that pits two women against each other: a beautiful serial killer and the detective who...more
Paperback, 416 pages
Published
May 29th 2007
by Ballantine Books
(first published 2006)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
707)
Perry's one great theme is always the mystery of what lies beneath appearances, what secrets we're keeping about ourselves, and whether we can ever hope to truly know even our closest loved ones. In novel after novel over the decades he's rung the changes on this concept, each book carving out with meticulous craftsmanship another facet of the issue.
This is probably the weakest of his work that I've read to date, not much more than a paint-by-numbers serial killer procedural that could have been...more
This is probably the weakest of his work that I've read to date, not much more than a paint-by-numbers serial killer procedural that could have been...more
Thomas Perry, author of the Edgar Award?winning The Butcher's Boy, the five-volume Jane Whitefield series, and other best-selling novels, has taken typical elements of an ordinary crime thriller and given them an unusual, erotic twist. The New York Times compares Nightlife's psychological impact to that of The Silence of the Lambs and Mystic River: we're not dealing with a stock killer but a rather ordinary young woman turned bad. Critics agree that Perry successfully delves deep inside the fema
...more
Nightlife is a great example of why I enjoy reading Thomas Perry's books so much. They are intelligently plotted crime thrillers with interesting characters. Even the "bad guys" (eg., The Buthcher's Boy) have some quality that you can admire or sympathize with. One of the hallmarks of Perry's books is identity changes. In most of his books, the good or bad guy carries out his/her mission by being able to switch identities to elude their pursuers.
Nightlife is a complex crime hunt with numerous pl...more
Nightlife is a complex crime hunt with numerous pl...more
This was my first Thomas Perry book, and I was impressed enought to want to pursue his other works, in particular other books with Joe Pitt as protagonist. In Nightlife, the two young women around whom the story revolves are a study in contrasts: Catherine, a dedicated police officer and Tanya, a malevolent sociopath. Each is troubled by her past, each is struggling with total self-reliance and the search for personal peace. The sociopath degenerates steadily as the story progresses, and when sh...more
Nightlife is a book by Thomas Perry featuring a serial killer and a policewoman determined to catch her. Yes, the serial killer is a "her" and Perry goes to great lengths to explain what drives Charlene to kill - usually being sorely aggrieved. The policewoman and the serial killer circle closer and closer until an explosive, twisty, finale.
Charlene Buckner grew up poor, getting dragged to beauty pageants by her flaky mom. She goes on to use the acting skills to attract men. When she is eventual...more
Charlene Buckner grew up poor, getting dragged to beauty pageants by her flaky mom. She goes on to use the acting skills to attract men. When she is eventual...more
OK the weird part is that the killer is a woman, and as we (those of us who haunt the 364.1523s) know, women tend to NOT be serial killers.
There was creepy stuff about identity theft, and I really wanted to read this after Terry basically ignored me for a day and a half while he read this one. As it turns out, he went to high school w/Perry's brother or something like that, which is neither here nor there...
In any case, I like the relationship between Catherine and Joe, although at the end I was...more
There was creepy stuff about identity theft, and I really wanted to read this after Terry basically ignored me for a day and a half while he read this one. As it turns out, he went to high school w/Perry's brother or something like that, which is neither here nor there...
In any case, I like the relationship between Catherine and Joe, although at the end I was...more
Portland, Oregon homicide detective Catherine Hobbes finds herself in a deadly contest with an unpredictable adversary capable of changing her appearance and identity at will. Catherine must use everything she knows, as a homicide detective and as a woman, to stop a murderer who kills on impulse and with ease, and who becomes more efficient and elusive with each crime.
Listen to Nightlife on your smartphone, notebook or desktop computer.
Listen to Nightlife on your smartphone, notebook or desktop computer.
This is a pretty good, sexy and interesting thriller by Thomas Perry, who has written a bunch of these and keeps churning them out. Perry's most popular books have been the five-book set of "Jane Whiteside" novels, about a Native American woman who is skilled in helping people in danger "disappear" when they are being pursued by bad guys of all sorts -- kind of a one-woman Witness Protection Program, only better. Perry's books are not "literary" but are a lot of fun, and underlying them are two...more
Perry loves playing cat-and-mouse with his characters. When I first discovered him earlier this year, it was the hired killer and the Justice Department Mafia investigator that chased each other. In Nightlife, we have a psychotic female killer and her nemesis, a Portland detective. Perry uses the form as a fugue of character, personality, relentless plotting and tense action scenes that present violence as almost a daily occurrence. Perry especially works on audio in the car, except you can miss...more
Wow - what a superb character study. Fascinating look into the minds of two women and, for the most part, I think the author got it right. He's either in tune with his feminine side or he has a couple of goods friends who are female and he listens to them. The audio version is well read. My only quibble is at the ending, apparently a scene break indicator is missing. The pacing is ruined by the lack of a pause. It's so bad, it's jarring. Otherwise, an excellent read and highly recommended.
An engrossing story with interesting characters. Filled with thrills, suspense and a few curve balls. I would say the overall theme of this book is that nothing is as it appears. The serial killer is a woman and the police spend a lot of time considering her a witness or a victim herself because a woman could not perform some of the heinous acts that have been committed. I thoroughly enjoyed this book but the ending was a bit hackneyed, that is the only reason I give it a four instead of five. I...more
Sgt. Catherine Hobbs a Portland Oregon Detective gets the case of what is probably murder, but there is a near total absence of clues with which to work. L. A. P.I. Joe Pitt is hired by a relative of the victim to identify the killer and travels to Portland and is passed on to Hobbs to find out what she has discovered. Meanwhile the killer has moved on and changed identities and picked up another victim. Hobbs soon discovers that she has a serial killer on her hands and is hot on the trail, but...more
This book came with another one of Perry's novel's, (Butcher's Boy) As with Butcher's Boy I couldn't get through the story. It just dragged on with useless information and scene's seemed to change so quickly that it was hard to follow. I will never pick up another book by Perry. I am not saying that he is a bad writer, I am just saying that I don't like his style of writing and it is confusing to me.
'Night Life' was my first exposure to Thomas Perry and what an introduction it was! 'Night Life' tells the story of a serial killer a little less true to form and very unassuming whose pursued by legacy cop Catherine Hobbs (long standing family history on the force). Eventually the female serial killer turns on Catherine and becomes the hunter with the results truly startling. I loved the way Thomas made the killer change persona's and craft her victims into accomplices before growing tired and...more
This is the first book I've read from Thomas Perry, and I must say I'm impressed. This was a really good book, and I will definitely read it again. The book was easy to read when I got started, but if I stopped, and left it for a day or two it was a little problematic to pick it up again. Other than that it was a great book, and I really enjoyed reading it.
I love most of Perry's work. Love love love the Butcher Boy series! So I was very much looking forward to this book. Well.... I did get through it, but it was tough slogging. This book could have been 100 pages shorter, with many portions that didn't advance either the character development or the story taken out. Then, after reading and reading and reading, the book ends very abruptly!
I gave this book a 4 star rating only because of the ending; it was a rather predictable ending. Having said that, this was my first Thomas Perry book and I'm hooked. The suspense level in this book was top notch, at least for me. Perry's writing kept me from wanting to put this novel down and I hope it will do the same for you.
This book by Perry was an interesting book. The thesis is one tht is unusual - a female serial killer - not only that but one who turned on the officer who was after her. Did not think the ending was a sharp as the rest of the book, but it was an enjoyable read.
J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'"
J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'"
This one featured a female serial killer. Perry did a very convincing job of showing us who this woman is, why she kills, and making us kind of like her anyway. There is some very good characterization in this book, like so many of Perry's books, while also supplying plenty of suspense and strange turns.
A very James Patterson-ish book about women, very bad and pretty good. The main bad girl is pretty nuts and keeps getting more nuts. The main good girl chases her around with grudging help from a handsome retired PI. A beach book but no more.
Thomas Perry, also the author of the Jane Whitfield series, writes a tale of a seemingly ordinary woman who transforms herself every time she kills to further her way in the world. Very well crafted and a shocking read.
I had trouble putting this book down. I really liked how the female serial killings were written. It was unexpected. This is the first time I read anything by Thomas Perry and it won't be my last.
Listened to this one, about a woman who is a serial murderer and the detective who pursues her. Pretty good, but maybe a few too many people murdered and began to think the book would never end.
Thomas Perry is one of my favorite authors. I recently re-discovered his books and I highly recommend reading them. They are fast paced thrillers that are well written and fun to read.
This is a terrific read. Perry is a master of the chase and how to keep developing his characters through their actions on the road. The pace of this book is unrelenting and the profile of tough detective Catherine Hobbes, her interaction with the killer and her developing relationship with PI Joe Pitt is enough to make her a character I'd like to see again. She's also a smart, intuitive detective pitted against a worthy adversary. I seldom read female protagonists but Perry creates fascinating...more
My second book by Perry. Intriguing bad guy; you start as sympathetic with the character. Solid woman cop as lead. Nice, low-level romance. Works for me!
And I really liked the narrator.
And I really liked the narrator.
This was my first experience with Thomas Perry. It doesn't have much for twists, saw the ending coming. I will say that the antagonist was more interesting than the hero, and you can tell that the author thought so too, it's partly why the ending is missing it's punch.
Good book. A Female serial killer is always interesting. How she could detatch herself to kill all those people was scary. The ending needed a bit more info but all in all it was good.
Another serial killer. Perry is pretty good at portraying realistic women, though. Ending was a bit abrupt.
very good; not humor, even dark, in this one. emphasizes ambiguity of life; i.e., psychotic begins to become pitiable
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Thomas Perry was born in Tonawanda, New York in 1947. He received a B.A. from Cornell University in 1969 and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Rochester in 1974. He has worked as a park maintenance man, factory laborer, commercial fisherman, university administrator and teacher, and a writer and producer of prime time network television shows. He lives in Southern California with his wife...more
More about Thomas Perry...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
Dec 23, 2012 09:06pm