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Silence (Jack Till #1)
by
Thomas Perry
Six years ago, Jack Till helped Wendy Harper disappear. But now her ex boyfriend and former business partner, Eric Fuller, is being framed for her presumed murder in an effort to smoke her out, and Till must find her before tango-dancing assassins Paul and Sylvie Turner do.The Turners are merely hired to do a job, though, and prefer to remain anonymous. When they find that...more
Paperback, 448 pages
Published
June 23rd 2009
by Vanguard Press
(first published July 1st 2007)
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A taut, well-written thriller, typical of the genre.
The story involves a former homicide detective who helped a witness "disappear" six years earlier, vowing that under no circumstances would he ever attempt to find her. But such a circumstance does arise, and it is not only the detective who tries to find her, but a professional team of husband-and-wife hired assassins. And so the race is on. The protagonist has the distinct advantage of having helped the witness "disappear" in the first place,...more
The story involves a former homicide detective who helped a witness "disappear" six years earlier, vowing that under no circumstances would he ever attempt to find her. But such a circumstance does arise, and it is not only the detective who tries to find her, but a professional team of husband-and-wife hired assassins. And so the race is on. The protagonist has the distinct advantage of having helped the witness "disappear" in the first place,...more
Jul 29, 2011
Zulma Antepara
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Those who love suspense
Recommended to Zulma by:
A friend
Silence by Thomas Perry was a novel very well written and an awesome thriller.
In the book, secrets were resurrected and individuals needed to be put to silence.
Jack Till and Wendy Harper must do any and everything to stay alive. Assassins are hired! No one could be trusted and no one was safe, but why?
Wendy Harper needed to disappear because someone wanted to kill her. Jack Till ex-cop did everything to ensure her safety. He taught her how to disappear from sight and to constantly change identit...more
In the book, secrets were resurrected and individuals needed to be put to silence.
Jack Till and Wendy Harper must do any and everything to stay alive. Assassins are hired! No one could be trusted and no one was safe, but why?
Wendy Harper needed to disappear because someone wanted to kill her. Jack Till ex-cop did everything to ensure her safety. He taught her how to disappear from sight and to constantly change identit...more
A chance encounter with The Boyfriend put Thomas Perry on my radar screen. I am not sure how or why I have missed this Edgar Award winning writer of nineteen books, but I am truly glad to have now met his acquaintance.
Silence like the Boy Friend features Jack Till, retired homicide dick and current private eye. It is a tale of secrets, some of them Jack's. But the biggest secrets belong to Wendy Harper, a young restauranteur Till taught how to make herself invisible after an attack by a murderou...more
Silence like the Boy Friend features Jack Till, retired homicide dick and current private eye. It is a tale of secrets, some of them Jack's. But the biggest secrets belong to Wendy Harper, a young restauranteur Till taught how to make herself invisible after an attack by a murderou...more
(no direct spoilers) Well, it is much easier said then done. But, anyway, let's share some thoughts.
I really liked it. It has a good plot and momentum that keeps you hooked through the long (entertaining) reading. If we compare it with Jane Whitefield series, it surely contains less details depicting the how-to-lure-and-escape kind of action moments. But, it has some passages and the dialogues among the couple-hero and couple anti-hero are good, with the later really impressive. Mrs. Turner keep...more
I really liked it. It has a good plot and momentum that keeps you hooked through the long (entertaining) reading. If we compare it with Jane Whitefield series, it surely contains less details depicting the how-to-lure-and-escape kind of action moments. But, it has some passages and the dialogues among the couple-hero and couple anti-hero are good, with the later really impressive. Mrs. Turner keep...more
Thomas Perry is a sure thing for thrillers. I am at the point where too much suspense bothers me, so I am afraid I peeked at the end to make sure things turned out all right for all the characters.
Jack Till, retired cop turned private detective, needs to find former client Wendy Harper, to keep a man from being tried for her murder. Once he has found her he needs to protect her from tango dancing contract killers Sylvia and Paul Turner. Turn and dip, Till and Harper dance away from close encoun...more
Jack Till, retired cop turned private detective, needs to find former client Wendy Harper, to keep a man from being tried for her murder. Once he has found her he needs to protect her from tango dancing contract killers Sylvia and Paul Turner. Turn and dip, Till and Harper dance away from close encoun...more
Silence was an enjoyable thriller, with a few annoyances in the female characters.
Thomas Perry is known for writing stories about someone leading people into hiding and into new lives in his Jane Whitefield books. Silence has an interesting twist-- Jack Till coached Wendy Harper in the skills she would need to successfully disappear 6 years ago. Now, he needs to find her, and must unravel the steps she took.
The book switches between views of Jack (& Wendy) and that of Sylvie (& Paul) Tur...more
Thomas Perry is known for writing stories about someone leading people into hiding and into new lives in his Jane Whitefield books. Silence has an interesting twist-- Jack Till coached Wendy Harper in the skills she would need to successfully disappear 6 years ago. Now, he needs to find her, and must unravel the steps she took.
The book switches between views of Jack (& Wendy) and that of Sylvie (& Paul) Tur...more
An Edgar Award-winning author, Thomas Perry (best known for his Jane Whitefield series) knows how to keep the plot moving, and his readers guessing. In his 15th novel, he devotes much of the book to tales of the rival hunters, switching back and forth as both Jack and the married assassins slowly close in on their prey. A couple of reviewers found the pacing a bit slow and the novel overlong. They praised, however, the flashbacks focusing on Jack's daughter and the characterizations of the tango
...more
A fast moving page turner thriller full of characters - a tango dancing husband & wife assassins, a weak-willed chauffeur led astray by his scheming record executive boss. Oddly, most of good guys are kinda one dimensional or have odd motivations.
Jack Till, a retired cop turned PI, helps Wendy Harper disappear. Then 6 years later, someone is trying to frame Eric Fuller, Harper's business partner for her murder. To prove Fuller's innocence, Till has to find Harper, but assassins Paul and Syl...more
Jack Till, a retired cop turned PI, helps Wendy Harper disappear. Then 6 years later, someone is trying to frame Eric Fuller, Harper's business partner for her murder. To prove Fuller's innocence, Till has to find Harper, but assassins Paul and Syl...more
"Silence" refers to the silence between people, but there are so many thoughts going through their heads that the reader is hardly aware of the physical lack of sound. Wendy Harper and Jack Till have been silent for years, ever since the former cop helped the battered woman to escape from unknown assailants. Paul and Sylvie have an artificial silence, measuring everything they say to each other, as each is a kind of sociopath who could turn on the other at a moment's notice. Wendy's mysterious e...more
The first Thomas Perry book I read was Pursuit
, a sort of hunter-vs-hunter story pitting one hitman against another - it was not the only time I've found myself wondering about the dark heart of the novelist himself. The book that made his name, The Butcher's Boy
, is the story of a killer whose employers decide he has become a liability and put out a contract on him; Perry's Jane Whitefield series, about a woman who acts as a sort of freelance witness protection program, explores shadowy aven...more
, a sort of hunter-vs-hunter story pitting one hitman against another - it was not the only time I've found myself wondering about the dark heart of the novelist himself. The book that made his name, The Butcher's Boy
, is the story of a killer whose employers decide he has become a liability and put out a contract on him; Perry's Jane Whitefield series, about a woman who acts as a sort of freelance witness protection program, explores shadowy aven...more
After release in 1982, Thomas Perry's "The Butcher's Boy" became a cult classic - the tale of a steely-eyed assassin double-crossed and out for revenge. And while a couple of follow-on efforts didn't quite do it for me ("Sleeping Dogs", "Pursuit"), the cynically dark humor and credible suspense is back with full impact in "Silence", a well-crafted and highly original crime yarn proving again that when it comes to contract killers, Perry knows his craft.
Jack Till is the formulaic SoCal ex-cop ma...more
Jack Till is the formulaic SoCal ex-cop ma...more
In the latest LA Weekly Literary Supplement, Thomas Perry wrote an essay In a Jam: How Suspense Keeps the Novel on Edge.
Here's the first part:
Suspense isn’t a pleasant sensation. We go to great lengths to manage our lives in ways that will keep us from having to go through periods of uncertainty — particularly when it’s prolonged, and when the stakes are high. But in reading fiction, especially a novel, we crave this sensation of increasing tension, and the higher the stakes, the better. We love...more
Here's the first part:
Suspense isn’t a pleasant sensation. We go to great lengths to manage our lives in ways that will keep us from having to go through periods of uncertainty — particularly when it’s prolonged, and when the stakes are high. But in reading fiction, especially a novel, we crave this sensation of increasing tension, and the higher the stakes, the better. We love...more
- SILENCE (Private Invest-Jack Till-US-Cont) – DNF
Perry, Thomas – Standalone
Harcourt, Inc., 2007, US Hardcover – ISBN: 9780151012893
First Sentence: The small neon light outside that said BANQUE was turned off.
*** Ex-cop turned PI Jack Till helped Wendy Harper disappear after having been beat nearly to death. Her former lover and business partner has been arrested for her murder. The only way to prove him innocent is to prove Wendy is still alive. He’s not the only one looking for her. Paul and S...more
Perry, Thomas – Standalone
Harcourt, Inc., 2007, US Hardcover – ISBN: 9780151012893
First Sentence: The small neon light outside that said BANQUE was turned off.
*** Ex-cop turned PI Jack Till helped Wendy Harper disappear after having been beat nearly to death. Her former lover and business partner has been arrested for her murder. The only way to prove him innocent is to prove Wendy is still alive. He’s not the only one looking for her. Paul and S...more
To be honest, I think that the tango-dancing, too-tall husband-and-wife team of assassins was a quirk too far in terms of creating bad guys. Jack Till, however, was an earnest & believable ex-cop and (that rarity!) a conscientious P.I. with no alcohol problem or tendency toward pointless violence. As usual, Thomas Perry keeps the suspense ratcheted up while making you think along the way about the countless details of daily life that may or may not mean something significant to a fugitive-hu...more
Feb 11, 2013
Deon Stonehouse
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
great-writing-mystery
Wendy knows dead certain she has one chance to live, she has to disappear. A powerful man wants her killed, preferably in a painful manner. He had her beaten within an inch of her life by a hired assassin; she survived this time, barely. Jack Till knows how to make people disappear; he is good at his job. Appalled by the violence of the attack on Wendy, he believes her only chance to survive is to get away fast, hide her tracks and never return. He teaches Wendy well. Powerful men do not enjoy b...more
Well-known for his series of books featuring Jane Whitfield, the Edgar Award-winning Perry has, in recent years, turned his talents to writing intelligent novels, centering on people in trouble. Six years ago, private investigator, Jack Till, an ex-LAPD detective, helped restaurateur Wendy Harper escape from assassins. He taught her how to disappear into another life. Now, he needs to find her. Many believe she is dead, killed by her ex-boyfriend, Eric Turner. But Paul and Sylvie Turner, the ass...more
I loved this book! The plot was terrific and believable. The clues were arrived at in a very logical way and the characters were very real. It was one of those books that you have a hard time not thinking about when you're not reading it. I wanted to sit down and read until I finished-that's always my highest compliment. The first thing I did when finishing this one was try to reserve the second Til book at the library. It wasn't available, so I ordered it-also a very high recommendation. This o...more
Why is this book called Silence? It certainly did not seem quiet when I was reading, someone was always getting shot. On the other hand, silencers were often used on the guns. There were a lot of dead bodies in this book, at least a dozen.
The premise of the book is that a woman who saw the face and knew the first name of a man she suspected of committing a crime is badly beaten, nearly killed but the killer is interrupted. She becomes understandably frightened and hires a PI to help her disappe...more
The premise of the book is that a woman who saw the face and knew the first name of a man she suspected of committing a crime is badly beaten, nearly killed but the killer is interrupted. She becomes understandably frightened and hires a PI to help her disappe...more
Perry's books are usually dry, realistic depictions of ridiculous high-concept thrillers. From the back cover: "Six years ago, Jack Till helped Wendy Harper disappear. Now he must find here before tango-dancing hired assassins Paul and Sylvie Turner do." The book itself is nowhere near that silly, though. Perry's style makes you feel like you're following real people who happen to have dramatic lives. Great leisure reading.
Six years ago, Jack Till helped Wendy Harper disappear. But now her ex-boyfriend and former business partner, Eric Fuller, is being framed for her presumed murder in an effort to smoke her out, and Till must find her before tango-dancing assassins Paul and Sylvie Turner do.
Listen to Silence on your smartphone, notebook or desktop computer.
Listen to Silence on your smartphone, notebook or desktop computer.
If you have seen any other part of my books that I have read, you will know I am a Thomas Perry fan. I am not always the most articulate when it comes to describing a book or it's plot. That's why I am at goodreads, so that I can get better. But if you like thrillers and a fast paced story, he is a wonderful author. Give him a try.
This was my second experience with Perry. I had read Strip earlier in the year on a recommendation. Even though I recognize that it was well written, it was just okay. Silence came at an opportune time and I must say that I really enjoyed it. The book is character driven more than plot driven, and the ending left me wanting more, but overall I enjoyed the journey.
A surprisingly entertaining murder mystery, mostly because of the engagingly insane wife of the husband-and-wife assassins. Everyone else is a bit one dimensional, with the exception of the record company executive. A few other bits in the story are a bit of a stretch as well, but it's a fast moving page turner.
I liked this book. I got interested in the characters and there was a high level of suspense throughout the book via plot twists and turns to keep me interested. I absolutely loved the ending and wonder if there will be a sequel? If there is, I will definitely read it.
Oct 11, 2010
Bart
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
any suspense and mystery fan. It's good.
Recommended to Bart by:
a "New in Paperback" squib in NY Times Book Review
Shelves:
crime-fiction
This was a good, very solid cat-and-mouse-chase based suspense novel from a very reliable author. There are some really quite intersting meditations on relationships and the nature of love and marriage--considerably more philosophical than one typically expects (or needs) in popular fiction. There was one major problem with what I think of as "continuity," the keeping straight of the details of the story and plotlines. The author has what have to be concurrent events involving different sets of...more
Back to the old murder mysteries ... this one had a neat little twist with its pair of tango-dancing killers-for-hire. At the end I wanted to know more about them and about the main characters too. Clever and intersting.
Thomas Perry is just a killer of a writer: tense, clean prose that delivers a freight-train of a plot, or maybe a formula one race car, complete with twists and turns. Doesn't hurt that the characters are often extremely attractive, amoral, and smart -- though not all, in this one. The protagonists (one man, an ex-cop PI; one woman, a former restauranteur on the lam) are liars, though moral with love for their families. Really, I've not enjoyed a new author discovery as much as I have these Perr...more
Starts off well but Perry doesn't maintain the same pacing over the second half. In fact the second half feels rather like he was rushing to finish his book for his contractual obligation.
I like this author. His books are about crime in one version or another -- hit men, people hiding from the law, general lowlifes. His writing is good and the books are perfect for just enjoying.
Silence turned out to be quite a page-turner, although it was a bit vulgar for my taste. The character development was good, and the story was complex and intriguing, but I wasn't at all crazy about the ending. It just kind of stopped without any resolution. Definitely a good read though.
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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
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updated Dec 25, 2008 04:51am