EDGAR AWARD WINNER • After a high-level assassination, a professional hitman becomes a target himself and must fight to survive—while evading the government analyst who’s suddenly on his trail—in this “brilliantly plotted thriller” ( The Washington Post ) from New York Times bestselling author Thomas Perry. With an Introduction by Michael Connelly “Shrewdly planned and executed.”— The New York Times Book Review “Totally enthralling.”— The New Yorker “Thomas Perry has hit the mark.”— Houston Chronicle Murder has always been easy for the Butcher’s Boy—it’s what he was raised to do. But when he kills the senior senator from Colorado and arrives in Las Vegas to pick up his fee, he learns that he has become a liability to his shadowy employers. His actions attract the attention of police specialists who watch the world of organized crime, but though everyone knows that something big is going on, only Elizabeth Waring, a bright young analyst in the Justice Department, works her way closer to the truth, and to the frightening man behind it. “A stunning debut . . . a brilliantly plotted thriller.” — The Washington Post “A shrewdly planned and executed thriller.” — The New York Times Book Review “Thomas Perry has hit the mark.” — Houston Chronicle “Totally enthralling.” — The New Yorker The Edgar Award-winning novel by the "master of nail-biting suspense"("Los Angeles Times) Thomas Perry exploded onto the literary scene with "The Butcher's Boy. Back in print by popular demand, this spectacular debut, from a writer of "infernal ingenuity" ("The New York Times Book Review), includes a new Introduction by bestselling author Michael Connelly. Murder has always been easy for the Butcher's Boy--it's what he was raised to do. But when he kills the senior senator from Colorado and arrives in Las Vegas to pick up his fee, he learns that he has become a liability to his shadowy employers. His actions attract the attention of police specialists who watch the world of organized crime, but though everyone knows that something big is going on, only Elizabeth Waring, a bright young analyst in the Justice Department, works her way closer to the truth, and to the frightening man behind it. New York Times bestselling author Thomas Perry won an Edgar Award for The Butcher’s Boy , and Metzger’s Dog was one of the New York Times ’s Notable Books of the Year. His other books include The Face-Changers , Shadow Woman , Dance for the Dead , and Vanishing Act . Thomas Perry died in 2025. Michael Connelly was a journalist and crime reporter for several newspapers before writing his first novel in 1992. He is the author of numerous books, including those in the bestselling Harry Bosch series. His other books include The Lincoln Lawyer , his first legal thriller; Crime Beat: A Decade of Covering Cops and Killers ; and The Late Show . He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Edgar, the Anthony, and the Macavity. Mr. Connelly lives in Florida. 1   The union meeting, thought Al Veasy, had gone as well as could be expected, all things considered. He had finally figured out why the retirement fund was in such trouble all the time, when everybody else in the whole country with anything to invest seemed to be making money. And he had explained what he knew, and the union members had understood it right away, because it wasn’t anything surprising if you read the newspapers. The big unions had been getting caught in similar situations for years. Low-interest loans to Fieldston Growth Enterprises—hell of an impressive name, but zero return so far on almost five million dollars. If the company was as bad as it looked, there would be no more Fieldston than there was growth. Just a name and a fancy address. When the union started to apply pressure some lawyer nobody ever heard of would quietly file bankruptcy papers. Probably in New York or someplace where it would take weeks before the union here in Ventura, California, heard of it. Just a notice by certified mail to O’Connell, the president of the union local, informing him of the dissolution of Fieldston Growth Enterprises and the sale of its assets to cover debts. And O’Connell, the big dumb bastard, would bring it to Veasy for translation. “Hey, Al,” he would say, “take a look at this,” as though he already knew what it meant but felt it was his duty to let somebody else see the actual document. Not that it would do anybody any good by then.   Or now either. That was the trouble and always had been. Veasy could feel it as he walked away from the union hall, still wearing his clodhopper boots and a work shirt that the sweat had dried on hours ago. He could smell himself. The wise guys in their perfectly fitted three-piece suits and their Italian shoes always ended up with everything. The best the ordinary working man could hope for was sometimes to figure out how they’d done it, and then make one or two of them uncomfortable. Slow them down was