Dead Aim

A millionaire, single and retired at 48, Robert Mallon seems to have it made. While walking on the beach, he sees a woman drowning and saves her. And then everything changes. The simple benevolent act leads to several attempts on his life. As Mallon tries to learn who is after him and why, Michael Kramer keeps pace, lending controlled voices to the characters. The deep, calm tone he gives Mallon reflects the character's personality. Even more controlled is the voice behind the sociopath trying to kill him. Kramer gives him a methodical, precise way of speaking that is perfectly conveys his malevolence. Secondary characters are also well differentiated. DEAD AIM is a worthy psychological chase. M.B. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

September 23, 2002
Though propelled by a tantalizing premise—the investigation of a peculiar suicide—Perry's latest eventually droops under the weight of flat, unengaging characters and predictable plotting. Robert Mallon, a wealthy land developer, has retired early to the gentle climes of Santa Barbara. While he is gazing at the ocean one morning, a young woman, Catherine Broward, calmly walks into the water and disappears under the surf. Mallon rescues her, takes her home, and over the next several hours, the two develop a bond of sorts. Broward won't tell Mallon why she tried to kill herself, but insists she's now OK. The next day, she is found dead in a local park from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Mallon, crushed, wants to know why. He quickly finds several clues—a failed romance, an old murder—yet the most promising lead takes him far into the hills above town, to a self-defense training school, where Broward had spent a month, at great expense, gearing up for some sort of confrontation. On closer inspection, Mallon discovers that the school teaches clients not only how to ward off attackers but how to engage in an ultimate form of excitement—thrill kills. Perry's 13th novel (after the Edgar-winning
The Butcher's Boy; etc.) again proves a showcase for his considerable talents—taut prose, finely crafted scenes, solid research. Yet his initially promising plot winds up following the most commonly traveled grooves, concluding with Mallon, hardly a skilled warrior, taking on half a dozen armed, battle-trained killers. It is equally disappointing when, along the way, Perry either kills off or writes out several characters who seem more intriguing than the bland Mallon. Agent, Robert Lescher. 5-city author tour.