Butcher’s Boy Books In Order

Publication Order of Butcher's Boy Books

The Butcher’s Boy is a story about a boy who was orphaned at a young age. With no close relatives to take care of him, he was unofficially adopted by a butcher; Mr. Eddie Mastrewski. This is where he earned his reference as the butcher’s boy. He is not only the butcher’s boy because the foster father owned a butchery, but also because the foster father was an assassin. The butcher taught the boy two trades; how to work in the butchery, and to be an assassin of the mafia.The butcher’s boy, whose true name is not revealed in the book, masters the skills of an assassin to exceptional levels. This is what Thomas Perry focuses on, and is meant to make the reader feel thrilled about the unique and mysterious ways of the butcher’s boy. If you have read the novels, ‘The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Ultimatum, and the Bourne Supremacy, you can get the idea of what Perry wants his readers to feel. Here is an assassin who, people should be angry with, but he is presented with skills that make people love him and want him to escape the authorities and the mafia. He is presented in a situation where he is justified to kill and revenge.

The butcher’s boy has been an assassin since he was sixteen years old, and nothing has never gone wrong. Two big missions however, set him on the trail of the law enforcement agency and the mafia. He was sent to kill a US Senator, and a labor union leader who was suspicious of how the pension funds were being managed. He manages to complete without failure, but attracts the attention of a law enforcement officer; Elizabeth Waring. Elizabeth is tipped off to begin investigations by the number and pattern of suspicious death notices that come to her desk. She starts by investigating the death of the labor union official to which she is pulled off before she finds out anything of significance. She is however, assigned another murder to investigate which reinforces her suspicions about The Butcher’s boy. She is the only one who could detect the connection between the Senator and the labor union leader’s murders.

Meanwhile, the mafia are also on the butcher’s boy’s trail. After killing the labor union leader, the butcher’s boy encountered some muggers who tried to distract him on his quest to kill the senator. He managed to kill them and the senator, but was left with cuts and bruises on the face. This got the mafia worried that the butcher’s boy would attract a lot of attention and eventually implicate them. They hired another assassin to kill him. This brings us to another story with a similar character and almost similar experiences; the Bourne series. Both stories are of highly skilled assassins who can outwit the other assassins and well trained law enforcement officers to accomplish their personal missions. They are exceptional and do not like it when somebody crosses their line unjustly. Bourne, was also a well trained assassin who never made any mistakes in his missions. He hated being double crossed, just like the butcher’s boy is double crossed by the mafia. The beginning of the thrilling moments start when the assassin starts to go against all odds to kill the most powerful people and bring down the most powerful institutions. The butcher’s boy does this the same way Bourne did. He manages to get hold of Elizabeth Waring whom she convinces to tell him who his attackers’ are, in exchange for valuable information about the death of the Senator. The same way Bourne managed to get hold of Pamela, the head of a law enforcement agency at the time, to find out more information about who wanted him dead, in exchange for secrets about the agency. The butcher’s boy manages go kill the assassins from the mafia and resorts to a quiet life using a different name. The same plot was seen in the Bourne novels, when he decided to go to India to live peacefully with his wife.

The Butcher’s boy series begins with the double crossing by the mafia. He kills two important people attracting the attention of the law enforcement specialists and does not get his pay for the job. This then leads to the next action; slaughtering of the double crossing clients. He manages to escape after creating a grudge in the mafia, but a price is placed on his head. The butcher’s boy resorts to a quiet life.

The next series tells the story of an awakened anger. All along, the mafia have been looking for the butcher’s boy. Ten years after he disappears, now living as Michael Schaeffer, the butcher’s boy is found by the mafia. He is unique in his thoughts and instead of just killing these two sent assassins, he decides to look for whoever wants him dead. He returns to the United States from England and kills the first mafia boss. This sends a wave of fear to the second one who convenes a meeting with other mafia to convince them to kill the butcher’s boy. He manages to convince them but is killed an hour later by Michael Schaeffer. By allowing the other mafia bosses to be convinced that the butcher’s boy is a dangerous enemy, Perry creates a different type of enemy for the butcher’s boy as well as opportunity for continuation. The third series is about the butcher’s war against the mafia. He knows that the mafia will not let him have a peaceful life, and they are unknown, so he decides to find a method of identifying who his enemies are. He finds out more information about the mafia from the police specialist. Elizabeth is also aware of the butcher’s boy’s quest and fights to find him and turn him into an informant before the mafia get to him. It turns out to be a story of an alliance between two opposite sides of the law to fight off organized crime.

The whole story is about how the butcher’s boy works his way in different situations. It is fun centered around the butcher’s boy trying to figure out what to do, how and why. Like in the third series. He faces new enemies but he does not know who they are. He knows that Elizabeth has been on the mafia trail and would offer valuable information. The next move, which the reader does not expect, is the butcher’s boy visiting Elizabeth to trade information. He gives Elizabeth information about the Senator’s killer and gets information about the mafia; smart move. He is always constantly impressing and surprising in the way he acts and reasons. For readers who like such mysteries, this is a book that you must read.

One Response to “Butcher’s Boy”

1. Reena Blair: 2 years ago

   Is there a previous book focused on his childhood and upbringing? I’m sure I read it a long time ago and would love to read it again but can’t find the title… Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
   Thanks!

   Reply