Rating: 
Summary: Thomas Perry is Normally Great but...
Review: Robert Mallon, in his forties and retired in affluence for ten years, is stolling along a beach near his home in Santa Barbara, California. He sees a young woman enter the water and not return. He proceeds to save her from drowning. In the few subsequent hours, they develope a relationship. However, the next day, Mallon hears of the young woman's death. He wonders what drove her to suicide and looks into her past. He hires a friend, PI Lydia Marks, to look into this stranger's death. They soon find themselves up against a network of assasins run by a paramilitary leader named Parrish. He inexplicably begins to hunt Mallon in a game to the death.
DEAD AIM is one of the weakest novels written by Thomas Perry in years. The plot lacks any real basis in reality. Mallon is a less than inspirational hero which leads to a lack of reader empathy. Stereotypic characters abound in this predictable and silly tale.
Rating: 
Summary: Not up to Thomas Perry's usual high standards
Review: Robert Mallon, in his forties and retired in affluence for ten years, is stolling along a beach near his home in Santa Barbara, California. He sees a young woman enter the water and not return. He proceeds to save her from drowning. In the few subsequent hours, they develope a relationship. However, the next day, Mallon hears of the young woman's death. He wonders what drove her to suicide and looks into her past. He hires a friend, PI Lydia Marks, to look into this stranger's death. They soon find themselves up against a network of assasins run by a paramilitary leader named Parrish. He inexplicably begins to hunt Mallon in a game to the death.
DEAD AIM is one of the weakest novels written by Thomas Perry in years. The plot lacks any real basis in reality. Mallon is a less than inspirational hero which leads to a lack of reader empathy. Stereotypic characters abound in this predictable and silly tale.
Rating: 
Summary: Dead Aim
Review: See book summary above.An invigorating and tightly written novel that you've come to expect from Thomas Perry, with a couple exceptions.
The character of Robert Mallon was indeed shallow. Was his obsession with the suicide victim because of their brief love-making/loneliness or was it because of his sister's suicide years previous. One is never really sure.
And where the heck did this guy at the end come from? Sure his name was Mallon but no where did I see his nickname as 'First Blood' Mallon.
An overall entertaining novel with a couple flaws.
Rating: 
Summary: I am glad I am retired.....
Review: Thomas Perry does it again. This is a great read that you will not want to put down. As the story starts, all sorts of "potential plots" come to mind. If Perry is in the process of developing new characters, he sure has a great one with Bob Mellon. The story is full of twists and turns with a surprise ending. A copy of all of Perry's books are in my small library. It is a pleasure to report the success of his latest novel. It always is a dreadful thought to consider how long it will be until his next release.
Rating:
Summary: Substandard Perry
Review: Thomas Perry has written a number of excellent thriller; his last one, Pursuit, was well-plotted. Unfortunately, Dead Aim features uninteresting characters, a dubious premise, and an unbelievable ending. The main character, Robert Mallon, is a successful builder forced into an early retirement after a bitter divorce results in him having to sell his business. The plot begins with Mallon saving a woman from committing suicide, only to have her later leave him and finish the job. He eventually discovers that she killed a former boyfriend; she was given training in how to do this from a group of people who run a self-defense camp and who will help their trainees kill people for a fee. Since the trainees kill their victims for a motive (this is not a camp attended by serial killers), one would expect that they would be questioned by the police at some point, and that sooner or later one would give away the scheme. However, nothing like this ever happens. Not helping matters is that Mallon is a very bland character. A female private detective he hires is more interesting but doesn't survive long enough to carry the book. .... Let's hope that Perry's next book is a return to form.
Rating:
Summary: Substandard Perry
Review: Thomas Perry has written a number of excellent thriller; his last one, Pursuit, was well-plotted. Unfortunately, Dead Aim features uninteresting characters, a dubious premise, and an unbelievable ending. The main character, Robert Mallon, is a successful builder forced into an early retirement after a bitter divorce results in him having to sell his business. The plot begins with Mallon saving a woman from committing suicide, only to have her later leave him and finish the job. He eventually discovers that she killed a former boyfriend; she was given training in how to do this from a group of people who run a self-defense camp and who will help their trainees kill people for a fee. Since the trainees kill their victims for a motive (this is not a camp attended by serial killers), one would expect that they would be questioned by the police at some point, and that sooner or later one would give away the scheme. However, nothing like this ever happens. Not helping matters is that Mallon is a very bland character. A female private detective he hires is more interesting but doesn't survive long enough to carry the book. .... Let's hope that Perry's next book is a return to form.
Rating:
Summary: Fun, but unbelievable
Review: Thomas Perry is a great authors-- his books are fun and suspenseful-- great 'beach' reading for the summer. Those are all true of "Dead Aim" as well. The only problem is that the plot is completely unbelievable. The protagonist, Robert Mallon finds himself being hunted by an unknown assailant after delving into the life of a woman who he has unsucessfully tried to stop from killing herself. This sounds like a fantastic plot device, but instead of developing the character and flushing out his conflicts, Perry falls short-- the last 300 pages are reminiscent of a video game, with Mallon killing anything that gets in his way. The ending is predictable, though completely unbelievable were this in reality. If you're a Thomas Perry fan, or if you have a very good suspension of disbelief mechanism, then you should definitely read this book-- it's a fun read.
Rating:
Summary: Fun, but unbelievable
Review: Thomas Perry is a great authors-- his books are fun and suspenseful-- great 'beach' reading for the summer. Those are all true of "Dead Aim" as well. The only problem is that the plot is completely unbelievable. The protagonist, Robert Mallon finds himself being hunted by an unknown assailant after delving into the life of a woman who he has unsucessfully tried to stop from killing herself. This sounds like a fantastic plot device, but instead of developing the character and flushing out his conflicts, Perry falls short-- the last 300 pages are reminiscent of a video game, with Mallon killing anything that gets in his way. The ending is predictable, though completely unbelievable were this in reality. If you're a Thomas Perry fan, or if you have a very good suspension of disbelief mechanism, then you should definitely read this book-- it's a fun read.
Rating:
Summary: Okay but far from his best
Review: Thomas Perry is one of my favorite authors. At his best, there is no one better. His storylines take you places and show you things you have never even imagined.
Unfortunately, the premise for Dead Aim doesn't stretch credibility, it tears it up into little pieces. Here is what we are expected to swallow:
A month-long "self defense" school for rich people that costs over $1000 a day, where students are screened for revenge issues and those students are discreetly told that they can "hunt" their enemies (or some stranger) for $25,000 a head. For this $25K, the customer gets individual training from several people, who also research the target, set up the spot for killing him, and also kill all witnesses (five in one case we see, four in another) who see the customer make the assassination. This goes on for several YEARS.
We are to believe that this school schedules multiple murders involving rank amateur assassins, and no forensic evidence or routine police investigation work (i.e. who had motive and opportunity) ever trips them up, and NO ONE of these amateurs ever says something to someone who says something to someone else who drops a dime. We haven't seen fiction this implausible since Clancy's Rainbow Six.
Finally, there is one *massive* coincidence near the end that is inexcusable and unnecessary. You'll read it and want to throw the book down.
Rating:
Summary: Perry makes a horrifying premise believable...
Review: Thomas Perry is, by far, one of the most original storytellers I have read. This is the author who brought to life such characters as The Butcher's Boy, Jane Whitefield, Chinese Gordon and Dr. Henry Metzger and I believe there are more to come. Perry does not disappoint with the steadfast Robert Mallon, from his latest, Dead Aim. Perry is not only gifted and talented, he has an uncanny sense of timing ---he understands when his characters are in danger of becoming stale, cardboard imitation of what they once were. So what does he do? He creates anew, and we are captivated and enthralled once more.
In his new novel Perry has taken a horrifying evil premise and makes it believable.... once the action starts, the reader is swept away, all the way to the last page. This story begins with Robert Mallon, a wealthy retired landowner, saving a young woman from attempting suicide. He takes her to his home, where upon she runs away while he is out picking up dinner. Days later he reads in the paper of her suicide and he goes down to the police station to file a report. He soon becomes obsessed and must find out why, after he thought he had saved her, given her a new beginning and perhaps a new beginning with him (or for him a new beginning with her) she would kill herself. Either way he blames himself, feeling he did not say the right words or do the rights things or she wouldn't have followed through with her suicide. Mallon hires a private detective. One he knows but has not seen in 10 years. His attorney also makes an appearance when the police start to question him and his motives. It takes Perry awhile to lay the groundwork for the action but once it starts, Mallon takes on an evil that Perry brings to life in only the way he does. Whether you are a long time Perry collector or just someone who enjoys a great read, Dead Aim is for you. After all, this is Thomas Perry we are talking about!
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