A solid if not spectacular outing from a writer who seldom gets the attention he deserves.

Thomas Perry always delivers. A SMALL TOWN has a spectacular setup, followed by an engaging narrative, but unfortunately concluding with a so-so ending. It could have been great. As it is, it's just good, and that's a mild disappointment for me with an author this good.

A mass prison break creates havoc and destroys a small town. The 12 ring leaders are still free years later. The FBI has transferred resources to other more current cases. Now the town council has decided to fund a local police officer to try and hunt the 12 men down. There is plenty of suspense in this book and a lot of violence. You do have to suspend reality a bit to believe a single person could track down these men when the FBI couldn’t. Despite that I enjoyed the book. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Not my cup of tea, I DFNed at 30% as I found the plot a bit over my suspension of belief level and couldn't connect to the characters.
It's well written but I found the style of writing a bit too dry.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I received this ARC through Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Netgalley.com, to Grove Atlantic, and to Thomas Perry for this opportunity.

Two years after a planned prison break, twelve of the most dangerous criminals are still at large. Leah Hawkins, a local cop, goes on a sabbatical as a cover to track down the prisoners and bring them to justice. She plans to take them down one by one and show no mercy.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me. It was a methodical detailing of Leah's movements and I felt like there wasn't very much character development. I was unable to feel invested in the story

Although this novel has made a few leaps of convenience for the plot, I have to say it was very entertaining.
I loved the lead character. Resourceful and patient
Basic story is that a prison full of convicts figure out how to break out of prison in an organized attack, and when they get out they head into town and create a zone of mayhem and murder. While many are caught or killed, a dozen escape. Two years go by and they are still at large. The city founders , in a bold and secret plan, send one of their own out to make things even.
It is a very entertaining story.

I was very excited to received an ARC of this book because Thomas Perry is an author I love. I've read all of his books and I know I'm always in for some fun. However, this did not impact my review. I write my reviews for possible future readers.

This book starts with a prison escape. I was getting into the story of this escape, and then........boom! It's 2 years later and a new story starts. I loved the "new " story, but it was a bit jarring to have such a sudden change. Even a chapter heading that clued us in would have helped.

Once I adjusted, I was totally involved in the way these escaped prisoners were tracked down. I love the Thomas Perry world of fake IDs, changing identities and tracking people.

As with all of his books, I loved the writing style, the story line, the imagination. I really enjoyed this book.

This is 4.5 stars which I'm rounding down. The first reason is that jarring time shift (which happens more than once). The second is the pacing, if that's the right word. There were times when a change in viewpoint took place in the middle of a chapter. A new chapter gives me a clue a change might be coming. This needed more of that. However, this being an advance cooy, this may be fixed by publication date. So after further thought, assuming this will be fixed, I'm rounding up.

First time Thomas Perry reader here. Guess I should have started with another by him. This story was about as implausible as they get. The main character Leah was unlikable as were all the other characters. The writing I felt was dry as was the dialogue. The whole story just seemed rushed as though the writer was just trying to pound one out. I may try reading another by this author as he is very prolific. Hopefully the next pick will hold my interest.

An escape takes place at a Federal Prison. The prison was initially built for medium felons but due to overcrowding in the system the worst of the worst were housed there, and escaped. The twelve primary escapees also allowed more than a thousand others to break out with them. They all subsequently headed for the small town nearby where they went to the homes of the guards they had murdered in the escape had lived, raped, brutalized and ultimately killed their families. The other thousand came walking up later. In the melee many were killed however the twelve were all successful. Two years later, Leah, a Lieutenant in the local Police force goes off on her own to seek closure for what had happened. Because of spoilers, I won’t go any further into the plot. I found the novel to be well written and easily readable. Thanks toNet Galley and The Mysterious Press for an ARC for an honest review.

Twisty and fast-paced, A SMALL TOWN springs from a fiercely original premise and from the opening pages delivers one surprise after another. There are moments where the plotting strains credulity a smidgeon and the brutality is occasionally over the top, but it's a white-hot read from a master of the genre.

A crime thriller with a unique premise and a quick, easy read. Ultra violent, with very bad bad guys and clever heroes. Leah Hawkins is quite a badass, and if Jack Reacher can get two movies, she should get at least one. A minor quibble that quickly became grating was the author's tendency to use full names for people ("Leah Hawkins" instead of just Leah). In at least one case, a character was mentioned by his first and last name twice in one sentence.

An advanced copy was provided through Netgalley in exchange for this review.

Review by 2shay...............

4 Stars makes this a good read, right? Yes, it does. But I want to emphasize that it’s because of the great writing and progression, not that I believed, in the beginning, that the majority of residents knew, supported and sanctioned the cold-blooded murder of 12 men.

Being from a small town myself, I know that getting more than a couple of folks to agree on anything is tough. By about halfway through, after learning more details of the events of July 19, I believed.

I had to be convinced that Leah Hawkins would and could track down and carry out these murders on her own. After learning of Leah’s qualifications, her motivation and her determination, I was convinced.

The majority of this book is told from Leah’s point of view, the 12 convicts who planned and executed this brilliant escape plan presented their view periodically throughout the story. They did not become more sympathetic. Although smart and capable in may ways, all 12 were hard core killers.

The sub-title of this book, “A Novel Of Crime”, begs the question: when is vengeance and retribution true justice? When is it just another crime? You’ll have to judge for yourself. Pick up a copy and...

Enjoy! ARC graciously provided by Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for an honest and voluntary review.

What a ride! I haven’t read anything by this author, but after reading A Small Town I will surely look for more. The plot of this book was most intriguing and each time I thought I just KNEW what was going to follow—I was wrong. While I’m not sure the “hero” of the book would have been able to single handedly track down all the bad guys, I was rooting for her success while at the same time being afraid for her.

In a nutshell, a small town is selected for the site of a medium secure federal penitentiary and, due to overcrowding elsewhere, eventually houses really bad guys. One of them puts together a grand escape scheme, which is successful, and on their way out of town a large number of the prison population, including the jail breakers, commit murder and heinous crimes against the townspeople. The rest of the story deals with local law enforcement’s hunt for the ringleaders.

If thrillers and mysteries are a genre you enjoy, this book should be right up your alley.

If you are looking for a fast-paced action-packed airport thriller with lots of violence, this is the thriller for you. The book is a mix of the show Prison Break and a female Jack Reacher type character. Recommended if you are looking for this kind of book.
Thanks to NetGalley, Grove Atlantic Mysterious Press, and the author Thomas Perry for an advanced digital review copy. This book will be published January 17, 2020.

This was the first book I have read by this author and I did enjoy it after saying that it was a bit unbelievable that I officer was able to do what she did and be in the right place at the right time with no one catching her and she was then able to return to her life. It was a strange one with a happy ending for some!

This was my first read by this author., and I highly enjoyed it. It was intense and full of mystery. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC. Thomas Perry is one of my very favorite authors and he can write a mystery that can transport me. In A Small Town, which is set in Colorado (always a thumbs up), begins with a horrific prison escape and it just flows from there. Prison break, catching criminals, a bit of romance, and good character development. The main character is one I would enjoy reading about again, she is very likable. And Perry doesn’t pull any punches, when someone dies, it’s done. No fooling around and dragging it out. I enjoyed this book right up to the end. The last chapter/epilogue left me shaking my head and wondering if I missed something. It just didn’t fit and was very unsatisfying.

There were many times throughout reading this that I got nervous for Leah, the descriptions were fantastic and I was really able to picture everything as it was happening. I especially loved how there was a surprise around every corner. Literally. And I kept thinking I knew how it was going to end. And it turns out, I didn't. Definitely worth the read!

“A Small Town” is a mystery by Thomas Perry in which a gang of violent criminals break out of prison and take over the town of Weldonville.

I was extremely disappointed in this book because I usually love and devour anything written by Thomas Perry.

The plot was improbable and the violence gratuitous. I had a hard time finishing this book.

A jailbreak occurs at a Prison never meant to hold such vile criminals an entire town is almost wiped out by the renegade escapees. One lone woman - a cop - hunts them down. This is a good story. Thomas Perry has built up a good set of characters again - both good and bad. Although I don't think this new book is as good as his others, it is still a good read. Some surprises in store for the reader too. I can still recommend it as a good read.

Another great Thomas Perry novel! A Small Town creates the sense of milleau and characters that Perry is known for!