A Small Town, the 26th crime novel by Thomas Perry, begins with a violent prison break in the little town of Weldon, Colorado. More than 1,000 hardened criminals kill the warden and most of the guards, raid the prison arsenal and burst out to pillage the community. Overwhelming the local police, they break into houses, kill and rape families, set fire to buildings, and try to escape in stolen cars.
Most were promptly rounded up by state and federal authorities, but two years later, the 12 inmates who planned the prison break are still on the loose. The FBI has made no progress tracking them down, so the mayor of Weldon takes matters into his own hands.
The result is a slick, well written, but somewhat predictable revenge fantasy that combines the grim ambiance of Fox TV’s “Prison Break” with the vigilante violence of the John Wick movie franchise.
You can read the full text of my review for The Associated Press here.
