Thomas Perry is one of my husband’s favorite authors, so I am relying heavily on his opinion as I rate A Small Town, which came to us thanks to Grove Atlantic / Mysterious Press and NetGalley in exchange for my (our?) honest review.

The small town referenced in the title is recovering after being pretty much destroyed by a dozen escapees from a nearby prison. They orchestrated the prison break that allowed a thousand prisoners to go on a rampage, raping and murdering – and then the twelve who planned it all escape.  Leah Hawkins, a six-foot tall blonde who is the town’s police chief, ostensibly goes on a sabbatical two years later for some advanced training. In reality, she is tracking the twelve to various locales, including New York, California, Florida, and some hideout deep in the Ozarks.

There’s plenty of violence, along with some hard-to-believe plot twists and a gratuitous sex scene that didn’t really bother me, but seemed sort of superfluous. I found it to be subpar for a Thomas Perry book, but then I am not a fan of vigilante justice meted out by a superwoman. Apparently my husband is: he loved it. I give it three stars.