Silence, his latest book, is a clever thriller, with vivid characters, realistic dialog and ingenious twists and turns. It weaves together the parallel stories of the hunters and their prey.

On one side, Wendy Harper, half-owner of a successful Los Angeles restaurant, is viciously attacked by an unknown assailant and forced into hiding. She enlists the help of private investigator Jack Till to show her how to disappear. Six years later, Wendy's ex-lover and business partner, Eric Fuller, is being framed for her murder. We soon learn that this is an effort to make her surface to eliminate her as she is the only witness in another murder case. Till must find Wendy and bring her to the LA District Attorney's office to prove she is alive and thus exonerate Eric. Not a simple task. The reader becomes a little road-weary with the endless driving, street names, car-switching and parking lots that Jack encounters in his search for Wendy with the hired killers hot on his trail.

On the opposite side, someone has hired the terrible Turners to target Wendy. This someone, in consequence, remains the true mystery in this story.

This psychological thriller thrives on the fears and insecurities of its well-developed main characters. Their complex personalities direct this deadly cat-and-mouse game as much as the plot itself.

Jack Till is a handsome private investigator, ex-cop, and well respected by his peers. His much-loved daughter Holly, stricken with Downs Syndrome, is the center of his life. Since he had cleverly helped Wendy Harper to disappear, he must step forward when her boyfriend is charged with her murder.

Wendy Harper at first appears to be the typical frail, frightened heroine. She is really very tough and determined. She constantly and intelligently manipulates her environment to protect herself and her new identity.

On the side of evil we have the Turners. They are fascinating, appealing, sinister assassins and they suit each other perfectly. Both are over six feet tall, slim and graceful, like a pair of "long-legged wading birds." They love the tango, the "dance of lust and jealousy and suppressed hatred."

Paul Turner is a cool, calm, relentless killer—a karate expert, who had his first "paying job" at 15. Sylvia Turner is an ex-porn queen, driven by her own insecurities and jealousy. She has a "cruel glint in her eyes," and when Paul kills her husband to get her, she loves him all the more for it.

Hopefully, this striking couple will surface again in Perry's writings—that is, if they don't do each other in first.

Perry lead us through richly varied venues as he weaves his exceedingly well-plotted tale. From the chaotic world of a topnotch restaurant, to the sleazy world of porn, to the do-eat-dog, claw and sleep your way to the top world of the entertainment industry—all provide entertaining backdrops as the story unfolds.

Stanley Park by Timothy Taylor has been moved to Archives