The Butcher's Boy

Garen Gerard is a retired hitman. In a Chicago ghetto, he lives out his days in a hand-picked, anonymous apartment, hidden away from his past and bloody profession. He works on his art, keeping to himself, and in the afternoons, ventures into the massive urban grid, stopping along parks and cafes, letting his eye find inspiration where it can. This is how he had planned to finish his days.

But then, from across the hall, he notices a little girl.

She is too skinny and not being cared for, with un-interested parents, only using her for cigarette runs. She reminds him of himself, when he wandered the Chicago streets, an orphaned son of a butcher. He is determined to help her, but un-sure how to bridge the gap between a seven-year-old girl and a man of 45.

But then, in the middle of the night, he hears her screaming.

He is forced to act, and from that moment, his life changes. In order to save the girl from the life he once had, the kind of life that is most surely coming for her, he must re-kindle the expert skills he used as a hitman, while facing un-wanted visitors from his past.

Praise for The Butcher’s Boy:

In the strongest passages, Hawes finds metaphors and descriptions that are faintly reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy but tinged with the distorted guitar of a Foo Fighters song. "The Butcher's Boy" is an entertaining page-turner that synthesizes energetic idiosyncrasies with a heartbeat rooted in a classical understanding of storytelling craft. Overall, an intriguing read that packs a little snarl and bite along the way. - E. Nichols

A great read! I'm reminded of Richard Price and Michael Connelly. An intense and intimate journey... Hawes doesn't allow us to set it down. - K. Boyles

Peter Hawes' writing pulls you in and keeps your attention to the end! - Vanessa