Hero

A Booklist, Kirkus, and Deadly Pleaures Magazine Best Thriller of the Year

A private security agent finds that being branded as the City of Angels' latest hero could also make her its next victim. . . .


Justine Poole takes her job seriously providing security for wealthy and high-profile Hollywood stars. When she prevents a brazen robbery at the Beverly Hills home of two of her clients—killing two of the five armed robbers in the process—she is initially lauded in the media as a local hero. But the spotlight soon puts her in the crosshairs of the crime kingpin behind the burglaries.

Unable to stand the embarrassment of his lackeys having been defeated by a lone woman, Mr. Conger puts in a call to the one man who can make his problems disappear. Known for his swiftness and subtlety, Leo Sealy will kill anyone for a price. All he needs is a name and a face, any starting point to pick up his victim's trail. Luckily for him, the local news is as eager as he is for any information about the heroic bodyguard—and quick to broadcast their findings, regardless of what it might mean for her safety. But Sealy isn't prepared for just how quick and resourceful Justine can be.

So begins a cat and mouse game between two people who know more about how to take down one's enemies than anyone else in the business.Justine finds herself up against both a hardened killer and the fickle media landscape that can turn on her just as quickly as it celebrated her in this high-stakes thriller from the author of The Old Man.

Thomas Perry is the Edgar-winning author of over thirty novels, including The Butcher’s Boy, which Parade Magazine included in its 2021 list of 101 Best Mystery Books of All Time, and Metzger’s Dog, which NPR listeners voted one of the “Best Thrillers of All Time.” His novel The Old Man was the inspiration for the television series starring Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow, and his novel Strip inspired the film The Get Out starring Russell Crowe. He died in Los Angeles on September 15, 2025, at the age of 78.