Book Talk: Thomas Perry, ‘A Small Town’

Imagine living in a small, quiet community that is just a few miles from a minimum-security prison. Well actually it used to be minimum security, but an escalating crime rate, overly-full prisons for serious offenders, and some administrative slight of hand has changed the prison population considerably. The facility now houses some of the most violent and dangerous prisoners in the state.

In “A Small Town” (2020, 320 pages in softcover format), author Thomas Perry paints a portrait of a friendly little community, the existence of which probably epitomizes the “American Dream” of bygone days. The population of Weldonville has never had any concern about proximity to the prison. Life is quiet there, and its social welfare is in the capable hands of Lieutenant Leah Hawkins, Chief of Police, a six-foot, two-inch former basketball star. Life was good in this fairly isolated spot in the Colorado until one July evening.

An officer noticed that the camera monitoring Block C had gone black. As warnings went out to a team of COs, cell doors became unlocked. When the initial team was overwhelmed, killed, striped of their uniforms, batons, and pepper spray, the assault was on for total annihilation of the prison’s guards and control of the security systems. Within minutes, the well-organized attack was in full swing, and the core of 12 leaders was armed with semiautomatic weapons.