Vanishing Act (Jane Whitefield Series #1) [NOOK Book]

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Overview

"A CHALLENGING AND SATISFYING THRILLER. . .[WITH] MANY SURPRISING TWISTS. "
—The New York Times Jane Whitefield is a Native American guide who leads people out of the wilderness—not the tree-filled variety but the kind created by enemies who want you dead. She is in the one-woman business of helping the desperate disappear. Thanks to her membership in the Wolf Clan of the Seneca tribe, she can fool any pursuer, cover any trail, and then provide her clients with new identities, complete with authentic paperwork. Jane knows all the tricks, ancient and modern; in fact, she has invented several of them herself.
So she is only mildly surprised to find an intruder waiting for her when she ...

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Overview

"A CHALLENGING AND SATISFYING THRILLER. . .[WITH] MANY SURPRISING TWISTS. "
—The New York Times Jane Whitefield is a Native American guide who leads people out of the wilderness—not the tree-filled variety but the kind created by enemies who want you dead. She is in the one-woman business of helping the desperate disappear. Thanks to her membership in the Wolf Clan of the Seneca tribe, she can fool any pursuer, cover any trail, and then provide her clients with new identities, complete with authentic paperwork. Jane knows all the tricks, ancient and modern; in fact, she has invented several of them herself.
So she is only mildly surprised to find an intruder waiting for her when she returns home one day. An ex-cop suspected of embezzling, John Felker wants Jane to do for him what she did for his buddy Harry Kemple: make him vanish. But as Jane opens a door out of the world for Felker, she walks into a trap that will take all her heritage and cunning to escape....
"Thomas Perry keeps pulling fresh ideas and original characters out of thin air. The strong-willed heroine he introduces in Vanishing Act rates as one of his most singular creations."
—The New York Times Book Review ONE THRILLER THAT MUST BE READ . . . .Perry has created his most complex and compelling protagonist."
—San Francisco Examiner

A page-turning thriller from the bestselling author of Butcher's Boy. Jane Whitfield makes people disappear. A Native American, she is expert in creating a new identity and life for people who need it. But her latest client is not whom he appears to be. Whitfield tackles this most mysterious of cases with cunning and a deeply-rooted ancestral understanding of the natural world.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
Perry's sixth novel (after Sleeping Dogs) is a taut thriller that at times reads like an extended, though flawed, character study of its heroine. Jane Whitefield, half-white, half-Indian member of the Seneca Wolf clan, helps people disappear-people like Rhonda Eckerly, fleeing her abusive husband, or Harry Kemple, hoping to stay alive after witnessing a gangland shooting. Like a one-woman witness protection program, Jane has helped both vanish by giving them new identities and new starts at life. Now an alleged new victim has invaded Jane's upstate New York house: John Felker claims that he's a cop-turned-accountant, is being framed as an embezzler and has a contract out on his life. Almost immediately, the men chasing Felker appear, and Jane leads him farther upstate, to a Canadian Indian reservation where he can build a new life. Jane is an original and fascinating creation. Like Andrew Vachss's series hero, Burke, she operates outside the law, but with a particular slant born of her distinct character and Seneca heritage. Perry tells her story in a trim and brisk manner, moreover, with plenty of action and suspense. It takes Jane far longer than it will most readers to figure out that Felker is other than what he says, however, and while her trusting nature, which borders on gullibility, generates tension, it doesn't mesh with her hard-boiled profession and hunter-like wiles. It's only when the truth behind Felker is revealed, and Jane acts decisively on it, that most readers will regain the respect they've lost for this otherwise likable and unusually intriguing heroine. (Jan.)
Library Journal
Perry is best known for his antihero comic thrillers like Metzger's Dogs (LJ 9/15/83) and The Butcher's Boy (LJ 8/82). Here he has a new hero, a woman who draws on the strengths of her upstate New York Native American tradition to guide those in trouble to safety by creating new identities for them. Her latest case involves an ex-cop turned accountant who has been set up to take a dive for an unknown enemy. After an opening that is a graphic grabber, the cop's recounting of his story and Jane's deciphering of it from her point of view are almost too convoluted. Once the action gets going, however, Perry is back on track, though this novel lacks the comic twists that earmarked his earlier works. The ending is a stunner, with Jane and the bad guy battling it out Indian-like in the North Woods (read the Adirondacks). A cut above average, but not Perry's best. Buy where nonformula thrillers are popular. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 9/15/94.]-Francine Fialkoff, "Library Journal"
School Library Journal
YA-The protagonist in this convoluted tale of intrigue and suspense is Jane Whitefield, who helps people start new lives by acquiring new identities. She is drawn to John Felker, an ex-cop turned accountant who has been set up to take an embezzlement rap. Jane and Felker embark on an adventure that leads them from New York to Vancouver, from California to the Adirondacks. Somewhere along the way, the roles of hunter and hunted become blurred and Jane must call upon the wisdom of her Seneca ancestors to survive this latest vanishing act. A thriller with wide appeal.-Pamela B. Rearden, Centreville Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA
Emily Melton
A battered wife needs a safe haven from her violent husband. A card shark who has gone too far craves the safety of anonymity. A young boy, tired of being a pawn in a bitter custody battle, wants to escape into a new identity. Jane Whitefield, a tough, smart, resourceful woman with a strong Native American heritage, can help. She knows all the tricks it takes to make someone disappear. Her latest case is one John Felker, who has been accused of ripping off big bucks from his employer and needs to acquire a new identity, at least until things cool off. Even though Felker's story doesn't quite add up, Jane finds herself strongly attracted to him. Unfortunately, her attraction overwhelms her judgment, and it's only after Felker has disappeared that she finds he's not been completely honest about his background. Jane sets out on a journey to find the truth about Felker--a journey that will take her from Canada to California and that will end in violence in the dark forests of upstate New York. A suspenseful and satisfying thriller.
From Barnes & Noble
Jane Whitefield, a Native American guide who secretly provides sanctuary to fugitives seeking new identities, helps John Felker, who draws her into a dangerous world where she must use the knowledge of her ancestors to escape.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780307417633
  • Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
  • Publication date: 12/18/2007
  • Sold by: Random House
  • Format: eBook
  • Pages: 368
  • Sales rank: 21,757
  • Series: Jane Whitefield Series, #1
  • File size: 477 KB

Table of Contents

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4
( 23 )

Rating Distribution

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(11)

4 Star

(3)

3 Star

(5)

2 Star

(1)

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(3)

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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 23 Customer Reviews
  • Posted April 3, 2012

    more from this reviewer

    Highly recommended- couldnt put it down

    So happy to discover this first book of a series. Just when you think you have figured out the next step Perry throws another surprise into the mix.
    I also enjoyed the upstate New York references. The touches of ancient Indian lore enhance the main character. Can't wait to start book #2.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 20, 2007

    I loved it!!

    This is a super book. I love the whole Jane Whitefield series, and so does my husband. I have also read all of Mr. Perry's other books, and loved them all.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 18, 2002

    WOW----It Will Knock your socks off

    I have been looking for a good mystery series to read, and a relative told me about Thomas Perry... I wasn't sure I'd like his books, because I don't usually read the same things that she does; however, she insisted I take the first two books of the Jane Whitefield series with me on vacation over Christmas break. I read both of them in three days, and wanted more. This book is good, but the second one is even better. I can't wait to read the rest of them. These are better than anything out there! I started getting really bored with other authors, because of the lack of imagination that seems to be so commonplace in novels, but with Thomas Perry, you can tell that he really KNOWS how to write, how to use the English language, and how to kep reeling you in.... He is incredible! If you are looking for a really great book, start with this one, it's the first in a series.... (I think there are 4).......and I know you won't be disappointed.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted August 17, 2011

    Pure Genius!

    Wow! This book grabs you by the throat from the first page and never lets up! I couldn't put it down; tons of non-stop action, suspensful twists, fascinating characters and an orignal plot set against an intriguing background. Perry's writing is nothing short of phenomenal; this was the first of his books that I've read but not the last.
    If you like this book, you should also try the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child.

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