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Vanishing Act (Jane Whitfield Novel)
Thomas Perry

Fawcett, 1996 - 368 pages

average customer review:based on 35 reviews
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   highly recommended  highly recommended






An "A" for originality

Jane Whitefield has to be one of the most original and interesting characters I have yet to come across. Though she did seem a little lacking in the personality department, I'm hoping that will change as the series progresses.

While in college, Jane helps a fellow Native American, of questionable integrity, escape some bad guys with even less and stumbles on a career. After performing a string of successful disappearances, Jane is duped into compromising a client's identity. It takes her quite a long time for her to figure out who the bad guy is, most readers of this genre will figure it out right away, but once she does, she gets right on the trail. While the methods she employs to do this all make logical sense, they do require gigantic leaps of faith on the part of the reader. Still, one can't help but to admire her tenacity. The showdown is exciting and suspenseful.

The pacing of the story is a little uneven in places. This is a flaw I've found in every Perry novel I've read, this is my third. In spite of this, I do find him to be an original and entertaining storyteller and will continue to seek out other titles.


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A Good Idea Becomes a Vanishing Act

While the idea of a female non-detective protagonist is a neat twist in the genre, this female has a personality which is neither attractive nor repelling. She is a zero. It is hard to identify with her. She is humorless. Her next door neighbor is totally implausible once he decides to join the chase. The plot was destroyed by the characters. I was hoping Jane Whitefield would get whacked and save me some pain.









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People finding new identities

The novel introduces Jane Whitefield when she switches places with another woman and beats the daylights out of a sleazy bounty hunter who thinks he is kidnapping a runaway wife. It illustrates how people can completely disappear and start life over as a new person. The story digresses a lot to discuss American Indian lore, and that can be distracting. One gets the impression that the author is trying to show off his knowledge of the subject.

Jane is willing to commit criminal acts to obtain her objectives (the end justifies the means), and some of the people she assisted are not outstanding citizens. Dealing with the wrong side of the law will eventually get you into trouble. Jane makes an error in judgement which could get her killed, and compounds that by wanting to operate as a lone wolf with no backup. Her opponent makes an even bigger mistake, i.e., if you are trying to disappear you do not return to your home area.

Overall, the plot is interesting, but I considered it a somewhat average mystery.


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reviews: 1, 2, page 3, 4, 5, 6, 7



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