Monday, October 17, 2022

Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: The Left-Handed Twin: A Jane Whitefield Novel by Thomas Perry


Thomas Perry feels no compulsion to rattle off one book after another featuring his series characters. His award-winning books about hitman Michael Schaeffer span nearly 40 years, yet there are only four titles. So too with his books about Jane Whitefield, a Seneca Native American in upstate New York who helps people in trouble create new lives and disappear from the old ones. After publishing five books about Whitefield in five years, starting in 1995, fans had to wait 10 more years to read about her again. The most recent adventure was released six years after the previous one, a long hiatus for readers anxious to know who Whitefield is assisting next and how she is doing it.

Whitefield has acquired a husband since her first outing and he understandably objects to her occasional disappearances as she sets someone up in a new life. She has all but given it up when Sara Doughton from Los Angeles finds her. Sara’s boyfriend killed a man in front of her and she turned states’ evidence to avoid charges. The boyfriend walked out of the courtroom a free man and looking for Sara. Her attorney sent her to Whitefield.

Sara is not as easy to locate as her boyfriend expected and he asks a member of the Russian mafia for help. The gang leader recognized Whitefield’s modus operandi, as some of his prospective victims had disappeared over the years with her help. He is eager to find Whitefield to force her to reveal their new identities and current addresses. When Whitefield realizes the Russians are after her and not Sara, she leaves Sara safely situated and takes her pursuers into the wilds of Maine along the most dangerous part of the Appalachian Trail in a hair-raising chase.

This book has many facets. The Native American traditions and lore that guide Whitefield’s thinking and actions are an integral part of the story; fans of Tony Hillerman’s books will be interested. In addition, the book can be read for sheer suspense, of which there is an abundance. It can be used as a guide to survival in the outdoors. And it can be viewed as a practical handbook on how to disappear.

Whitefield melds Native American mysticism with cold pragmatism. Her no-nonsense approach forces Sara into facing her situation clearly and taking steps to deal with it. Her resourcefulness appears to be bottomless. She is always one step ahead, even when the situation seems hopeless.

While this is the ninth Whitefield title, it offers enough backstory that a reader new to the series will not miss anything important. I liked this one so much that I will look for earlier books. Highly recommended.

Starred review from Booklist.



·         Publisher: Mysterious Press (November 16, 2021)

·         Language: English

·         Hardcover: 321 pages

·         ISBN-10: 1613162596

·         ISBN-13: 978-1613162590

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2022

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

No comments: