I like Thomas Perry as a writer (I mean, as a writer of dialogue and description, and as a pacer of a story) and in this book he starts to acknowledge some of the logistical changes in the world. For example, in this novel, published in 1995 originally, the heroine needs to create credit cards to match her fake identities so she can buy plane tickets. In earlier installments, she just walked up and gave them any old name and paid in cash, which I'm sure was possible in the '80s, but gave the books an unintended historical vibe, as if they were about a Victorian hansom cab driver or something.The heroine of this series lives in upstate New York and is Seneca, which has featured in the previous two novels about her, but much more so in this one. I found it bothersome that I was totally unable to tell whether all the Native American lore and practice depicted here is authentic or not. That is to say, I became irritated with myself as I realized how uniquely useless my usually well-informed and sensitive BS-meter is with regard to Native American history and culture, and not necessarily with Perry, because for all I know he did tons of research. I did what a librarian friend of mine calls "a little internet research" on the topic (i.e. I googled it) and couldn't find any critique or praise for Perry on that score, so it remains a mystery.In this novel, I disliked the female antagonist, who I thought was a bit cardboard in her motivations; also tactically a badass yet pathetic in her self-preservation, which didn't add up in my mind. I did like Jane's relationship with her new husband, who appears as lovable and bantering but plausibly flawed.
Shadow Woman is an adrenaline rush from the first chapter till the book ends. It builds with such a pounding intensity that you would think it was your own life that was at stake rather than that of the guy in the book.Jane Whitefield is a character who uses her Seneca roots to help cover the trails of hunted humans. She helps them develop completely new identities as a do-it-yourself witness protection program. Under her helpful wing, others flee and get a second shot at a life that will precipitately end if the thread of their previous deeds is traced back to them.Whitefield puts herself in danger as well, every time she intercedes for someone else. As a matter of conscience, she steps in where the more self-absorbed or cynical would shake their heads and close the door.I have a friend who can't stand the pace of this series. If you have recently lost a loved one and are still tender around the edges, this might be something you should pass up, or else save for later.For those who like a novel to pick them up by their shirt front and shake the shit out of them until the story is ready to conclude, get this book right away. It is exactly what you're looking for!
What do You think about Shadow Woman (1998)?
the chase and the thrilling are as reliably excellent as ever, but i was seriously annoyed by the representation of jane's and carey's marriage. i hoped for a twist that would indicate the absurdity of it, and maybe jane's and carey's side adventures, with their romantic frisson, are that, but i doubt it. perry seems dead serious when he represents jane as wanting a fully dedicated domestic marriage. that this is the novel's weak point is indicated also by perry's failure to resolve it (dramatically, not thematically) at the end. bah. this gets graded down on poor handling of the romantic theme. i wouldn't want to MEET carey, let alone be married to him. he's a non character. i hope jane drops him pronto, or he her. just as long as he goes goes goes.
—jo
it's on From the Camp Rock 2 Final Jam Cast and Uncle Bill and Aunt Sally and Lizzie and Maggie Bruno Mars and Grandma and Grandpa and Becky and Eli and Katie Rose Herrick and the Girls and Shawn and Daisy Roberts and Mabel Roberts and Alexandria Caitlyn Roberts.
—Alexandria Roberts
Another amazing novel from the Jane Whitefield series. Following synopsis taken from book cover. "Jane Whitefield is a "guide"-she leads desperate people away from danger into safe places and gives them new identities. In Shadow Woman, Jane designs a harrowing escape for Pete Hatcher, a Las Vegas casino executive whose suspicious employers are about to kill him. Once her client is safe, Jane makes herself vanish and retires from her dangerous profession to marry the man she loves.But the risky business she left behind returns with terrible urgency on the night she receives Pete Hatcher's call for help. A man and a woman who can only be an assassination team have found his hiding place, and Jane must beat the killers to their prey. She needs all the courage, fortitude, and intelligence of her Native American heritage to keep Hatcher alive. And this time, the killers know she's coming."Not only do they know she's coming they will use all their power to kill Jane and anyone else necessary to complete the job, putting her new husband in danger as well. This novel shows a much more vulnerable side of Jane, torn between her need to save a client because she feels she didn't do her final job well enough and fulfilling a promise to her new husband and herself to retire and become the wife she wants to be.
—Adrienne Campbell
