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Strong origin story for an engaging series

Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2017

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I approached this book with some trepidation as it was recommended by my mother-in-law; however she picked a winner with this series' inaugural effort from Thomas Perry. "Vanishing Act" features a female protagonist, a Native American of Seneca descent named Jane Whitefield whose occupation is helping people in desperate situations to disappear (sort of an unsanctioned witness protection program). While aiding a new client she makes a strategic miscalculation that results in disaster for a prior client and an associate and launches her on a perilous journey to set things right. Set predominantly in upstate NY it offers a great backdrop for a game of cat and mouse. Having spent three years of my life stationed in the Adirondack Mountain area made it perhaps more intersting for me as I was familiar with many of the locations. My edition of this novel states "A Novel of Suspense" which in this case is not just hyperbole; Perry keeps things moving swiftly and the pages turning.

Reading some of the 1 & 2 star reviews it appears that some had trouble with the volume of Native American lore that sometimes seems intrusive and derails the narrative. I can't completely disagree but found it was interesting more often than not rather than a distraction. Clearly Jane's Native American heritage is a key part of her character and it's going to play a role in the following 7 books in the series so if it's not your thing probably best to read elsewhere. I know going in if I read a Tony Hillerman mystery it's going to include Native American lore and spiritualism as part of the story. Also Craig Johnson's popular "Longmire" series includes plenty of Indian legend and Sherrif Walt Longmire (a white guy) frequently communes with the spirit world (more than Jane does when she's 'visited' by her dead mother and father).

The pacing and frequent travel of characters reminded me of early Robert Ludlum thrillers which keeps the reader on their toes and helps to keep you from getting too comfortable with what's happening. There are a few errors that Jane makes that seem dubious for a 'professional' of her experience that will induce some eye rolling. Once in awhile Perry stumbles and thing's are confusing for a page or two but quickly sort themselves out. In summary "Vanishing Act" is a great freshman effort with a strong, appealing heroine and I've already ordered the next two books in the series.

Patrick McHugh

Disappointing: The Protagonist Just Wasn't Believable

Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2017

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I had expected a much better reading experience. I read the Kindle version while listening to the Audible version. The writing is okay, but basic. It was easy to follow. The narration was okay, but also nothing special.

The storytelling moves very slowly. Lots of narrative filler in-between the key moments of the plot. All the information about American Indian history was initially interesting but then became way too much. Jane seemed to know the history of every Indian tribe in the entire United States, which made her knowledge unbelievable. It would have been better if she had just stuck with just her knowledge of the Seneca. The retelling of Indian history in the Great Lakes Region added an interesting sidebar to the storytelling, but they quickly got in the way of the flow of the story.

The story relied way too much on coincidence, which totally broke down any verisimilitude.

Big Problem: Lewis Fang, the document forger. Jane not only tells Felker Fang’s name, but also takes him to Fang’s place of business in Vancouver. How insane is that for someone who is supposedly smart? Jane wouldn’t last very long in her line of business if she gave all of her clients the names and places of everyone she works with. It just didn’t make sense that she’s supposedly a great one-woman witness protection program but then divulges her #1 most important contact in protecting a witness. Jane being so loosey-goosey with her most important supplier was just absurd and completely illogical. It spoiled the whole story for me. I concluded that Jane is really, really stupid and easily duped by a pair of brown eyes.

Entertaining read about a woman who helps people disappear

Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2021

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Thomas Perry’s story gives an interesting spin to the crime novel. The female lead character, Jane Whitefield, isn’t a detective, private investigator, or amateur sleuth. She’s the person you call if you’re running from an ex-lover or owe money to bad people. Jane makes people disappear. Her livelihood relies on word-of-mouth from previous clients. Skilled at her job, Jane finds new techniques to erase telltale footprints of life, inventing new identities. She owes much of her skill to having hunting and eluding instincts gifted to her through her ancestry, the Native American Seneca tribe.
When a man, John Felker, contacts her asking for her help, Jane is cautious. She has learned to be as her job makes her a target, not just her clients. Felker explains an unknown party framed him for having embezzled half a million dollars. As he presents the seemingly airtight case against him and the reason for his panic, he mentions who referred him, one of Jane’s last clients, Harry. This is a man Jane knows to be reliable. She agrees to help Felker only if he follows her instructions, exactly. Unfortunately, Felker was followed to his meeting with Jane, and thus they begin a wild race to evade a group of men who attempt to kill them.
The sleight-of-hand tricks Jane knows, and her quick reflexes in the height of danger keep them from one fatal confrontation after another. Jane manages to help Felker disappear only to learn that Harry has been murdered. Jane begins her own hunt for Harry’s killers and tries to contact the vanished Felker. He may be next.
The story is fast-paced and entertaining. Perry throws in some twists, one of which you might see coming. Still, considering the book was written in 1995, Jane’s character seems fresh. This is the first book in a series about Jane Whitefield. It provides a diverting read for crime and mystery fans.

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Gaëtan

20 ans ont passé, le lecteur a changé

Reviewed in France on January 4, 2014

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J'avais adoré le lire en français à sa sortie en 1995 : " Une fille de rêve ".
Le présent commentaire est en trois parties :
- un résumé du livre,
- quelques critiques sur le livre et le style,
- une petite réflexion sur l'auteur et son oeuvre.

En résumé : Jane Whitefield est à demi-indienne par son père Senequa, et elle a le talent de faire disparaître les gens et leurs traces. Que vous soyez poursuivi par la mafia, le fisc ou un mari violent, elle vous fera voyager à travers les Etats-Unis, vous fera changer d'identité et vous donnera une vie toute neuve. Il y a 7 livres de ses aventures, et Vanishing Act est le premier - un des meilleurs sinon LE meilleur. Jane y aide un ancien flic à disparaître, à la dure car ils ont à leurs trousses des poursuivants déterminés et implacables.

Le talent de Thomas Perry est de nous livrer un ouvrage teigneux, au rythme trépidant et passionnant, dans un style très dense en informations et pourtant jamais ennuyeux - cela tient de l'exploit. On a "l'identité littéraire" de Perry en entier et authentique : mécanique de précision de l'histoire, détail des situations, des villes, des métiers, historique et psychologie complets des personnages, etc. sans rien oublier, style clinique typique de l'auteur.

On apprend énormément de choses sur le comportement des fuyards et de leurs poursuivants, sur les trucs de traque et les moyens de les déjouer, les identités, leur traçage, leur falsification, etc. Une partie de ces informations est romancée voire totalement fictive, mais à moins d'être spécialiste (auquel cas, ce livre vous ennuiera) très difficile d'en voir les coutures et les ficelles "techniques" - sauf certaines facilités de scénario qui font passer l'héroïne pour une amatrice, mais sans lesquelles l'histoire perdrait son but : créer un rebondissement majeur dans l'histoire, pour donner sa dimension à un auteur qui cherchait un nouveau souffle à l'époque (Thomas Perry, donc)

On y apprend aussi beaucoup de choses sur les Indiens d'Amérique, leurs fonctionnement social et familial, leur Histoire, leur diversité et leur situation actuelle - Thomas Perry ayant du sang indien et ayant lui-même vécu à Deganawida, ville de son héroïne et lieu important dans l'histoire senequa.

_____________________

"Vanishing Act" se veut réaliste, pourtant il est plein d'incohérences, mais ça ne se voit que si on n'est pas pris par l'histoire, qui est très bien écrite. Mon malheur est que je ne suis plus happé par les livres de Thomas Perry : ma paranoïa m'a quitté, la vilaine, et en lisant, je ne vois plus que l'étouffant récit de peur et de survie, de gens qui se sont enfermés loin de toute confiance dans le vivant. Ce qui est incompatible avec la culture amérindienne, en plus.

Lorsqu'on n'est plus happé par l'histoire :
- d'une part, on adhère moins à son systématisme presque délirant - et objectivement hors de portée d'une personne seule ou presque seule, comme le sont les héros de Perry,
- d'autre part parce qu'on commence à voir les ficelles et les facilités de construction.

____________________

Thomas Perry est le spécialiste de la traque et de la disparition derrière de fausses identités multiples. Dès le début (1982) avec " The Butcher's Boy " il donnait le ton : un tueur à gage redoutable de la mafia décide de quitter le métier, mais le seul moyen d'abandonner la mafia, c'est de mourir. Il organise donc sa mort et sa fuite.

Après ce livre et jusqu'en 1992, Perry a tenté le polar rigolo déjanté et à la construction hyper détaillée (Thomas Perry, quoi) : Big Fish, Island et Metzger's Dog, et ce avec un talent indéniable et jubilatoire. Peut-être parce que ça marchait moins bien (ces livres sont presque introuvables en VO et n'ont pas été traduits) il a repris son premier filon en 1992 avec Chien qui dort ( Sleeping Dogs ) la suite du Garçon Boucher. Il consolide ensuite son style et son succès avec Jane Whitefield, dans une série de 7 livres, dont les derniers ont de moins bonnes critiques (je me suis arrêté au quatrième, The Face-Changers , encore très bien, mais l'inspiration commence à s'essouffler, et laisse place à une surenchère parfois proche de Rambo ou G.I. Joe)

Par ailleurs, Perry écrit des romans isolés, Death Benefits (mon préféré) Nightlife , Silence , Fidelity , Strip , etc. qui tous ont là aussi pour point commun la fausse identité et les traces effacées, dans des machinations dignes d'une montre suisse. Un travail remarquable, sauf dans les derniers livres : certains sont un peu bâclés sur la fin, avec des bouts qui dépassent. C'est mineur, mais zut, Thomas Perry qui déconne sur les détails, et pourquoi pas Sinatra qui se racle la gorge en pleine chanson ?

Perry, ce sont donc un style marqué par une mécanique sophistiquée et une maîtrise très informée de la recherche et de la fuite ; des héros qui sont des loups et des louves, solitaires ou en petite équipe mais de toute façon en marge du reste du monde ; un univers de méfiance paranoïaque, de faux semblants et de machinations.

Je regrette un peu l'humour débridé et à tomber de rire de ses débuts, Big Fish et les autres, des oeuvres de jeunesse pleines d'escrocs hors norme. Probablement qu'après, il a fallu rentrer dans le rang et se mettre à un travail sérieux pour manger mieux, alors, Perry est devenu écrivain de polars méchants, avec un joli succès.

Michael Conway Baker, Penny Baker

Too much Indian information

Reviewed in Canada on March 13, 2020

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A bit too much native Indian information. This detracts from the plot.

Giulietta Rovera

Puntualità e che loggetto corrisponda alla descrizione

Reviewed in Italy on August 2, 2021

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E' un libro molto divertente

Amazon Customer

Delivery as stated

Reviewed in Canada on December 18, 2019

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Love this book and ordered it for a friend, as a gift. The seller delivered as they promised, no problems.

Warren Clark

I enjoyed the plot and characters

Reviewed in Canada on November 6, 2016

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I enjoyed the plot and characters. What I disliked was the 3/4 of the book devoted to trying to convince me that the North American Indian, the most useless segment of the world's population, ever, is somehow worthy of esteem.

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