• Vanishing Act

  • By: Thomas Perry
  • Narrated by: Joyce Bean
  • Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (737 ratings)

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Vanishing Act  By  cover art

Vanishing Act

By: Thomas Perry
Narrated by: Joyce Bean
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Publisher's summary

Jane Whitefield is a Native American guide who leads solitary outcasts through hostile territory to escape the vengeance of their enemies. But the shaded forest paths her Seneca ancestors might have followed on such missions have all been converted to superhighways, and now the safest way stations are crowded urban buildings that offer the camouflage of anonymity. Still, the supply of runaways - and the need for a woman who will take great risks to save them - have never been greater.

Jane knows all the tricks; in fact, she has invented several of them herself in the ten years she has been teaching fugitives to live with new identities. Many of her clients have been innocent people whom the institutions of society have been too slow and cumbersome to protect, but an increasing number have been like the gambler Harry Kemple: people who aren't especially admirable but who aren't bad enough to deserve to die prematurely.

Jane opens her door to find in her house an uninvited visitor named John Felker, the latest to run to her for sanctuary. Felker is not like the others Jane has helped, and everything about him is disquieting. He doesn't even know whom he is running from - only that whoever is framing him as an embezzler has already circulated an open contract in the prison system for his death. Maybe his problems began years ago, when he was a policeman; a good cop makes an enemy with each arrest. But perhaps he is still a policeman and has invented precisely the right story to entrap Jane. Or perhaps he is something even worse.

The unexpected guest draws this exceptional woman into an adventure of mystery, love and sacrifice, betrayal and vengeance, and propels her on a pursuit that takes her from the night streets of Los Angeles and Vancouver to the dark, unexplored regions of her own mind.

©2008 Thomas Perry (P)2009 Tantor

What listeners say about Vanishing Act

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 Stars
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    18
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    10
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

The Book - 4 Stars; Narration - 3 Stars

My gripes first - the second half of the book is marred by sloppy auditory editing. Sections are repeated which detracts from being engrossed in the tale. The narrator, Joyce Bean, barely makes my score of average; her reading is pretty flat. Now on to the good stuff - the book itself. I read this one as a response to Audible's offer of affordable first-books-in-a-series. I'd probably never have read a Thomas Perry novel had it not been for the opportunity offered at a discount price. That said - I will be reading the next Jane Whitefield novel in the series. I found the protagonist interesting, although not terribly believable, but it is fiction after all. I don't have to think everything that happens in a novel actually could happen in real life. That's part of the entertainment. Give this book a try if you're looking for something a little different than the typical mystery - and if you like your main character to be a capable woman.

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

What a difference a narrator makes

What would have made Vanishing Act better?

This is the 5th Thomas Perry audiobook I've listened to, and it is the first I didn't love. This isn't his best story, there are some shoddy editing errors (shame on Audible, I expect better), but the real problem was the narration (see below).

Would you be willing to try another book from Thomas Perry? Why or why not?

Of course, every Thomas Perry book I've read or listened to has been good, and several were excellent.

What didn’t you like about Joyce Bean’s performance?

I understand the choice of a female narrator considering the sex of the protagonist, but I can't help but imagine how much better this one would have been with Michael Kramer, who narrates other Perry novels. Joyce Bean can do the sensitive, intellectual side of Jane Whitefield, but reads dramatic scenes distinctively un-dramatically. A bigger problem is that she absolutely cannot do men's voices. I dreaded every conversation with a man because her voice became so grating. Finally (and this is not Joyce Bean's fault), there are a handful of repeated lines in this production. By far the most I have ever heard in an audible audiobook.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

The story was fine. What you would expect from Thomas Perry. I state this caveat because I have to say my biggest reaction to the audiobook was disappointment.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

MacGyver meets Hiawatha with men who croak a lot

Would you consider the audio edition of Vanishing Act to be better than the print version?

audio was confusing. you need to flip back to cover the confusing points in the middle

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

ending a bit predictable but he does it so well. Shades of Gabaldon. How could I fall for this? And yet I did.

What didn’t you like about Joyce Bean’s performance?

"male" voices just croak

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

my reaction to the book was against the narrator. they should have used a guy or a better girl.

Any additional comments?

really good use of Native American motif. The character is good, really good, and from living on a rez ... out west ... seemed realistic and wholesome. A good way to learn about eastern native american culture. The adventure moves in the midst of it gracefully with nary a false note.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Narrator ruined it for me

The narrator's voice was so annoying I couldn't finish the book. Her reading of a male voice was like listening to chalk grind on a chalkboard.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I'm hooked.

I love this series. You should start here because it's nice to have order but each book is a stand alone and explains about Jane and her past. Great series.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • W
  • 02-04-10

Vanishing Act

Profanity and crude language really ruin a read for me. This was introduced in the first few minutes of the read and I decided not to continue. Someone who is less sensitive might enjoy it.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars

Great read!

This book keeps you engage from start to finish. Thoroughly enjoyable, with characters you care about.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Love this author. Great narration.

very well written. well narrated. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. very smoothly performed. very well done.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

OUTSTANDING!

First book I've read in this series & I am hooked completely. Very believable account of this character. More, please.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Bad audio editing toward the end

In the last few chapters, the audio editing is awful. The narrator repeats herself at least five times to get the infection of certain lines right, and the editors completely missed it. It really brings the listener out of the story.

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3 people found this helpful