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Jane Whitefield #7
Poison Flower
Poison Flower , the seventh novel in Thomas Perry’s celebrated Jane Whitefield series, opens as Jane spirits James Shelby, a man unjustly convicted of his wife’s murder, out of the heavily guarded criminal court building in downtown Los Angeles. But the price of Shelby’s freedom is high. Within minutes, men posing as police officers kidnap Jane and, when she tries to escape, shoot her.
Jane’s captors are employees of the man who really killed Shelby’s wife. He believes he won’t be safe until Shelby is dead, and his men will do anything to force Jane to reveal Shelby’s hiding place. But Jane endures their torment, and is willing to die rather than betray Shelby. Jane manages to escape but she is alone, wounded, thousands of miles from home with no money and no identification, hunted by the police as well as her captors. She must rejoin Shelby, reach his sister before the hunters do, and get them both to safety.
In this unrelenting, breathtaking cross-country battle, Jane survives by relying on the traditions of her Seneca ancestors. When at last Jane turns to fight, her enemies face a cunning and ferocious warrior who has one weapon that they don’t.
Jane’s captors are employees of the man who really killed Shelby’s wife. He believes he won’t be safe until Shelby is dead, and his men will do anything to force Jane to reveal Shelby’s hiding place. But Jane endures their torment, and is willing to die rather than betray Shelby. Jane manages to escape but she is alone, wounded, thousands of miles from home with no money and no identification, hunted by the police as well as her captors. She must rejoin Shelby, reach his sister before the hunters do, and get them both to safety.
In this unrelenting, breathtaking cross-country battle, Jane survives by relying on the traditions of her Seneca ancestors. When at last Jane turns to fight, her enemies face a cunning and ferocious warrior who has one weapon that they don’t.
274 pages, Paperback
First published March 6, 2012
394 people are currently reading
1205 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Perry
94 books1,716 followersThomas Perry was the author of 25 novels. He was born in Tonawanda, New York in 1947. He received a B.A. from Cornell University in 1969 and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Rochester in 1974. He had worked as a park maintenance man, factory laborer, commercial fisherman, university administrator and teacher, and as a writer and producer of prime time network television shows.
Thomas Perry lived in Southern California.
Thomas Perry lived in Southern California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 341 reviews
April 6, 2013
I've long been a huge fan of Thomas Perry's Jane Whitefield series. Jane is a contemporary Seneca Indian woman who lives in upstate New York. She's a "guide" who helps endangered people escape their current lives and settle into new ones. She often does this at great risk to herself since the villains chasing after the people that Jane is rescuing are most often very devious and extremely evil. A particular joy of the series is watching the ways in which Jane helps her clients disappear.
Poison Flower is the seventh book in the series, which Perry began in 1995. He published a new Jane Whitefield novel annually until 1999. He then took a ten-year break before the sixth book appeared in 2009. As this book opens, Jane disables a police guard and breaks free James Shelby, a convicted murderer who has been brought back to court for a routine procedure. Shelby's sister has convinced Jane that he was wrongly convicted and Jane agrees to help him escape.
Leaving the courthouse, though, Jane encounters five thugs who work for the man who framed Shelby. Shelby escapes and goes to the place where he and Jane have agreed to meet. Jane, though, is shot and captured by the bad guys who brutally torture her in an effort to force her to tell them where they can find Shelby.
This is still very early in the book and through a clever ruse and utilizing her own skills as a warrior, Jane manages to escape and make her way to the rendezvous with Shelby. Along the way she picks up a battered woman from a shelter and the three of them then collect Shelby's sister who will obviously be a target of the vicious thugs. The bulk of the book consists of the efforts of Jane and the three people whose lives now depend on her to escape the bad guys so that Jane can settle the three safely into new lives.
It's a good read and it's fun to watch Jane at work again. Still, I confess to having some concerns about the book. (I should note, in fairness, that this book was very well reviewed by professional critics who apparently did not share these concerns. This doubtless means that the wise reader will stop at this point and ignore the following.):
I found it hard to accept the idea that Jane would bust a convicted killer out of jail. All of Jane's previous "clients" have been genuinely sympathetic victims that the reader could immediately empathize with. In this case, Jane has no hard evidence that Shelby is actually innocent. She is apparently acting on her gut instincts that tell her that Shelby's sister is correct in insisting that he was framed for a murder he did not commit. It's one thing for Jane to rescue an abused wife and spirit her away from a sadistic violent husband. It seems quite another for her to substitute her own wisdom for that of the police, prosecutors, jurors and judge who convicted Shelby and thus break him free. This just seemed wrong to me and it clouded my whole experience of reading the book.
I also couldn't figure out why the five thugs would show up for a routine court hearing. Certainly they have no way of knowing that Jane is about to break the guy out. Why are they there? We never learn.
In the process of breaking Shelby free, Jane commits any number of serious crimes. The police as well as the thugs are in hot pursuit. The cops have Jane's description and her picture. Jane is concerned about avoiding the cops but apparently assumes that if she survives this ordeal she will be able to simply return to her "real" life as a New York housewife with no legal repercussions. This also apparently assumes that no one in her hometown is going to be watching the Great Escape play out on cable news and say, "Ohmigod--look! That's Jane from next door!"
As another concern, Jane is now a married woman. Perry has made no secret of the fact that he intended to end the series a couple of books ago, and as he prepared to do so, he married Jane to a handsome and very likeable doctor. At that point, Jane promised her new husband that she was retiring from her guide business and from that point on would be content as a wife and (she hoped) a mother. Her husband did not ask her to do this; she made the promise of her own volition.
The promise, of course, was short-lived. Otherwise there would have been no new Jane Whitefield books. But Jane has now left home on several occasions, putting her life at great risk, communicating only rarely with her husband and leaving him lonely and worried sick, wondering if he will ever see her again.
This seems unkind, unloving and somehow just wrong on Jane's part. It would be one thing if she were a cop or an FBI agent or some such thing where this was simply a part of her job. But, as her husband points out, Jane is a civilian under no obligation to help the people who keep showing up at her door. There are police and other agencies whose job it is to help these people, and the reader (at least this one) can't help but feel that her husband has a legitimate concern here. And this is not a gender issue. I would feel the same way about it if the protagonist were John Whitefield and he were leaving his wife in his wake like this.
Jane's first adventure in the wake of her marriage came about in a fairly legitimate fashion after a bomb exploded at a hospital charity function. She could promise her husband that she had to go out on one last mission and both he and the reader could buy into the premise. But if Perry intended to keep sending her out like this, it might have been a better idea simply to have killed the husband in the explosion. This would have allowed Jane an added motive for getting involved in these matters again and would not leave the reader wondering how she could so easily inflict this kind of heartache on a person she loves. There's a good reason why super heroes generally do not have spouses or other permanent romantic entanglements and Jane would be better off without one.
One final and fairly minor concern: Whenever Jane goes out on one of these missions she spends thousands of dollars buying cars, renting homes for long periods of time, paying for gas, meals, hotels and the like. Her clients are generally not in a position where they can pay for her services. Where does the money come from?
The answer is that even after she married, Jane kept her old childhood home. In the basement there is a length of ductwork that contains an apparently endless supply of money and fake IDs. Whenever Jane is ready to go out on a mission, she simply stops by the house, picks up a few IDs and a big wad of cash, and she's good to go. There have been a couple of opportunities along the way for Jane to squirrel away some money, but after a while this starts to stretch credulity. You have to figure that sooner or later, Jane is going to open the magic ductwork and discover that she's down to her last fifty bucks. But it never seems to happen.
This litany of concerns should not suggest that I didn't enjoy the book; I did. And I would certainly encourage any reader who hasn't already done so to find the series. But I would also strongly encourage them to begin with the first book, Vanishing Act, which introduces the character and which is also a great heart-pounding ride.
Poison Flower is the seventh book in the series, which Perry began in 1995. He published a new Jane Whitefield novel annually until 1999. He then took a ten-year break before the sixth book appeared in 2009. As this book opens, Jane disables a police guard and breaks free James Shelby, a convicted murderer who has been brought back to court for a routine procedure. Shelby's sister has convinced Jane that he was wrongly convicted and Jane agrees to help him escape.
Leaving the courthouse, though, Jane encounters five thugs who work for the man who framed Shelby. Shelby escapes and goes to the place where he and Jane have agreed to meet. Jane, though, is shot and captured by the bad guys who brutally torture her in an effort to force her to tell them where they can find Shelby.
This is still very early in the book and through a clever ruse and utilizing her own skills as a warrior, Jane manages to escape and make her way to the rendezvous with Shelby. Along the way she picks up a battered woman from a shelter and the three of them then collect Shelby's sister who will obviously be a target of the vicious thugs. The bulk of the book consists of the efforts of Jane and the three people whose lives now depend on her to escape the bad guys so that Jane can settle the three safely into new lives.
It's a good read and it's fun to watch Jane at work again. Still, I confess to having some concerns about the book. (I should note, in fairness, that this book was very well reviewed by professional critics who apparently did not share these concerns. This doubtless means that the wise reader will stop at this point and ignore the following.):
I found it hard to accept the idea that Jane would bust a convicted killer out of jail. All of Jane's previous "clients" have been genuinely sympathetic victims that the reader could immediately empathize with. In this case, Jane has no hard evidence that Shelby is actually innocent. She is apparently acting on her gut instincts that tell her that Shelby's sister is correct in insisting that he was framed for a murder he did not commit. It's one thing for Jane to rescue an abused wife and spirit her away from a sadistic violent husband. It seems quite another for her to substitute her own wisdom for that of the police, prosecutors, jurors and judge who convicted Shelby and thus break him free. This just seemed wrong to me and it clouded my whole experience of reading the book.
I also couldn't figure out why the five thugs would show up for a routine court hearing. Certainly they have no way of knowing that Jane is about to break the guy out. Why are they there? We never learn.
In the process of breaking Shelby free, Jane commits any number of serious crimes. The police as well as the thugs are in hot pursuit. The cops have Jane's description and her picture. Jane is concerned about avoiding the cops but apparently assumes that if she survives this ordeal she will be able to simply return to her "real" life as a New York housewife with no legal repercussions. This also apparently assumes that no one in her hometown is going to be watching the Great Escape play out on cable news and say, "Ohmigod--look! That's Jane from next door!"
As another concern, Jane is now a married woman. Perry has made no secret of the fact that he intended to end the series a couple of books ago, and as he prepared to do so, he married Jane to a handsome and very likeable doctor. At that point, Jane promised her new husband that she was retiring from her guide business and from that point on would be content as a wife and (she hoped) a mother. Her husband did not ask her to do this; she made the promise of her own volition.
The promise, of course, was short-lived. Otherwise there would have been no new Jane Whitefield books. But Jane has now left home on several occasions, putting her life at great risk, communicating only rarely with her husband and leaving him lonely and worried sick, wondering if he will ever see her again.
This seems unkind, unloving and somehow just wrong on Jane's part. It would be one thing if she were a cop or an FBI agent or some such thing where this was simply a part of her job. But, as her husband points out, Jane is a civilian under no obligation to help the people who keep showing up at her door. There are police and other agencies whose job it is to help these people, and the reader (at least this one) can't help but feel that her husband has a legitimate concern here. And this is not a gender issue. I would feel the same way about it if the protagonist were John Whitefield and he were leaving his wife in his wake like this.
Jane's first adventure in the wake of her marriage came about in a fairly legitimate fashion after a bomb exploded at a hospital charity function. She could promise her husband that she had to go out on one last mission and both he and the reader could buy into the premise. But if Perry intended to keep sending her out like this, it might have been a better idea simply to have killed the husband in the explosion. This would have allowed Jane an added motive for getting involved in these matters again and would not leave the reader wondering how she could so easily inflict this kind of heartache on a person she loves. There's a good reason why super heroes generally do not have spouses or other permanent romantic entanglements and Jane would be better off without one.
One final and fairly minor concern: Whenever Jane goes out on one of these missions she spends thousands of dollars buying cars, renting homes for long periods of time, paying for gas, meals, hotels and the like. Her clients are generally not in a position where they can pay for her services. Where does the money come from?
The answer is that even after she married, Jane kept her old childhood home. In the basement there is a length of ductwork that contains an apparently endless supply of money and fake IDs. Whenever Jane is ready to go out on a mission, she simply stops by the house, picks up a few IDs and a big wad of cash, and she's good to go. There have been a couple of opportunities along the way for Jane to squirrel away some money, but after a while this starts to stretch credulity. You have to figure that sooner or later, Jane is going to open the magic ductwork and discover that she's down to her last fifty bucks. But it never seems to happen.
This litany of concerns should not suggest that I didn't enjoy the book; I did. And I would certainly encourage any reader who hasn't already done so to find the series. But I would also strongly encourage them to begin with the first book, Vanishing Act, which introduces the character and which is also a great heart-pounding ride.
June 2, 2017
Another pretty good addition to the series, but Perry wanted to end the series a while back & probably should have. This one takes too many things a bit too far. Her initial motivation was weak & didn't fit the character he's drawn so well. I got past that & was swept up in the logical action for the remainder of the book. The mystic Indian stuff was far better done, too. Less on mystic & more on going slightly crazy, which is OK. She's in a tight spot for a long time.
I've always had issues with the money & all the identities she manages to keep going, especially now that she's supposed to be the busy wife of a doctor yet can tell when new road signs are put up as she drives across the country yet again. But a lot of other stuff was very well done.
As usual, this was well narrated. So, it gets 3 stars & I'll listen to another if he writes it & my library gets an audio version. I won't be waiting with bated breath, though. I hope he goes on to some other ideas.
I've always had issues with the money & all the identities she manages to keep going, especially now that she's supposed to be the busy wife of a doctor yet can tell when new road signs are put up as she drives across the country yet again. But a lot of other stuff was very well done.
As usual, this was well narrated. So, it gets 3 stars & I'll listen to another if he writes it & my library gets an audio version. I won't be waiting with bated breath, though. I hope he goes on to some other ideas.
March 20, 2012
Because I spent last weekend (March 8-10) at the Tucson Festival of Books, I thought it appropriate to make a recommendation for a book from an author in attendance. So I am going with Thomas Perry, who writes thrillers. Maybe his best known book is The Butcher's Boy, published in 1983. It won an Edgar Award for Best First Novel. But the series that I love most features Jane Whitefield, who acts as a guide and protector to those mostly innocents who are threatened by terrifying people and seek Jane out to help them go into hiding in plane sight. His most recent in this series, just out, is Poison Flower. I love the nuances of finding ways to make people disappear, to give them new identities and to wipe away any traces of where they have gone. It is an intriguing concept, made more so by Jane's Native American background and her strong determination to help those who can't help themselves. I heartily recommend this book and all the others in the series. They can be read in any order.
April 16, 2013
I have read all 7 books in this series, and have mixed feelings about them. There is a lot to like about the premise and the protagonist, Jane Whitefield. She is intelligent and courageous and honorable, and the stories have a lot of action. But Thomas Perry makes her do some outlandishly foolish things, and they do not sit well with me. With all her years of experience, why does she still make rookie mistakes? In one earlier book, Jane was hiking through a national park, taking a runner, and they blocked off a fork in the trail with some shrubbery to throw off their pursuers. But the trick failed because the pursuers were tracking them using dogs. Jane didn't think of this, because dogs aren't allowed in the park. What? Hired killers are supposed to obey a sign that says "no dogs allowed?"
I theorized that maybe Perry was getting tired of Jane, so he dumbed her down enough that eventually she would get in so much trouble that she would have to retire. That may have happened in this book. She starts by breaking a man, Shelby, out of prison. Aren't there enough bad guys out there without being on the wrong side of the police as well? And now, there are actual pictures of her on record with the police. She was supposed to be invisible. She also was seriously injured after the breakout (because of a rookie mistake, believing that anyone with a badge must be a police officer,) so her body now is marked with distinctive scars. At the end, she solves the case and finds photographic evidence tying the true killer to the victim (Shelby's wife.) There probably also is proof of the villain's criminal business activities. But she doesn't give it to the police. She just goes after him, placing herself in more risk. So, I will give the book 3 stars, with a wide range of 1-star and 5-star elements.
I theorized that maybe Perry was getting tired of Jane, so he dumbed her down enough that eventually she would get in so much trouble that she would have to retire. That may have happened in this book. She starts by breaking a man, Shelby, out of prison. Aren't there enough bad guys out there without being on the wrong side of the police as well? And now, there are actual pictures of her on record with the police. She was supposed to be invisible. She also was seriously injured after the breakout (because of a rookie mistake, believing that anyone with a badge must be a police officer,) so her body now is marked with distinctive scars. At the end, she solves the case and finds photographic evidence tying the true killer to the victim (Shelby's wife.) There probably also is proof of the villain's criminal business activities. But she doesn't give it to the police. She just goes after him, placing herself in more risk. So, I will give the book 3 stars, with a wide range of 1-star and 5-star elements.
June 12, 2023
I have read and enjoyed most of the previous books in this series; this is the seventh Jane Whitefield novel. I thought this one was a pretty good read although it was definitely on the more violent side. Jane is a Native-American Seneca guide who leads people to a new life when they deserve a second chance and are being sought by others. She knows how to cover her tracks and provide her clients with new identities to start a new life.
In this one, she is out to help James Selby who has been falsely convicted of murdering his wife. Jane is able to break him out of a criminal court as Selby was there to testify. But before she could escape she is picked up by imposters posing as the police who shoot her in the leg. She is then taken to a room where she is tortured by the men trying to get her to reveal where Selby has fled to. Her captors are employees of the real killer of Selby's wife who doesn't want to leave any loose ends. Of course Jane is able to escape and go on a cross-country chase to try to put Selby out of harm. Along the way she commits many crimes to avenge the crimes of the real killer and his cohorts and to try to keep Selby safe.
This was overall another good outing in the Whitefield saga. However, I didn't find it quite as compelling as some of the earlier novels. Selby was a convicted murderer and although he was unjustly accused, he did not seem as sympathetic as some of the earlier victims in the series. I would only mildly recommend this one but I do plan on reading the remaining books I have missed in the series so far.
In this one, she is out to help James Selby who has been falsely convicted of murdering his wife. Jane is able to break him out of a criminal court as Selby was there to testify. But before she could escape she is picked up by imposters posing as the police who shoot her in the leg. She is then taken to a room where she is tortured by the men trying to get her to reveal where Selby has fled to. Her captors are employees of the real killer of Selby's wife who doesn't want to leave any loose ends. Of course Jane is able to escape and go on a cross-country chase to try to put Selby out of harm. Along the way she commits many crimes to avenge the crimes of the real killer and his cohorts and to try to keep Selby safe.
This was overall another good outing in the Whitefield saga. However, I didn't find it quite as compelling as some of the earlier novels. Selby was a convicted murderer and although he was unjustly accused, he did not seem as sympathetic as some of the earlier victims in the series. I would only mildly recommend this one but I do plan on reading the remaining books I have missed in the series so far.
August 13, 2018
I am becoming a big fan of Jane Whitefield and Thomas Perry doesn't use short cuts when he writes his plots and scenes. Jane Whitefield has been shot and captured by the newest thugs who want to find her latest 'Runner', Shelby. A man who has been 'wrongly' convicted of killing his wife.
I found this 7th book of Jane quite unnerving when Jane was captured and actually tortured in order for the thugs to gain information about the whereabouts of Shelby. I silently encouraged her to find a way out as I was reading and there was no way I would have thought to escape the way that she did. The pain was real I'm sure, but the journey to the shelter many miles away in the next few towns was a little far fetched. Her torture was copious and horribly agonizing, producing scars that I feared would result in a divorce from her husband, Carrey McKinnon, once he saw what she was going through each time she helped a 'Runner'.
A strange relationship they have, Jane and her husband. He and his reactions surprise me every time I read these stories. I have enjoyed each one but the 'pattern' of her assistance has veered off to the point that the story becomes implausible. I do love a good crime story though so it hasn't gotten disappointing enough for me to not go on to the next one in the series.
I found this 7th book of Jane quite unnerving when Jane was captured and actually tortured in order for the thugs to gain information about the whereabouts of Shelby. I silently encouraged her to find a way out as I was reading and there was no way I would have thought to escape the way that she did. The pain was real I'm sure, but the journey to the shelter many miles away in the next few towns was a little far fetched. Her torture was copious and horribly agonizing, producing scars that I feared would result in a divorce from her husband, Carrey McKinnon, once he saw what she was going through each time she helped a 'Runner'.
A strange relationship they have, Jane and her husband. He and his reactions surprise me every time I read these stories. I have enjoyed each one but the 'pattern' of her assistance has veered off to the point that the story becomes implausible. I do love a good crime story though so it hasn't gotten disappointing enough for me to not go on to the next one in the series.
February 1, 2018
Jane is Old School when it comes to protecting her runaways. The Law is wrong, corrupt or just ineffective in protecting the victims in this book, so Jane breaks the law. Exciting story and as always I enjoy the cross-country driving escapes. I particularly liked the women's shelter scenes.
This book has flashes of connection to The Orenda by Joseph Boyden (a favorite from last year). There are many references to the Seneca warrior's behavior after capture and torture. Goosebumps.
This book has flashes of connection to The Orenda by Joseph Boyden (a favorite from last year). There are many references to the Seneca warrior's behavior after capture and torture. Goosebumps.
October 1, 2013
There should so be a cross-over fanfic written about Jane Whitefield and Jack Reacher meeting. These two are meant for each other. They share the same attention to detail, the same stubborn (slightly OCD) focus on the big picture and the same passion for helping others. Jane doesn't have Reacher's physique but she makes up for it by meticulous planning. Also she has a Native American background that she uses for inspiration by fitting her personal narrative into a historical continuity.
I'm always intrigued by folk stories that are similar but are unlikely to have a shared back ground. For example, the Ju-Ge-Oh are little people from Seneca mythology who will hide you from your enemies but years will pass while you are with them so that your enemies are all dead when you emerge. sounds similar to tales of the fairies. If you eat their food you will stay for hundreds of years. Makes me think either there really were such little people once (with an exaggerated story) or somehow a shared mythology.
I've enjoyed all the books in the Jane Whitefield series. This is a really strong, interesting female character, also a hero. The detail in the books is fascinating. I remember in one, (without looking it all up) they were trying to get rid of a huge sum of money. They couldn't give it away to charity fast enough to avoid the interest piling up. That gave me a clearer understanding of money than any factual essay on the subject. These books are rich. Hello, Angelina Jolie. You should so buy up the rights to these books, like Tom Cruise did with the Reacher series.
June 16, 2012
There are two kinds of reader who gravitate to the name "Perry" in the bookstore: Anne Perry fans (I read one of hers once & it was OK, but not really my bag) and those who, like me, are left cursing because there are always loads of Anne Perry titles and hardly ever any THOMAS Perry.
I fail to understand why none of the Jane Whitefield novels have been filmed; for once, Angelina Jolie would be PERFECT for the role - a woman, of Native American origin, whose speciality is helping people escape and forging new identities for them where they can't be found by sadistic husbands, gangsters, killers etc. Perry has perfected a sort of procedural style, relating the practical details of Whitefield's escapades - the planning, the disguises, the action - in a way that is both thrilling and (mostly) credible.
In Poison Flower, Whitefield finds herself on the receiving end of some very rough treatment - which Perry describes in his usual detached manner without stinting on the horror of it. How Whitefield faces the ordeal, and the aftermath, makes for an unputdownable read.
I fail to understand why none of the Jane Whitefield novels have been filmed; for once, Angelina Jolie would be PERFECT for the role - a woman, of Native American origin, whose speciality is helping people escape and forging new identities for them where they can't be found by sadistic husbands, gangsters, killers etc. Perry has perfected a sort of procedural style, relating the practical details of Whitefield's escapades - the planning, the disguises, the action - in a way that is both thrilling and (mostly) credible.
In Poison Flower, Whitefield finds herself on the receiving end of some very rough treatment - which Perry describes in his usual detached manner without stinting on the horror of it. How Whitefield faces the ordeal, and the aftermath, makes for an unputdownable read.
July 1, 2016
This was the first Jane Whitefield novel I have listened to (or read) and I was hooked from the beginning. Jane Whitefield, the descendant of Native American warriors, takes people out of the world. But unlike assassins, she makes them reappear somewhere different as someone different. In this case she has been asked to jailbreak a man who was convicted of killing his wife. Not only didn't he do it, but there is a contract on his head to be killed in prison. Jane didn't consider just how badly some people wanted this man dead. Jane is captured and when her captors realize just what they have, they see a goldmine in their hands. They did not count on Jane's survival skills, willingness to die for her cause, and her ability to out-plan the enemy in ways the enemy never counted on. This is a fast-paced thrilled expertly read by Joyce Bean. The tension never eases and neither will the listeners amazement at Jane's ingenuity.
November 28, 2012
The seventh in the Jane Whitefield series, and I've read all of them. I've always said that Thomas Perry does one thing--paranoid suspense--and he does it better than just about anyone else. I have thoroughly enjoyed this series. But one of us--either Perry or I--has lost interest. Maybe both of us. This one struck me as unpleasant rather than tense and surprising, with very uncharacteristic plot holes and highly improbable situations. Jane has always struck me as sui generis, and attempts to give her a normal life with a husband, or a normal history like everyone else, have been the weak points of the series. This one emphasizes those points too much. Only in the last 70 pages does the old, unbeatable Jane Whitefield emerge, along with some of the better writing; but even then the book ends with a sigh instead of a satisfying bang.
November 1, 2022
Jane Whitfield is an interesting character who has honed her skills as a righter of wrongs. In this lengthy series featuring Jane, she must help James Shelby who was unjustly convicted of his wife's murder. Jane uses all her skills including those learned from her Seneca ancestors to reveal a killer and right a wrong.
August 6, 2018
Another great Jane Whitefield story in which our heroine meets her match and, as always, outsmarts to come out on top! Combining two runners in one mission doesn't slow her down. Good "gals" DO finish first!! 8 out of 10.
August 13, 2012
Jane Whitfield helps an innocent man (Jim Shelby), wrongly convicted of murder, escape from a courthouse, but is captured and tortured to reveal his location. Once her captors discover who she is, they decide to auction her off to the many people after her for rescuing and relocating their captives in new lives. Badly hurt, Jane goes to a shelter for battered women, and picks up another stray, fleeing an abusive husband. Meanwhile, Shelby's sister is grabbed by the same thugs, and once again, Jane is subdued and narrowly escapes after being sold for $8.1 million in a gunfight among the bidders. Along the way, Jane and the sister learn the identity of the real killer: a drug-dealing, nasty piece of work and Jane goes to war to protect her charge.
February 16, 2012
Perry can sure write and I always felt Jane was one of his most interesting characters. In this novel Jane is a victim herself, shortly after doing what she is know for and that is helping someone escape, she is captured buy the same people she is helping save someone from. Jane is an exceptionally strong woman, which I like, and I love her Indian background and the way she draws strength from it. Fast paced, and through it all the reader will be rooting for Jane.
ARC from NetGalley.
ARC from NetGalley.
February 16, 2018
(3 1/2) Catching up on Thomas Perry's earlier works brought me to this one. A really good story. Jane Whitefield is a great character, and this book leaves out a lot of the Indian culture that sometimes gets in the way of the other ones. This is just a twisting and turning adventure, with Jane's strengths and weaknesses out in the open. Great action, creative solutions, a fun ride.
January 23, 2022
My first Jane Whitfield book and she is one serious bad ass. Thomas Perry’s heroine grabs us from the get go and takes on a non-stop roller coaster as Jane fights the good fight.
April 16, 2020
Reading "Poison Flower," the seventh in the Thomas Perry's Jane Whitefield series, was tough. Jane is a woman who began helping people out of tough situations, enabling them to remake themselves with new identities to escape danger encountered in their previous lives. But helping comes with baggage. And Jane has amassed a lot of it. Those she hides have enemies. And by default, those are now Jane's. They want her dead. In this novel, Jane helps an innocent man escape trumped up charges. But while he manages to flee the courthouse, Jane isn't so lucky. She's captured. And at some point, the sadistic dirtbags who have her locked up in an abandoned building learn she might be valuable. She checks the boxes of a slender dark-haired woman who is known to have spirited away people. Jane, of course, knows the risks. She has promised to die before yielding her secrets. It's a tough read. Yet, in Jane, Perry has created a hero who uses every scrap of information to her possible advantage. She's smart. He doesn't use stupid situations to develop the plot. He always thinks through every angle, every possibility. And through Jane, he gives the underdog more of a shot than they would otherwise be given.
August 31, 2021
Jane Whitefield helps people get away and into new identities. In this book she helps a man wrongfully convicted of killing his wife.
But during the escape she is captured by some of the men responsible for setting him up.
It's a bit different from the previous Whitefield novels in that she has to escape her captors and still meet up with her client and get him to safety.
I have really enjoyed Perry's Whitefield series and this one is no exception. Jane has to pull out all the stops to ensure her own safety and that of her client.
But during the escape she is captured by some of the men responsible for setting him up.
It's a bit different from the previous Whitefield novels in that she has to escape her captors and still meet up with her client and get him to safety.
I have really enjoyed Perry's Whitefield series and this one is no exception. Jane has to pull out all the stops to ensure her own safety and that of her client.
July 10, 2024
Ooh.. This was a close one for Jane. If there weren't more books in the series, I would have thought this could have easily become a painful exit for her.
The poison was used so perfectly.
Jane's luck just can't hold out much longer with so many people knowing what she looks like and her locations.
I don't want this to end, but I also don't want any more pain or torture for Jane. This was a hard one and a bit traumatic.
Carey is a freaking saint. It would be so hard to be the one at home.
4 Stars
The poison was used so perfectly.
Jane's luck just can't hold out much longer with so many people knowing what she looks like and her locations.
I don't want this to end, but I also don't want any more pain or torture for Jane. This was a hard one and a bit traumatic.
Carey is a freaking saint. It would be so hard to be the one at home.
4 Stars
May 30, 2017
I have always loved this series with Jane Whitefield. Was so excited to see there were new books out there for me. Going to go back and read from the beginning of the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2023
Jane Whitefield is BACK! The 7th in a series, could be a stand alone but the reader would miss the early mistakes of being a “guide” to help others-usually woman- who are in need of massive help. The plot was a little unrealistic but Jane always finishes what she has started…finding the people who hurt her and others. Enjoy
February 11, 2020
Way to short. :)
March 27, 2012
Jane Whitefield has been helping people escape almost certain death for a long time. Her marriage didn’t stop what she did though maybe she didn’t work as often as she used to because there was much more to risk. But, people still came to her asking for help and if she believed in their innocence, Jane Whitefield helped.
Jane thought she had everything planned out for her latest project--breaking convicted murder James Shelby out from the courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. He is an innocent man who deserves to be free. He was framed for reasons unknown by someone who needs James Shelby to die. But, thanks to Jane Whitefield, Shelby has escaped and is long gone. The only thing working in the favor of the bad guys is they have captured a wounded Jane Whitefield. They have no idea that they really only have a tiger by the tale.
POISON FLOWER: A JANE WHITEFIELD NOVEL is the latest in the series and another good one even though it does not have the same style or flow of earlier books in the series. Something often happens when an author takes a break from a series to write other books before coming back. Once back in the series, the reads are never the same for whatever the reason and such is the case here.
Not to say the book isn’t a good one. It is as the book works its way across the county with Jane trying to stay alive, keep her runners safe, and dispense violent justice to those who deserve it. Along the way much is made of her Indian history, her marriage, and how things have changed over the years.
While not nearly as good as earlier ones in the series, this latest book on its own is a good one. There is also a certain melancholy feel to it as if this might be the final one in the series. If so, it has been a good run.
POISON FLOWER: A JANE WHITEFIELD NOVEL
Thomas Perry
The Mysterious Press (Imprint of Grove/Atlantic, Inc.)
http://www.groveatlantic.com
2012
ISBN# 978-0-8021-2605-4
Hardback (also available in e-book/audio versions)
274 Pages
$24.00
Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano Texas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2012
Reviews, news and more http://kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com/
Jane thought she had everything planned out for her latest project--breaking convicted murder James Shelby out from the courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. He is an innocent man who deserves to be free. He was framed for reasons unknown by someone who needs James Shelby to die. But, thanks to Jane Whitefield, Shelby has escaped and is long gone. The only thing working in the favor of the bad guys is they have captured a wounded Jane Whitefield. They have no idea that they really only have a tiger by the tale.
POISON FLOWER: A JANE WHITEFIELD NOVEL is the latest in the series and another good one even though it does not have the same style or flow of earlier books in the series. Something often happens when an author takes a break from a series to write other books before coming back. Once back in the series, the reads are never the same for whatever the reason and such is the case here.
Not to say the book isn’t a good one. It is as the book works its way across the county with Jane trying to stay alive, keep her runners safe, and dispense violent justice to those who deserve it. Along the way much is made of her Indian history, her marriage, and how things have changed over the years.
While not nearly as good as earlier ones in the series, this latest book on its own is a good one. There is also a certain melancholy feel to it as if this might be the final one in the series. If so, it has been a good run.
POISON FLOWER: A JANE WHITEFIELD NOVEL
Thomas Perry
The Mysterious Press (Imprint of Grove/Atlantic, Inc.)
http://www.groveatlantic.com
2012
ISBN# 978-0-8021-2605-4
Hardback (also available in e-book/audio versions)
274 Pages
$24.00
Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano Texas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2012
Reviews, news and more http://kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com/
May 2, 2015
Another classic Thomas Perry Jane Whitefield novel, "Poison Flower" is the seventh book in series, and a slightly different take than others. Jane is the person being tracked down in this novel. After helping an innocent man escape jail after being locked up for three years on a crime he didn't commit, Jane becomes the target. The bad guys catch up with Jane at one point, and try to torture location of James Shelby since his Jane Whitefield assisted escape from prison. The Boss, Daniel Martel, the original killer of Shelby's wife, has his goons grab up Jane. After being shot, tortured ,and coming to the brink of death Jane rises up and escapes from the bad guys. Running across country and back, with the bad guys in pursuit, Jane defies death, exhaustion, and visions to lay out a trap to finish off the bad guys. Then racing across country again to catch up with Martel. Although this was as quick reading and as intense as every other Jane Whitefield novel I've read, how does she keep going ? As she's gifted as a guide, and fighter that she may be, it's getting somewhat too crazy here in the seventh book. I love all of author Thomas Perry's books for their story telling ability. Perry's characters, and dialog are incredible as ever in this yarn. But, I've got to wonder when is it revealed Jane is one of the Marvel super heroes ? Kidding aside, it's still a 5 star out of a possible 5 stars. I'd highly recommend any Thomas Perry book, especially this one. Maybe on next adventure we can find out if Jane is human or super hero. Although somehow I've missed the sixth book in this series. Can that be where I missed Jane's transformation ? If you've been a regular reader of the Jane Whitefield series don't miss out of this one.
July 3, 2014
This is the seventh and last of the Jane Whitefield novels (unless Thomas Perry decides to write another one), so I've come to the end of a delightful journey.
Perry has Jane taking more risk than usual in Poison Flower, starting with engineering the escape of a prisoner from the courthouse, which has the LA Police looking for her. The prisoner was falsely accused and convicted of murder, while the real murderer wants him dead. The bad guys catch Jane and torture her, but it's right in the beginning of the book, so you know that can't be the end of the story. Jane also has revenge on her mind in this book, something she tells her runners not to ever expect.
Jane is a conflicted character--living by her own moral code, feeling an intense obligation to help the hunted escape and willing to kill or be killed to do it, but somehow longing to just be a doctor's wife and organize hospital fundraisers. Her Seneca Indian heritage plays a continuing role in the stories.
My favorite Jane moments in this series:
She kills a man with a handmade bow and arrow--made on the run in the forest as he was pursuing her.
She escapes both the grizzly bear in front of her and the bad guy behind her through her wits.
She steals billions from the Mafia and gives it to charity--with the help of a couple of collaborators.
The odds might be six-to-one or eight-to-one against her, but never bet against Jane Whitefield.
Perry has Jane taking more risk than usual in Poison Flower, starting with engineering the escape of a prisoner from the courthouse, which has the LA Police looking for her. The prisoner was falsely accused and convicted of murder, while the real murderer wants him dead. The bad guys catch Jane and torture her, but it's right in the beginning of the book, so you know that can't be the end of the story. Jane also has revenge on her mind in this book, something she tells her runners not to ever expect.
Jane is a conflicted character--living by her own moral code, feeling an intense obligation to help the hunted escape and willing to kill or be killed to do it, but somehow longing to just be a doctor's wife and organize hospital fundraisers. Her Seneca Indian heritage plays a continuing role in the stories.
My favorite Jane moments in this series:
She kills a man with a handmade bow and arrow--made on the run in the forest as he was pursuing her.
She escapes both the grizzly bear in front of her and the bad guy behind her through her wits.
She steals billions from the Mafia and gives it to charity--with the help of a couple of collaborators.
The odds might be six-to-one or eight-to-one against her, but never bet against Jane Whitefield.
April 6, 2012
Poison Flower by Thomas Perry, the latest in his Jane Whitefield thriller series, is a can’t-put-down story. Jane Whitefield is a Native American who specializes in helping people vanish who are the targets of abusive husbands, law enforcement agents when they have been framed, Mafia hit men, and the like. In this novel, she springs an innocent man from jail in Los Angeles during a court appearance because the real killer, who has framed him, has put out a hit on him and he’s not likely to survive in a California prison any longer. While on the run, she also has to protect a woman who is hiding from her abusive husband. But this time, it is not enough just to hide them. She must deal with the real killer, who is after her, as are others that she has frustrated by hiding their targets. The best of the series so far, and they have all been excellent. If you haven’t read any of the series, I’d recommend reading them in order, starting with Vanishing Act. You could certainly read Poison Flower as a stand-alone novel, but I think that you would enjoy all of them in order to see how she got to where she is in the novel. An easy five stars out of five.
April 1, 2013
maybe i would've enjoyed this book more if i had read the other 6 books in the series, but hey, it was free on iBooks. there were a few sentences in this book that were so poorly written i had to re-read them a couple times to infer the intended meaning from them. uh, that's never a good thing, series or not. i wanted to like the main character, but she was, besides being unbelievable, just rather annoying at times... like most of the other characters. basically this book was full of unbelievable, often annoying, characters doing unbelievable, often annoying, things. character development was minimal, but seeing as they were all pretty annoying, that might have been a good thing. i am pretty easy to please (hello, i give almost everything 4 stars) but this one just doesn't get a pass. but at least i finished it. and it was free.
January 9, 2012
Jane Whitefield’s husband may have been happy when Jane told him she would stop helping people run, but I wasn’t. So, I was delighted to see that Jane would once again be helping people hide after only a 3 year break this time. However, I wasn’t quite prepared for the new warrior Jane. Instead of invoking all of the tricks of her ancestors to help her hide and track she used their memories to help her stay alive so she could then hide and track. This time instead of being on the edge of my seat to see if Jane could help an innocent person escape I was on the edge of my seat to see if Jane would escape. If you are a Thomas Perry fan you won’t be disappointed. If you have never read Perry this is a great place to start.
November 9, 2015
“Poison Flower” – written by Thomas Perry and published in 2012 by The Mysterious Press, an imprint of Grove/Atlantic. I’ve read several of Perry’s Jane Whitefield books before and it was a pleasure to visit her world again. Jane, who draws strength from her Native American warrior heritage, spirits away people who are in grave danger - most often they have been unjustly accused of a crime or have angered other criminals somehow. “They had almost all come to her in the last days of wasted, ruined lives, sometimes just hours before their troubles would have changed from dangerous to fatal.” She accomplishes this all on her own, along with an impressive arsenal of weapons and know-how. These stories are a thriller fan’s delight, jumping from one perilous calamity to another – they’re great!
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