Shadow Woman

Jane Whitefield #3

by Thomas Perry

Jane Whitefield is a name to be whispered like a prayer. A shadow woman who rescues the helpless and the hunted when their enemies leave them no place to hide. Now with the bone-deep cunning of her Native American forebears, she arranges a vanishing act for Pete Hatcher, a Las Vegas gambling executive. It should be a piece of cake, but she doesn't yet know about Earl and Linda--professional destroyers who will cash in if Hatcher dies, killers who love to kill . . . slowly. From Vegas to upstate New York to the Rockies, the race between predator and prey slowly narrows until at last they share an intimacy broken only by death. . . .

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Crime, Audiobook

350 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1995

About the author

Thomas 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.

Reviews

[jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am really enjoying many aspects of Perry’s Jane Whitefield series (this is my third). It is a bit dated with phone answering machines and no cell phones.

I’d like to have seen a tighter plot with this one. And I’m not quite sure I am liking Jane being married - it seems a bit too tame a marriage for her character.

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best, in my opinion, so far in the Jane Whitefield series about a Native American guide who helps people obtain new identities and a new life. In this one, Jane helped a Las Vegas gambling executive, Pete Hatcher, disappear when he had discovered that his bosses were suspicious that he might reveal to the FBI some of the illegal activity known to him. But after leaving Hatcher in Denver and returning to her home near Buffalo, New York, Jane gets a hurried call from him saying that some killers were on to him and that he was leaving for Montana. Jane had recently married and vowed to be through with her life of guiding others to a new identity; but when she received the call from Hatcher, she felt obligated to help him. However, she didn't realize that a pair of very professional hired killers were after Hatcher and that they would also jeopardize her husband and their life together. This was a real thriller as Jane and Hatcher are tracked through the Montana wilderness. High recommendation!

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good thriller from Perry. I thought I knew a couple of things that were going to happen that did & several I didn't. Awesome! There was a lot of moving around from the bright lights to the loneliest wilderness, all done pretty well with the exception of some of the shooting scenes with the rifle. For instance, you don't hold the crosshairs on a target 50' away when the rifle has been shooting 500 - 1000 yards. You might not even be able to get a target that close in sight. Oh well, it was a relatively minor goof.

Again, the characterization was well done. The bad guys were a nice mix of crazy, normal, smart, & stupid with solid motives. The good guys were, too. Well, none of them was stupid, but there was enough ignorance & disbelief to make up for that at times.

Jane's marriage is a bit too much, but so is her sincerity & logic along with Carey himself. I guess that's just part of the series.

Well read again by Joyce Bean. I'm definitely looking forward to the next.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this Jane Whitefield story -- what a creative author Thomas Perry is to throw in this twist of a "dual disappear". And the ending . . . amazing how a man can take a whole different perspective on the services provided by Jane from the beginning to the end of the story. 7 out of 10.

[Tony Hisgett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the first two books in this series mainly because I was impressed with Jane. She is smart, strong and gets things done without messing around. Her background and her role as guide make her more interesting than a standard sleuth and make her stand out from the usual crowd of investigators.

It seems that I’m out of step with quite a few of the other people who have reviewed this book because I didn’t enjoy this story as much as the earlier books.

My problems started as soon as Jane got married, it was so obvious that this would cause problems and at some point he would become a liability, which he did, that it cast a shadow over the whole story. Then there is the story itself, the reason I enjoyed the first two books was Jane, but far too much of this book is not about Jane, instead the narrative jumps between a collection of motley characters, I don’t like and I’m not interested in, disrupting the flow of the story.

One of the main things I liked about the previous books was the way Jane was able to plan and keep control of a situation and even when it all went wrong she was able to find a way out then regain control again. In this book she is basically just running blindly, which anybody could do. Fortunately she redeemed herself near the end of the book and again began to be the ‘kickass’ heroine I love.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It seems Jane has met her match in trying to get Peter Hatch to a safe place. There are two smart people tracking them, one is a woman zeroing in on Jane’s new husband. But Jane knows her craft, and with a few breaks, she is successful. I love how Jane plots every move to escape detection.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jane Whitfield has finally accepted Dr Carey McKinnon's proposal and they tie the knot, after she has promised she will stop helping people to vanish. She's done as much as she can to remain in the shadows and strongly believes she can do this. But life doesn't happen that way.

One of Jane's clients, Pete Hatcher is not successful in his new life, Jane's set him up in a quiet life in Denver and he is unable to stay hidden so the men he was hiding from are coming for him again. These guys, Earl Bliss and Linda Thompson live to kill, he for the sheer pleasure of it and her for the erotic pleasure she gets from watching him kill. These are not guys you want after you.

Hatcher seeks Jane and pleads for help. She agrees to just one more. Unknowingly she's put Carey in danger as the killers are good at what they do and have found her and her safe life. They are determined to take Jane and Carey out as well. Carey isn't built for this and ends up aiding the killers without realizing it.

Good story, I hope this isn't the end for Jane.

[Keri · Rating 2 out of 5]

This TP book just didn't do it for me. I love Jane as a general rule, but the relationship aspect between Jane and Carey just didn't work for me. Jane said things that as a woman I wouldn't say to a man. Heck my eyes glazed over during her speech. Three months into their marriage...what??? Just how devoted was either one of them? Then what happened to Pete in the end. We were with him for so many pages of the book and poof! he is gone and we have no clue what has happened to him. Not my favorite TP book.

[MM Suarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

"This one is a professional. If you’re in trouble, you hire her to get you out of it. She comes and whisks you away— makes you disappear."

In this the third book in the Jane Whitefield series our girl tries her hand at marriage and well, domestic bliss doesn't last long! Pete Hatcher, a Vegas gambling executive who Jane helped disappear and was supposed to be her last job doesn't stay "disappeared" for long. Through a series of bone headed mistakes he gets found by a couple of professional assassins the casino hired to find and kill him, he somehow manages to get away from the killers and calls Jane again in a panic. Jane feels responsible and just like that she's in the middle of a dangerous mess, which may cost her more than her marriage. As with all Thomas Perry stories, it starts with a bang and doesn't let up until it's over, I love Thomas Perry and I love Jane!

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a weak finish to the trilogy. First two books are superior. I didn't want to say anything negative and was in transit when I finished this book, but circled back to note my agreement with other reviewers who have expressed disappointment.

[John Biddle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent outing for Jane Whitefield. The third in the series by Thomas Perry, Shadow Woman has Jane helping Pete Hatcher, a Las Vegas gambling executive, disappear. He know too much, at least his bosses think he does, and he's rather not die.

These books are fun reads watching Jane use one clever trick after another to hide her client and keep them hidden. It's fascinating what she does and how she does it. Not magic, just logic and perceptiveness that seem like magic. In this book there actually is a little magic in the very beginning to get it started that was also fun.

Jane's a hoot, give these a try, you'll like 'em.

[ML · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was WAY too long. The plot very meandering and very slow in parts.

Jane gets married to Carey. It’s a huge mistake imo. She almost gets him killed. Carey is not cut out for a fugitive life. TBH..She should have started a new life with Peter Hatcher.

The 2 hired assassins in this installment were very clever and cruel. Thankfully, they got what was coming to them.

There were loose ends but that seems to be the MO of this author. Good writer but a bit long winded. Should keep the story a bit tighter.

Not sure how Carey is going to handle Jane never giving up her job. She says this was her last job but there’s another book SO you know that’s not true 🤣🤣🤣

[Brittany McCann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am torn on this one.

On one hand, I LOVED the mystery and Jane on the run.

On the other hand, I HATED the romance temptation weirdness. For the most part, this didn't add much value to the overall story, except for a certain psycho couple, and a LOT of time was spent on it. Much of this could have been cut for a faster-paced story that kept the focus where it belonged.

The ending got a bit crazy, and it will be interesting to see if this marriage can survive.

With six more books left in the series, I don't see Jane retiring anytime soon.

3.5 Stars.

[Elly Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3* Intense, riveting action, as I’ve come to expect in this series. Hard to stop listening. But in this book, something I haven’t come across so far: humour. Clever writing creating twists that turn out funny enough to make me laugh out loud. Just a dash here and there, welcome relief from all the suspense.
Again, I appreciated the Native American, historical, and outdoor aspects.
Good one!

[Misty Galbraith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite in the series. The half-baked marriage was a disappointment…and Jane! What was she thinking, just throwing away all her gifts to become someone she was not?! Ugh. Too stereotypical for me. And, it didn’t work in the end anyway.

[Gloria ~ mzglorybe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This third book in the series is the better one so far, imho. Less of her dreaming sequences, which admittedly, I’ve skimmed through, and more action. In this installment in the Jane Whitefield series, we see her get married to a doctor, Carey McKinnon, and promise him to leave her old life of “guiding” people behind. For those that don’t know, Jane “guides” good people to safety from perilous situations. This puts her and her clients in danger as most of her guiding requires breaking the law, fake identities, etc. She is strong and knows what she is doing, but has done it long enough now to leave it behind and start a normal married life with her man.

Shortly after their marriage a former client calls her for help as bad people are after him again and former circumstances did not afford her enough time to appropriately teach him how to fend for himself. She agrees to go to him and get him to safety. She convinces her husband that this will be the end of it, the last time. Makes the reader wonder about the rest of the novels in the series if this is true.

Finishing up with this client takes longer than she anticipated. The hired killers after them are relentless. This takes the reader from Las Vegas through LA, Denver, NY and Montana, up through the Northeast as they chase them through the wilderness towards the Canadian border. Very intense at times. The personal interraction between Jane And Carey I found added a welcome diversion from the chase, bringing it to a satisfying conclusion. I liked it.

[Steve Payne · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF - I read the first 2 Jane Whitefield books and pretty much liked them. I got half way through this installment, looked over at the pile of books beckoning me on the nightstand and decided I'd had enough. Way too much time spent on the 3 bad guys (and gal) and not much on Jane. This was moving at a snail's pace. A whole chapter dedicated to hit-woman Linda attending a hospital charity dinner with Jane's new husband...for what?

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book in this series was great and I couldn't imagine how Thomas Perry could maintain the excitement and stakes through subsequent books. But he does! And so I am binge reading this series. Off to download the fourth book now.

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

Docked two stars for a plot that consistently relied on characters making stupid and unlikely decisions.

[Jon Seals · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

My wife and I managed to listen to this entire book Saturday. We took off on a meandering drive up to St. Louis, through Hermann, then slowly back home. We listened to the last hour or two, sitting in our living room like a couple of nerds.

This book took quite a while to get going, so I was a bit embarrassed for the first four hours of our long drive. "She got to see a lot of changing leaves," I thought.

Luckily, the last four hours (1.8 speed) were really good.

I don't recommend reading three books from the same series in a row. It's much easier to see the twists coming.

[Carly Kirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I went back and forth on whether to give 3 or 4 stars... Even though I was happy about how the story ended I still gave it 3 because of the horrible marriage Jane ties herself to. Basically most of the end of the book kept my attention, flowed well and was pretty fast paced. There was just something about most of the beginning that kept making me put the book down and wonder if I was even interested in finishing it.

My problem has to do with the relationship between Jane and Carey, supposedly she loves him so much she marries him and is willing to give up helping people disappear, but I never really saw a lot to love about him. I know way more about Pete, the guy she leads to safety, than has ever been revealed about the man she chooses to change her life for. And maybe that's what my problem with the book is - that she's "giving up" who she seems to be - she's planning on being the "perfect wife" and it just seems like Carey would rather that be who he's married to than who she actually is. It just doesn't seem like he's worthy of the awesome woman she actually is, he prefers the glossy surface he's always known. Is it wrong to hope the 4th book starts off with him being killed and Jane wreaking vengeance for him? Either give me that or have the guy become a man worth loving!

[IronBlossom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gosh, I read this a little bit ago, actually listened to it on tape, and although I felt there were parts that were uneven (not a big fan of the boyfriend/husband storyline) overall it was good enough that I picked up a few others in the series and hope to find the first couple books as well. I did listen to this on tape, so it may be a little bit better, or a little bit worse, in print. However, overall, it kept me listening and wanting to listen (which means going running or at least walking or biking!) for the whole book, which is a nice find.

Recommended for the sheer fun of it, imagining oneself as a very dangerous, very smart woman, who can do the kinds of things Jane can do, is a very enjoyable way to spend several hours.

I also thoroughly enjoyed Jane as a new-ish type of protagonist, as I said, very dangerous, very smart, also very grounded, a bit old fashioned, American Indian and not just in tune with her culture, but very active within it.

Plus, the writing was good enough that I could see the scenery, feel the wind, the cold, and imagine the terrain, the terror, and the beauty.

[Zade · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third in the series, this Jane Whitefield novel is not as engaging the first two, but still easily rates four stars. It has all the action and fast-paced, complex plotting you'd expect from Perry and Jane remains a fascinating and very human character. I found the runner in this novel less sympathetic and the sections told from the point of view of the assassins were not as interesting as those focusing on Jane. I understand why Perry used this technique and it works, but the antagonists took up more of this book than in others and I found myself wanting to get past those sections and back to Jane. These are minor quibbles, though, because the book as a whole is successful and great fun to read.

[Sheila Beaumont · Rating 5 out of 5]

This third Jane Whitefield novel is not only the best in the series so far, but one of the best, most riveting, most suspenseful thrillers I've ever read. Thomas Perry is a very skilled writer and storyteller, and his characters come to life on the page. The story is twisty, fast-paced and compelling, but the main attraction of this series for me is its strong heroine, Jane, the intelligent, courageous, confident, resourceful half-Seneca guide who arranges for desperate, endangered people to escape their predators, disappear, and start new lives. It's a terrific series, not to be missed by readers who enjoy literate, compelling suspense novels.

[LJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

SHADOW WOMAN - VG+
Perry, Thomas - 3rd Jane Whitefield

Jane Whitefield helps people to disappear. Her client this time is a Las Vegas casino executive who knows too much for the big boys at Pleasure, Inc, who have hired two assassins to take him out. Now the contract killers, Earl and Linda, are on the trail of the shadow woman, not just her client.

I really like this series. There was good suspense but I would have preferred less narrative and more dialogue. I'll definitely read the next.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jane Whitefield is a Native American who helps worthy people escape horrific circumstances & adopt a new identity. She is a fascinating character, cautious but wily with a good heart for helping people. I look forward to reading the rest of the series (but in order) so I can finish up with Runner, the newest release.

[Joshua · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was surprised that I didn't enjoy this book more. I typically enjoy these kinds of "thrillers," but there was something about the protagonist Jane Whitefield that I just didn't find compelling. The pacing of the story seemed a bit off, as I didn't really feel engaged until the last 50 pages or so.

[Julie Kellner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another great Jane Whitefield novel doesn't disappoint

[Lisa Oswald · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not finish it, so maybe I am not doing it justice. But the idea of Jane becoming a sweet little stay at home dullard just lost me. Seems like a sad end to a good character/ series.