Breakaway Books

Authored by Thomas Perry; Published 1994; Thriller

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 🏖️🏖️🏖️🏖️

Vanishing Act is over thirty years old, and in the internet age, it may seem like a relic of the past. But heroine Jane Whitefield’s ability to help people disappear retains its mystique, and I still enjoyed the ride it took me on.

In Vanishing Act, Jane Whitefield returns to her New York home to find that someone has broken in. While she’s used to strangers showing up at her door, this is not the traditional method, and she is wary about the advent of ex-cop John Felker. Nonetheless, she agrees to help him disappear from the folks out to get him after he was framed for embezzlement from his accounting firm. Soon after he is settled in his new Oregon home, though, the mutual acquaintance who brought them together is killed, and Jane begins to realize that not everything about Felker is as it seems.

I worried, when I understood the premise of this novel, that it would be hopelessly outdated, made completely irrelevant by the internet age. But, truthfully, the principles that Jane operates by to help her charges disappear are timeless. It’s about the mentality, changing the way those she helps think in order to fade into the background. Watching her inculcate these truths into her clients and walk them step by painful step through how to become someone different is nothing short of fascinating. Many of the tactics she uses for the investigative aspects of her job—such as verifying people are who they say they are—are variants of social engineering, which is still, in spite of all the computational advancements that have been made, among the most effective techniques to gain access to someone else’s life. 

But Jane is what really sets this novel apart. Melding her heritage as an American Indian into her calling to help people disappear makes her a unique heroine, and I loved getting to learn about her as she set out to save John. At times, I didn’t understand the decisions she made—sleeping with John seems like a left turn that came out of nowhere—but for the most part, I found her to be a calm, collected, and self-reliant woman, and enjoyable to spend time with as a protagonist. There is a peace about her, a self-knowledge that declares that she simply will not apologize for who she is. I love heroines like this. I was struck repeatedly by how dynamic and talented Jane is, equally able to manipulate the modern world to meet her ends and to survive in a forest for days on end with next to no provisions. 

I will definitely be picking up the next book in the Jane Whitefield series! A compelling heroine, perfectly capable of saving herself—what’s not to love?