We have plenty of patrons here at the Johnson County Library who love a good thriller. Sure, domestic and psychological thrillers still dominate the bestseller lists, but patrons are not always looking for secrets and lies set amongst deteriorating marriages and otherwise-idyllic suburban settings. We're talking old-school thrillers, where one person - or several people - are on the run from bad people with even worse intentions. Novels like these are great at keeping the pages turning and the plot humming along; with a good thriller that's fast-paced, stocked with memorable characters, and filled with good action, readers are always guaranteed a good time, even if it's been a busy few days between reading sessions.
Thomas Perry is one of my favorite go-tos when recommending these sorts of books - he's not a big name like a David Baldacci, Harlan Coben, or James Patterson, but he's consistently just as good. (And the waiting lists for his newest novels aren't nearly as long!) For today's #NewTitleTuesday, we'll take a brief look at Thomas Perry's newest thriller that hits the shelves today, THE LEFT-HANDED TWIN, the ninth and latest in his Jane Whitefield series.
Jane Whitefield is a woman who's specialty is making people disappear. Not like a magician or a mafia hitman, but she helps people who are on the run, providing them with new identities and supporting documents like Social Security cards, Driver's Licenses, and passports. If you can find her, have the money, and if your cause is just, Whitefield can help you. Throughout her long career, she's helped women flee abusive husbands, whistleblowers avoid vengeful corporations, and helped targets of political assassinations. In her latest, THE LEFT-HANDED TWIN, a young woman named Sara is fleeing her boyfriend. She had testified against him during a murder charge, however after bribing his way to freedom, the boyfriend is out of prison and looking for revenge. Sara approaches Jane for help, however, the boyfriend has resources of his own - in this case, the Russian Mafia. Once they get on the case and discover that Jane helps people who are in dire straits, they start wondering how much all that information about her previous clients might be worth to the right people. And the chase is on.
Readers don't have to have read each book in the series to get the gist, although it does help. Perry excels at taut action sequences while characters give exposition, including here an extended chase sequence involving the Hundred-Mile Wilderness, a remote are of Maine that contains one of the most challenging parts of the Appalachian Trail. Sure, the bad guys are finally taken down, but readers will wonder how Jane will get out of certain situations. (Spoiler alert - Jane's Seneca Nation Native American background will come in handy.) So if your time is short, and want a blisteringly good read, check out Thomas Perry's latest. (Or his back catalog!) You won't be disappointed.