A String of Beads by Thomas Perry

 

(oversize pb; 2015: eighth book in the Jane Whitefield series)

 

From the back cover

“A year after getting shot on a job that took a dangerous turn, Jane has settled into the quiet life of a suburban housewife in Amherst, New York—or so she thinks. One morning, coming back from a run, Jane is met by an unusual sight: the female leaders of the eight Seneca clans parked in her driveway in two black cars. They have come to her with a troublesome request. Jane’s childhood friend from the reservation, Jimmy [Sanders], is wanted by the police for the murder of a local white man and has fled. The clan mothers believe Jane is the only one who can find him. But when Jane begins to retrace a journey, she took with jimmy when they were fourteen years old, she realizes that the police aren’t the only ones after him. As the chase intensifies, the number of people caught up in this deadly plot grows, and Jane is the only one who can protect those endangered by it.”

 

Review

A year after Jane’s kidnapping, torture and revenge in Poison Flower, Jane—always wary of potential danger—has settled into semi-comfortable life with her doctor-husband (Cary McKinnon). But when the female members of an influential Seneca/Native American council seek her help in locating and rescuing her good, on-the-lam childhood friend (Jimmy Sanders) who’s been accused of murder, she takes on Sanders as a runner. The closer Jane gets to locating and helping Jimmy (and those related to her current run), the more complications arise—many linked to killer/thievery ringleader (Daniel Crane) and his Mafia-afiliate associates (Salamone and don Lorenzo Malconi).

There hasn’t been a less-than-excellent entry in the Jane Whitefield series thus far, and Beads is no exception. Beads has an especially strong Seneca-centric storyline to it, reminding me a lot of its source novel (Vanishing Act, 1995). Of course, there’s lots of physical defensive/tactical talk and elements, action, strong character development for its lead characters, and villains worth hissing at. Worth owning, this. Followed by The Left Handed Twin.