Perry, who died last year, was a prolific mystery/thriller writer whose 33 books featured two major series.  One starred the Butcher’s Boy, an assassin who works on the good guy side along with a DOJ operative.  The other series featured Jane Whitfield, a Seneca Indian woman whose mission in life was to provide wrongly accused individuals with a new identity so they would not be murdered.  Perry won an Edgar Award and and The Mystery Writers of America Best First Novel Award in 1983.

When looking back into my Book Journal, I was astounded to find that I had previously read 9 of these books, so when I saw this one reviewed positively in the New York Times, I sought it out at the CPL. I was not disappointed.  Written intentionally as the final book in the Jane Whitfield series, Perry finished it just before he died, and it was published posthumously.

It’s a taut tale about Jane, now married with a husband, a baby, and her own new identity who is being hunted down by the Russian mob in Boston in order to torture her for the names of those she helped disappear so the Russians could sell them to those still hunting them.  It’s a good one with plenty of bad guys who Jane naturally vanquishes at the end.

Michael Connelly, my favorite mystery writer, describes Perry’s work as ” ‘relentless’ in its plot, momentum, and characters”, and this book is a terrific read sharing all those elements.  Put this on your list for the summer beach reading unless, of course, it makes you too tense.