Dance for the Dead , A Jane Whitefield Novel [Paperback]

Thomas Perry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 1997

"COMPELLING . . . NOBODY WRITES A CHASE BETTER THAN PERRY."

  *The Washington Post Book World



When eight-year-old Timothy Decker finds his parents brutally murdered, it's clear the Deckers weren't the intended victims: Timothy's own room--ransacked, all traces of his existence expertly obliterated *is the shocking evidence. Timothy's nanny, Mona, is certain about only one thing. Timmy needs to disappear, fast.



Only Jane Whitefield, a Native American "guide" who specializes in making victims vanish, can lead him to safety. But diverting Jane's attention is Mary Perkins, a desperate woman with S&L fraud in her past. Stalking Mary is a ruthless predator determined to find her *and the fortune she claims she doesn't have. Jane quickly creates a new life for Mary and jumps back on Timmy's case . . . not knowing that the two are fatefully linked to one calculating killer. . . .



"Spellbinding . . . Terrific . . . Jane Whitefield may be the most arresting protagonist in the 90s thriller arena. . . . Thrillers need good villains, and this one has a formidable SOB who is cold-blooded enough to satisfy anybody's taste."

  *Entertainment Weekly



"A terse thriller . . . Perry starts the story with a bang."

  *San Francisco Chronicle

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As usual, Perry (The Butcher's Boy) cuts to the chase. In the opening scene of this riveting mystery thriller, Jane Whitefield, an expert at helping people in danger disappear, slugs it out with three brawny hoodlums in an L.A. courthouse. At that point, she has traveled across half the country trying to protect Timmy Phillips, an eight-year-old heir to millions, from the stop-at-nothing professional killers on their trail. The same criminals, led by a powerful ex-cop named Barraclough, murdered Timmy's adoptive parents. Now they want Mary Perkins, a fugitive savings-and-loan fleecer who also asks Whitefield for help. Perry launches a complex pursuit, during which Whitefield relies on her Seneca heritage for insight and on friends for crucial assistance. A love interest highlights the personal price Whitefield pays for doing her secretive, dangerous work. The nail-biting climax takes place on a snowy night in a location that seems tailor-made for film: the rusting remains of a huge steel mill near Buffalo. The denouement may strike some readers as too neat, but it's a minor quibble. With his distinctive protagonist, thoroughly amoral villains and the unrelenting action, Perry scores again. 75,000 first printing; major ad/promo.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Jane's attempt to help an orphan boy overlaps with her work for a woman accused of stealing $50 million in Perry's (Vanishing Act, LJ 12/94) latest thriller.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Ivy Books / Ballantine Books; 1st edition (March 2, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804114250
• ISBN-13: 978-0804114257
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.9 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #134,660 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

THOMAS PERRY is the author of 19 novels including the Jane Whitefield series (Vanishing Act, Dance for the Dead, Shadow Woman, The Face Changers, Blood Money and Runner), Death Benefits, and Pursuit, the first recipient of the Gumshoe Award for best novel.
He won the Edgar for The Butcher's Boy, and Metzger's Dog was a New York Times Notable Book. The Independent Mystery Bookseller's Association included Vanishing Act in its "100 Favorite Mysteries of the 20th Century," and Nightlife was a New York Times bestseller. Metzger's Dog was voted one of NPR's 100 Killer Thrillers--Best Thrillers Ever.
Thomas Perry 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 has worked as a park maintenance man, factory laborer, commercial fisherman, university administrator and teacher, and a writer and producer of prime time network television shows. He lives in Southern California.  His website: www.thomasperryauthor.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A class act, Perry's Seneca lady, worthy of Hillerman, May 9, 2002

By 

Mick McAllister - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dance for the Dead , A Jane Whitefield Novel (Paperback)

The first three Jane Whitefield books are the classiest alternative to Tony Hillerman's "Navajo mysteries." Nobody is more fun to read about than Jane Whitefield. She's clever, she's beautiful, she's seriously dangerous to bad guys.

Like that Holmes guy, she's been so popular that Perry tried unsuccessfully to get shet of her for three novels. And maybe she will "rise from the dead" once more. Meantime, there are three good novels (*Vanishing Act,* *Dance for the Dead*, *Shadow Woman*) and two better-than-average-but-kind-of-half-hearted ones (*Face-Changers,* *Blood Money*). In each of the last three books, Jane promises her husband that she will stop now. Perry's done two novels since *Blood Money*, and it looks like Jane's last retirement took. What a shame.

In *Dance for the Dead*, the action begins on page one, and by page five Jane has fought her way through a gauntlet and five or six key people are dead. From this dazzling start, it's a wild ride of switched identities, super-killers, and Jane's mysto/techno woodlore that brings us, breathless, to a celebration on the Seneca rez. On the way we meet a woman we learn to love almost as much as we do Jane.

Wow. Read this book.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From page 1......, October 18, 1999

By 

Gerard Michael Burns (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dance for the Dead , A Jane Whitefield Novel (Paperback)

Jane Whitefield comes to us a fully developed character as only Kate Shugak of the Dana Stabenow has before. The action starts (explodes?) from page 1. I was settled to read a chapter or 2 before bed as is my wont but ended up putting this book down at the back cover just in time to shower for work. I read incessantly and have rarely found a book of this caliber and unlike so many other authors, the series maintains the standard. Looking forward to the new one Jan 2000!!!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Mess With Jane Whitefield, July 18, 1998

By 

Robert Derenthal "bucherwurm" (California United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dance for the Dead , A Jane Whitefield Novel (Paperback)

This is book two of the delightful Jane Whitefield series. She's an attractive, 32 year old Indian who runs her own private "witness protection" program. Thomas Perry brings us a smart, capable protagonist whom bad guys simply should not mess with. Great fun. There is a feeling of ominous dread creeping in at the end of the book, though. It appears that Jane may be on the road to matrimony (which she does, I gather, in the next novel in the series). I really, really do not like this idea.

Fans of this series should note that Perry wrote several excellent thrillers before starting his Jane Whitefield books. They are well worth reading.