Jane is a "guide" who has altruistically led individuals in trouble along permanent escape paths. With her deft mentorship, they each have been able to assume a new, safe life. For ten years she orchestrated disappearances; then she became the wife of Dr. Carey McKinnon. To protect her husband, her wedding vows included a retirement proviso. Now that his surgical mentor requires sanctuary, Jane reluctantly agrees to resume her former career. Her anguish and ambivalence are intense; the reward for Thomas Perry's readers is extreme.

This novel is exceptionally well constructed. Its prose is vivid, but understated. The plot is simple, yet complex. The guide teaches that the strength of the apprentice's successful disappearance lies in meticulous attention to details that might arise in the future. The reader participates personally in the escape, journey, and disappearance that unfold with the strategic forethought of a chess grand master.

Jane Whitefield McKinnon can not be tracked, but inexplicably her path is crisscrossed by shadows of the face changers who are somehow linked to her. They are unscrupulous, lethal, perhaps even her evil competitors. The story's intricate twists and turns are spellbinding. Perry has the knack of deftly introducing an unstated nagging concern that builds toward an overt impediment. It's the feeling of, "Something's not right, but..."

The overall appeal to this series lies in the tradition, ethics, and lore of the Seneca and other Native Americans nations that are unobtrusively introduced throughout the novels. Modern mysticism guides Jane. It is expressed through conventional dreams rather than visions, but the impact upon her is undeniable.

Our guide is exceptionally intelligent. While strong and nimble, she relies upon her quick wits rather than her muscles. In keeping with her tradition, she is not a warrior. Instead, her remarkable courage is expressed in calmness as she co-exists with her fears. Her strength lies in her determination.

In The Face Changers Jane's intense foreboding is not anxiety; it is a cultural expression of the disharmony caused by violating her wedding vow. The story is both a present tense plot and a life development journey. The casual reader may opt for a reasonably quick reading mystery – it will be very enjoyable although the early pacing might be too gradual for some.

However, there is more. Jane Whitefield McKinnon is a character developed to encourage empathy. During the novel's course, the reader may share the suffering as Jane struggles to overcome her irrational childhood guilt.

Any way this book is read, it's enjoyable.

--Steve Nemmers