I have been a long time fan of the Jane Whitefield mysteries by Thomas Perry. This week I read the latest, The Left Handed Twin.

Jane disappears people. Abused wives, people on the run from the mob, witnesses who fear Witness Protection won’t keep them safe: they all find their way to Jane.

In this one, Jane takes on a young woman who testified against her boyfriend for murder. Jane takes her on and begins training Sara (who becomes Anne) how to survive as someone different from herself. But the story takes a sudden turn when the Russian mob become involved. They are not interested in Jane’s client; they are interested in Jane. They pursue her across the country and then across the 100 mile hike in Maine.

Perry’s style is not the smoothest but the action keeps one captivated.

The second title I read was Undercover Amish by Ashley Emma.

Like the excellent Linda Castillo Kate Burkholder mysteries, Olive leaves the community after a trauma but returns to solve a mystery. Other murders, two fires and a kidnapping all figure in the plot as Olivia deals with her feelings for her long ago flame, Isaac. Olivia, like Kate, has become a cop.

I felt the representation of the Amish was not as compelling or as believable as Castillo’s mysteries and Olivia herself is not as interesting a character as Kate. This series is billed as romantic suspense, which the Castillo mysteries are not, so I may not have liked this as well because of the genre.

I did not like this as well as the Kate Burkholder series.