I quite liked the first book im the series but i found this boring and disjointed and wildly sexist (which I am generally cool with in books, especially those written in the 20th century, but this was serially and outlandishly offensive). I dnf'ed at 37%. There is this scene where a judge meets Jane (who is a prisoner at this moment and who was recently beaten up and the results of that battery are visible on her face) and notes that she looks like a model, all angular and cool but that he prefers softer plainer women like his late wife and like the guard who has escorted Jane from the jail to his chambers. This is supposed to make us like the judge, I think. Ew! This is a judge, trying to get the information he needs to decide the fate of an 8-year-old boy and he is thinking about the fuckability of the officer present in her official capacity and the prisoner before him. No. There is plenty more toxic sludge where that came from, and also general right-wing crap. There is a reference to someone who gets a life sentence for murder but will only serve 5 or 6 years because of the broken system. It is that kind of completely wrong "criminals are roaming the streets" conspiracy theory crap that led us to our current prison industrial complex. In most states, one cannot come up for parole for a life sentence until they have served at least 25 years (not counting compassionate release when someone is dying.)

The only way I was finishing this was as a hate read, and I don't have time for those. ( )

Fair thriller about Jane Whitefield, who guides fugitives from the law or criminals.

Excellent. The book opens with a woman fighting off 3 attackers outside a courtroom, then takes us into the court hearing of a young boy who had witnessed his parents' murders. The story grabs us, even tho we don't know what's going on. And it seems there is more than one person needing help: is there a connection?
Jane Whitefield specializes in 'hiding' people: helping them escape from others who would hunt them down with nefarious intent. We might assume it has something to do with her Seneca heritage, but that is never explicitly stated. It might have more to do with her intense awareness of what is happening around her, and her quick mind. She says she doesn't judge others, is college-educated and can fit in with the elite as easily as with the rejects of society.
There is an early interesting scene with an elderly widower, but then he has no role in the rest of the book. I can only assume he's going to show up in a future novel. I'm looking forward to it.
This book reminds me strongly of another heroine justice-maker. Perhaps Jane Yellowrock, in Faith Hunter's series, but I'm thinking more of another shapeshifter in the southwest...finally tracked her down: Nettie Lonesome, in Wake of Vultures by Lila Bowen. ( )

Read this book straight through today! This Jane Whitefield series is incredible! Can't wait to start book 3! ( )

PLOT OR PREMISE:
Jane Whitefield is back and trying to guide an 8-year-old boy with an inheritance and a 30-year-old woman with stolen bank money to a safe haven.
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WHAT I LIKED:
The methodology for how Jane helps everyone is quite good, and reads both simple and plausible, a veneer of realism that sells the stories. The explanations for both cases are relatively clear, you understand the motives and why someone is coming after the two of them. Most of the story is a cat and mouse world, and it works well.
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WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
The two stories seem unconnected at the beginning but it blindlingly obvious they will eventually connect, even if it is a connection told in reverse (i.e. if you know the connection in advance, you can write two separate stores to get there), but it seems coincidental rather than natural. There are also two really long expositions, one at the beginning for the kid's back story and one in the middle for hers. Finally, there is some romance that comes out of nowhere for the character, particularly as you have been in her head for sometime and then it's like, "Cue the romance scene with guy she knows but we don't.".
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DISCLOSURE:
I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow him / her on social media. ( )