Plot or Premise

Jane is retired, ready to give advice if need be to would-be runners looking for her help, but she spends her days being the dutiful supportive wife of her surgeon husband. At a fundraiser for the hospital, a bomb explodes to hide the activities of a group of hunters determined to capture a pregnant girl before she can get to Jane.

What I Liked

As always, Jane is going to help. If she doesn’t, there’s no book, right? So yes, she helps the runner, gets her away, finds a way to get her safe, and Jane does some other sleuthing to help her stay hidden. I liked the “lull” in the action so to speak as Jane tries to return to her normal life after helping the girl, giving her some time to get ready for birth etc., and there is a surprisingly deep storyline about the fact Jane has been trying to have a baby of her own with no luck conceiving.

What I Didn’t Like

There are two elements in the story that I found a bit strained. First, Jane gets her away, gets her safe, and is helping her “get ready” for the birth. Annnnnd then just says, “See you later, I’ll be back before the due date”. Why does she leave? No real reason, it’s stupid. With predictable results. Equally, the final parts of the novel seem more like Die Hard than a Jane Whitefield novel.

The Bottom Line

Surprising mix of depth and misplaced action.