THE LEFT-HANDED TWIN

Jane Whitefield McKinnon’s latest mission to hide a fugitive from violence puts herself squarely in the sights of Russia’s fearsome Brotherhood.

Sara Doughton had four good years with Los Angeles errand boy/arranger/skimmer Albert McKeith. Every night he’d take her to another party, sometimes more than one, for which he’d provided champagne or drugs or women, then take her home to bed. When Albert realized that Sara’s attention had wandered to a singer’s promoter, though, he shot the promoter dead in front of her. Charged as an accessory, she turned state’s evidence and testified against Albert. Now he’s beaten the rap and is gunning for her. Even though she hasn’t helped a runner disappear since she was kidnapped herself, Jane agrees to leave her long-suffering physician husband behind once more and help Sara vanish. She’s full of practical advice about what to change and how to think, and she’s so successful that Albert, who’s tracked Sara to Jane’s hometown of Amherst, New York, only to recognize that now he’s up against someone way out of his league, asks a well-connected acquaintance to set him up with someone who’s better at this sort of thing. The someone turns out to be Oleg Porchen of the Bratva, who swiftly realizes that Sara’s guide is much more valuable than the woman she’s helping and promptly deploys serious human resources to track her down and bring her in. Porchen’s dead-eyed professionalism is matched only by Perry’s: An extended pursuit through the Hundred Mile Wilderness of the Appalachian Trail is particularly nail-biting.

Hits the ground running and never lets up. Be sure to take a few deep breaths before plunging in.