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Feminist Mystery Reviews
AKA JANE
Maureen Tan
Mysterious, Oct 1997, $22.00, 292 pp.
ISBN: 0-89296-658-0
Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
For the past seven years, Jane Nichols, a counter-terrorist assigned
to Britain's MI5 team, dreams of avenging the death of her lover
and partner, who died during a botched operation. Now Jane is retiring
to pursue her obsession: getting even by killing Jim O'Neil, the
IRA agent who destroyed her life seven years ago.
She moves to Savannah, Georgia and adopts one of her alter-egos,
Max Murdoch, author of a detective series. Her seemingly simple
project is quickly compounded by the fact that Jim has just been
voted the Georgia businessman of the year and is widely respected
throughout the state. Jane decides to look closely at her nemesis's
business. She partners with her former British MI5 mates, their
American counterparts, and the Savannah chief of police, handsome
Alex Callaghan, who raises once dead feelings of passion in the
deadly assassin. Still Jane continues to investigate even as she
knows that as she gets closer to the truth about her arch-enemy,
she steps ever closer to death.
AKA JANE introduces a very interesting new protagonist, who as
she allegedly has come in from the cold, still uses the skills she
has gained over the years. Jane will quickly gain a large fan appreciation.
The story line is straight forward with very few twists and turns,
but surprisingly that adds to the overall fun of an exciting spy-like
thriller.
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