(audio)(2002)Another good Sheriff Brady mystery with a twist. Jance's other character comes over from his own series of books as J.P. Beaumont gets involved in trying to solve the murder of an artist in Bisby AZ who turns out to be someone being hidden in witness protection. Beaumont also deals with old demons as he struggles with his marriage to a serial killer who committed suicide and who was born and raised in the AZ area.(PW)Jance successfully brings together her dyspeptic Seattle homicide detective J.P. Beaumont (Birds of Prey, etc.) and Cochise County, Ariz., Sheriff Joanna Brady (Paradise Lost, etc.). When artist Rochelle Baxter is murdered in Bisbee, Ariz., Brady's department is stunned that Baxter's next of kin is not a person but the Washington State Attorney General's Office. Baxter was Latisha Wall, an industrial whistle-blower in a Washington witness protection program pending her testimony at an important trial. Beaumont, now an investigator for the AG, is sent to Arizona to determine if Wall's cover was blown. The enraged Brady interprets his arrival as personal criticism; Beaumont feels uncomfortable with her resentment and with being in the hometown of his second wife, the serial killer Anne Rowland Corley. After a second murder, the two investigators develop mutual respect and even a physical attraction. The convoluted plot builds to a surprising solution, though the floundering romance ultimately comes off as forced. The most frightening feature is the cause of death--sodium azide, an odorless, tasteless, unregulated chemical used in automobile air bags. Jance highlights the differences between her two protagonists by alternating Beaumont's first-person narration (despite her Seattle sleuth's dislike of Arizona's desolate scenery, the author describes it beautifully) with Brady's third-person chapters, which show how Brady, her staff and family handle pressure.

Beau meets Joanna in this mystery with J A Jance’s two top detecting protagonists. Beau really doesn’t want to be in the town where his second wife had lived, and Joanna doesn’t want him there, either. But the two have no say in the matter: Beau has been sent by his boss to oversee and “help out” the local small-town sheriff. Things start out badly. Joanna is prickly, and Beau is resentful of her attitude. It’s not his fault he’s there. (Yes, I am a member of Team Beau.) Eventually, both come to realize that each has something to offer, and mutual respect grows slowly but surely. The mystery is a pretty good one, with some false leads to keep things interesting. The audio version has two readers, with the male characters being voiced by Gene Engene, and the female characters being narrated by Stephanie Brush. Both give excellent performances, which adds to the enjoyment of the story. ( )

Combines characters from two of Jance’s ongoing series – Sheriff Joanna Brady and J.P. Beaumont.

Beaumont is dispatched from Seattle when a woman murdered in Brady’s jurisdiction turns out to have been under a witness protection program overseen by Washington state authorities. There’s a bit of clashing before the two settle down to work together and the somewhat overplotted situation is resolved by the convenient death of the major bad guy, which only momentarily seems to leave some questions unanswered.

Like most of the Brady series, the real attraction of the plot is watching the main character navigate a complicated personal life while treading a non-traditional career path. There’s a brief, distracting, and totally unnecessary what-if scene between Brady and Beaumont which comes out of nowhere and then goes back to the same place over the space of just a few pages, but it’s enough to distract and detract. Better each of these characters should remain in their own wheelhouse and do their own things, separately. ( )

In Partner in Crime Arizona Sheriff Joanna Brady and Seattle detective J.P. Beaumont find themselves teamed up to investigate the murder of a witness protection client. The victim was hidden away in Naco, AZ by the WA Attorney General's office. Beaumont has retired from the Seattle Police and is working for the Washington State Attorney General as a special investigator. After initial clashes and distrust the two begin to work together. Will they find out who killed the witness, and who had her killed? ( )

A good read. Draws you in, keeps you guessing. Interesting characters. ( )