J. A. Jance

There's nothing quite like reading one of Jance's Joanna Brady books while staying in Bisbee, Arizona. All I had to do is step outside the door to see I was right in the heart of these books. Having grown up in this old mining town, Jance's setting is pitch perfect and one of the reasons why I love these books.

Another reason I love these books is the characters. Joanna is brave, intelligent, and compassionate, and these books have shown her growth from grieving widow to sheriff to sheriff at show more the beginning of a second marriage. Joanna can also be opinionated and stubborn, and her relationship with her mother is anything but harmonious. In other words, she's human.

The people Joanna lives with and works with have become like friends as I've made my way through this series. When Junior was diagnosed with dementia in an earlier book, I got tears in my eyes. Yes indeed, I am invested all the way to my eyebrows in this series.

A perfect setting and characters that wind themselves around your heart are all well and good, but they need a good mystery to show them in their best light. In the case of Remains of Innocence, one mystery is stronger than the other. It didn't take me long to deduce what had really happened to Junior, but Liza's part of the book kept my interest from beginning to end. Jance has a way of knowing just how to make a character so sympathetic that you want to invite them in for coffee and a long talk. She's done her usual excellent job with Liza and those $100 bills.

Innocence is a theme that runs strong throughout this book. People who never lost their innocence; those who lost it much too early. People who should be innocent who aren't; and those who look guilty... but aren't. There's good food for thought in Jance's latest Joanna Brady mystery-- yet another reason why I love this series. show less

This is the first pairing of two of J.A. Jance's characters, Joanna Brady and Ali Reynolds-- two very strong women who know how to get the job done. No Honor Among Thieves has the wonderful setting that I've come to expect from any of Jance's work set in Arizona, and it has a lightning fast pace that never lets up.

This is a successful pairing that I wouldn't mind seeing more of. I've been a diehard Brady fan since the first book in the series, Desert Heat. I've never quite warmed up to Ali, show more but she is an interesting character, and I wanted to see how the two of them worked together.

While we're racing through the narrative, we're learning about the fight against black market goods, and Joanna knows that she's got some news for her family and co-workers when this case is wrapped up. Ali proves indispensable from a tech standpoint because she and her husband's business can supply all sorts of things that would blow Brady's budget to smithereens.

I was in awe of Joanna Brady's quick decision-making and her ability to take command of a dangerous multi-front situation. She's come a long way from that first book when she had absolutely no firsthand experience of law enforcement. I was proud of her. On the other hand, I felt Ali Reynolds was a little silly there toward the end. She let her nose get out of joint because Brady was too distracted trying to get everything wrapped up to give Ali the profuse thanks that she felt she deserved. What happens when you let your nose get out of joint? You usually do something stupid.

As I said before, this is a pairing I'd like to see more of. It's fun to watch two strong, intelligent women work shoulder to shoulder to solve a crime. If you're a fan like me, you'll find that this novella advances Joanna's story a bit, but not Ali's. If you've not had the pleasure of reading either of Jance's series, I think No Honor Among Thieves would be an excellent place to start. Chances are, when you're finished, you're going to want more books featuring Joanna and Ali. show less

These mysteries just keep getting better. In this one, Beau is at a rehab center overcoming his dependency on alcohol. His roommate is a young drug dependent drug dealer. When said roommate goes missing, then is found dead from a bullet fired from Beau’s service weapon, guess who the prime suspect is? Much more than just solving the murder happens in this gripping tale. Beau has to find the guilty party to save his own neck, because local law enforcement isn’t looking much past Beau. A show more more caring side of Beau also emerges as he deals with the relatives and loved ones of the victim. It’s quite interesting to read about his character’s growth as the series goes on. show less

From Book Cover:

Years ago, Amos Warren, a prospector, was gunned down out in the desert and Sheriff Brandon Walker made the arrest in the case. Now, the retired Walker is called in when the alleged killer, John Lassiter, refuses to accept a plea deal that would release him from prison with time served. Lassiter wants Brandon and The Last Chance to find Amos’s “real” killer and clear his name. Sixteen hundred miles to the north in Seattle, J.P. Beaumont is at loose ends after the show more Special Homicide Investigation Team, affectionately known as S.H.I.T., has been unexpectedly and completely disbanded. When Brandon discovers that there are links between Lassiter’s case and an unsolved case in Seattle, he comes to Beau for help. Those two cases suddenly become hot when two young boys from the reservation, one of them with close ties to the Walker family, go missing. Can two seasoned cops, working together, decipher the missing pieces in time to keep them alive?

My Thoughts:

I have read books from all three of J.A. Jance's series with Beaumont being my all time favorite character. I had thought with the conclusion of the last Beaumont book that it read like she was ending this series...so when this one came along I early awaited it. However...I found that this book though marketed as a Beaumont novel and listing it as the 22nd in that series... it is a tad misleading since Beaumont makes little more than a cameo appearance. This is definitely Brandon Walker's show. The story doesn't flow smoothly at all. It is jagged and disjointed all the way up to the midway mark with way too many flashbacks making it hard to maintain your focus on the main thread. Since I am not a huge fan of the Walker series and having so little Beaumont in the story, I found I was forcing myself to finish it. show less