Hand of Evil

J. A. Jance really really knows how to capture the reader's attention and keep it throughout a book. This series continues to get better. This book had several plots that needed to be solved and kept me engaged with them all. The great aspect about the plots were that even though the reader could probably determine who did what, when and how.......the why was just as important. I love the family dynamics and friend relationships that continue to grow with each book. The main character, Ali, has wonderful qualities that are believable. She's level-headed, humourous, quick to action when necessary and loyal to her family. No weird or needy characters here. Just great stuff!

What happens when a child is abused and not believed? In this case a murder or maybe murders spanning generations.

Ali Reynolds has been dealing with a friend’s daughter who has run away and is lying. But, also refusing to tell police the details of a brutal beating she witnessed when on the road. Ali finds herself on the moral ground of doing what is right AND what she has been advising Crystal to do; inform the police of a crime or the suspicion of a crime. She is stunned when they admonish her saying she is trying to insert herself into police a investigation and don't want to listen to her!

A suspenseful journey with a teenage runaway, AND murders in the past and present that kept me on the edge of my chair.

This is the third in the Ali Reynolds series. Hand of Evil picks up pretty much where the second book left off. Ali's ex - husband's estate is being settled, and Ali is still coming to terms with everything that happened. Out of the blue, Ali is contacted by an old friend that set up a scholarship fund for Ali years ago. Ali agrees to meet with her not knowing why she's been summoned.

Ali has been asked to read a diary that proves her old friend was an incest victim. But before she can pursue those issues, two things happen that keeps Ali on the move.
First, Kip, a man Ali's father is helping to put his life back together, disappears.

Second, Ali's good friend, Dave, gets a phone call from his ex - wife telling him their daughter has run show more away from home. When Crystal calls Dave, he is hours away from his daughter's location, so he ask Ali to pick her up. Ali quickly learns that Crystal is a very troubled teenager. Crystal is in deep trouble and Ali tries to unravel the mystery.

Ali still blogs, but not as much as she did in the second book. I'm glad the author toned that down a little this time around. I was a little slow warming up to this series, but after reading this one, I find myself looking forward to future installments. show less

Like many people I get into routines and stick with them. I mention this trait in my first review of a J.A Jance book because my morning routine is to listen to an audiobook for the first half of my commute then switch to a radio station for the rest of the drive. I couldn't do that with Hand of Evil. Something about Jance's books (I've now listened to a second one) makes them too intriguing to turn off.

I had a problem with Hand of Evil because the story is woven around two crimes which are connected by their nature, but not by anything specific, and a third crime that is only connected through the main character, Ali Reynolds. For that reason there was a lack of focus in the story and a feeling that so many unrelated crimes occurring show more at once was unbelievable.

So why couldn't I stop listening?

I think J.A. Jance's power comes through the humanity of her characters. Ali Reynolds has issues and problems. To some extent they are related. She's acts without thinking, which is emphasized with her tendency to confront even in dangerous situations. We readers get to know and care about her, so when she puts herself in dangerous situations we care. We curse at her foolishness, but hope for the best as we continue to read or listen.

I've listened to two of the Ali Reynolds series and I plan to listen to another. The order was based on the availability through our library rather than the series order. J.A. Jance does a good job of letting her readers know what's going on in Ali Reynolds' personal life, so the fact that I listened to them out of sequence didn't seem to affect my final enjoyment. Hand of Evil is a fun story for anyone who likes crime novels.

Steve Lindahl – author of Motherless Soul and White Horse Regressions show less

I enjoyed the plot as well as several of the characters. What bothered me is that the author buys in to celebrity culture by using a famous protagonist who is very wealthy and a former news anchor. I prefer books that examine what ordinary people do in extraordinary situations rather than celebrating the adventures of the rich and famous. The author is skilled and certainly has the ability to portray everywoman and everyman in a way that captures the reader's interest and ultimately renders a more universal message about humanity.

I always enjoy reading an Ali Reynolds novel. This one was pretty good, but it did disappoint me a little bit. Not that the writing was bad or anything, just that it didn't feel suspenseful enough. Maybe it had too much going on. I don't know. I just feel that engaged while reading it. This follows blogger Ali Reynolds as she becomes involved in two murder cases. One involving the daughter of a friend. I do recommend reading it, it is still a pretty good book.

Another quick read. And I cried quite a bit. So many of the characters touched my heart. I even felt affection for the homosexuals (not that I agree that what they are doing is right). Most of the bad people were truly bad, not just venal, selfish and mean. Two distinct murder sprees were involved, one lasting several years and possibly mitigated by the insanity of the perpetrator. Good endings somehow managed to emerge. Highly recommended.